Star Wars VII is about to give us our first female stormtrooper… as a young British actress nabs a role in The Force Awakens.
The Galactic Empire isn’t exactly an equal opportunities employer… and after a severe lack of female characters throughout the original trilogy, it’s no surprise that there weren’t female stormtroopers shown on screen.
But all that might be about to change…
According to BBC reporter Lizo Mzimba, Amybeth Hargreaves – a 30-year-old British actress – will be suiting up as a stormtrooper for Star Wars VII.
It’s currently unclear whether or not Amybeth Hargreaves will be playing a female stormtrooper onscreen… even if that’s exactly the kind of bold move we might expect from the Star Wars franchise. After all, the first black stormtrooper has just been revealed – maybe it’s time to move onto female empowerment in the Empire? But will Hargreaves get to play an actual stormtrooper, or is she stepping in for someone else?
It’s certainly possible that she could be playing a stand-in for Gwendoline Christie. After all, Christie has been rumoured to be playing a new kind of stormtrooper captain for some time. But could there be another possibility? Could Hargreaves suit up as a stormtrooper herself? Even a named extra?
Perhaps there’s another explanation – that Hargreaves fits the bill for a standard trooper.
It’s certainly not unheard of to see a woman wearing the iconic male stormtrooper armour. Back in Return of the Jedi, stunt-woman Tracey Eddon donned the infamous suit for scenes on Endor. But is this what’s happening here? An extra who fits the bill for a stormtrooper suit?
Although female stormtroopers aren’t exactly commonplace, the Empire began to use them eventually – the first of which appeared in the Dark Horse comic Star Wars Legacy. And the first named trooper was said to be Jes Gistang who served the Empire under the Grand Admiral Thrawn.
But could this be our first visibly female stormtrooper in the Star Wars saga? For now, we’ll have to wait and see.
Star Wars VII heads to cinemas on 18 December 2015.
Do you think this female stormtrooper is significant? Will we see a new kind of trooper onscreen? Let us know what you think in the comments below…
