In thinking about characters SW who should get a “resurrection” from a previously confirmed death, Captain Phasma is at the top of my list. I think her character would greatly benefit from surviving her apparent death on the Supremacy and going on to serve a big role in whatever story takes shape after The Rise of Skywalker.
Captain Phasma #4 (2017) Cover by Paul Renaud
So, here’s my pitch.
Generally, I think there should be a presumption against undoing death in SW, but I also think there’s been worthwhile exceptions in the past, including Maul and Boba Fett. I’ve often thought of Maul and Phasma as the “Boba Fetts” of the prequels and sequels respectively—characters with an awesome design and interesting backstory in the expanded canon, but who feel Iike they were killed off prematurely in the films.
Despite what appeared to be conclusive deaths for Maul and Boba—getting bisected and getting eaten by a sarlacc—both characters were revealed to have survived without too much backlash in the end, at least from what I’ve seen, despite how incredible their survivals were. Given Phasma’s armor and resilience—a major theme in her novel and comic mini-series is that Phasma will do whatever it takes to survive—I think her surviving the fiery fall in The Last Jedi is not beyond the point of believability compared to Maul and Boba.
However, I think a major reason fans don’t seriously question a character like Maul’s survival is because his survival greatly benefitted his character. Once he was brought back in The Clone Wars, Maul went from a one-dimensional bad guy to a fully realized character with shifting and complex motivations and a compelling antagonist for Obi-Wan. When audiences see a character they wanted more of get brought back and given a satisfying story, how the character survives becomes less important.
So what’s the point of bringing Phasma back? What story would be satisfying for her return?
I think Phasma is a character who’s very well-suited to be used as a de facto warlord for the remnants of whatever is left of the First Order after The Rise of Skywalker.
First, Phasma has the status. She was part of the First Order’s “unofficial triumvirate” along with Kylo Ren and General Hux, training and leading the stormtrooper corps. She’s already feared and respected among the First Order, and would be a natural figure to take on leadership of its remnants.
Second, her strength alone would be something for disorganized First Order holdouts to rally behind. On her home planet of Parnassos, she was her the best fighter in her post-apocalyptic clan. Her warrior prowess and tenacity inspired others in her clan to follow her, even through strange and hostile environments. It’s the kind of strength that could inspire a defeated group of soldiers who want to give up to keep fighting.
Third, Phasma could be used to evolve the First Order. She’s obviously a much different character than Pellaeon or the Fels, who ensured the Empire had a permanent place in the galaxy decades after the Battle of Endor in Legends. But Phasma also isn’t like the Imperial zealots who designed the First Order.
She’s an outsider that was corrupted by her desire for the power and technology the First Order offered, but her primary focus is always to survive. I think bringing her back as leader of the First Order remnant offers an opportunity for her to reshape her’s and the First Order’s philosophy.
Now that Phasma and the First Order aren’t conquerors, they have to become something else. I’m not quite sure what that would look like—perhaps an organization that’s more insular and territorial, maybe content to settle on a Canon-version of Bastion—but it’s a great chance for Phasma to grow as a character. To Phasma, “survival” always meant fighting, conquering, and looking out for herself, and now she would have to accept that survival for her and the defeated First Order may mean peace and cooperation.
Basically, bringing back Phasma as warlord of a First Order remnant would not only be in-line with what we’ve seen so far of her, but would offer great opportunities for the larger story and her own character to growing into something more interesting than what what shown in the sequels.
Captain Phasma #4 Variant Cover (2017) by Elsa Charretier
What do you guys think? Should Phasma be brought back to play a role in a post-TROS story, or should she stay dead?