Over the years, the Star Wars movies and TV shows have introduced millions to some of the best female characters in sci-fi with the likes of Princess Leia and Padmé Amidala, both of whom have been featured in multiple movies and have had nearly every aspect of their story told. In addition to those two, however, there are multiple other female heroes and villains that could be used more, either by carrying their own story or showing up in any of the upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows.
Though Rey will soon return to the Star Wars universe as a Jedi Master, there are quite a few female characters (on both sides of the Force) who could be used more, be it in a prequel movie or show for characters who have passed away or a continuation of their respective stories. Here are eight female Star Wars characters who would be perfect for such a project…
Jyn Erso
Technically, Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) died during the Rogue One: A Star Wars Story ending, but that doesn’t mean her story has to end. Casian Andor (Diego Luna) was also vaporized when the Death Star destroyed Scarif at the end of the 2016 movie, but his character returned with his own Disney+ series. We’re all excited for the upcoming Andor Season 2, but wouldn’t it be awesome for Jyn to receive something similar?
In the past, Felicity Jones has opened up about wanting to reprise the character, offering up ideas like reincarnation, but a possible movie or show could focus on Jyn’s childhood or upbringing by Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker). Watching a young, and on-the-run future member of the Rebel Alliance could be a lot of fun and also fill in the cracks of her already great story.
Maz Kanata
Maz Kanata (Lupita Nyong’o) is another one of those Star Wars characters who, despite only having a few minutes of screentime, makes an instant impact and leaves you wanting more of their story. After being introduced in Star Wars: The Force Awakens as a 1,000-year-old former pirate and smuggler who helps set Rey on her path to becoming a Jedi, Maz doesn’t have too many big moments in the rest of the sequel trilogy.
Though there has long been speculation that Maz (or a character looking strikingly similar to her) could be spotted in the original Star Wars movies, as well as in the prequels, there’s just so much we don’t know about the mysterious alien creature. It would be great to go back and see some of Maz’s pirate adventures or see how she came into possession of Luke’s original lightsaber.
Fennec Shand
Star Wars has given us some of the most iconic bounty hunters, like Boba Fett, Mando, and Cade Bane, to name a few. Another great addition to that list is Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen), a talented bounty hunter who first showed up as a minor antagonist in The Mandalorian Season 1 before becoming one of the main characters in The Book of Boba Fett and Star Wars: The Bad Batch animated series.
You could argue that Fennec has gotten a lot of attention in recent years, but she often feels like a secondary character opposed to the star of her own story. What could work is an anthology series featuring live-action shorts about various characters in the Star Wars universe, which could give the bounty hunter a platform to show more of her history between The Bad Batch and The Mandalorian.
Val
Though Solo: A Star Wars Story probably isn’t going to be at the top of anyone’s Star Wars movie rankings, there were a lot of things from Ron Howard’s 2018 movie that stood out, including Thandiwe Newton’s Val, a no-nonsense outlaw and Tobias Beckett’s (Woody Harrelson) wife and fellow criminal. Val played a large role in the early goings of the movie before she ultimately sacrificed herself to help Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) and company, though the actress has long had the opinion that killing the character was a mistake.
Even Solo’s co-writer, Jon Kasdan, has implied that Val got the shaft in the anthology film. So, this leaves the door wide open for a movie or show based on Val’s life up until the point of her passing. It could further explore her relationship with Beckett, flesh out her story prior to joining his crew, or anything else.
Reva Sevander
The Obi-Wan Kenobi finale left us with questions, with two of the most pressing concerning the past and future of Reva Sevander (Moses Ingram), the Force-sensitive inquisitor whose fate was left up in the air after backing down from killing a young Luke Skywalker. One of the most interesting and tragic characters of the entire series (remember, she survived Order 66 at the Jedi Temple as a young padawan), and so there is still a lot of story worth exploring.
This is another example of a character whose story could be tackled in a variety of ways, either as a prequel or sequel, or something that combines elements of both to shed light on her past, present, and future. With Moses Ingram being a star on the rise, it just makes perfect sense.
Captain Phasma
One of the many complaints brought after the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi was the treatment of Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie) the shock trooper who had multiple run-ins with Finn (John Boyega) in the first two installments of the sequel trilogy. The masked antagonist with a chromed-out suit was one of the more fascinating characters in the more recent Star Wars movies, which makes her lack of screen-time all the more upsetting.
Though her story was fleshed out in Delilah S. Dawson’s 2017 novel Star Wars: Phasma, as well as a short comic run, it would be great to see the First Order figure show up on the big screen once more, and it sounds like the actress is down to return. Come on, Disney, make it happen!
Jannah
Jannah (Naomi Ackie) was one of the main freedom fighters, and former First Order stormtroopers, introduced in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, helping lead the ground offensive in the Battle of Exegol. We last saw Jannah in the final minutes of the movie, where she was planning her next steps while implying she was the daughter of Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams).
Obviously, an exploration of that theory could make for a great father-daughter adventure story in the galaxy far, far away, but Jannah’s history with the First Order and her desertion could also make for a great story that provides more insight into the inner workings of the Empire’s successor.
Aayla Secura
Though she could be viewed as one of the Jedi Order’s most skilled fighters, Aayla Secura is a character that has never really gotten the attention she deserves in the various Star Wars movies and shows that have been released since her on-screen debut in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. She was one of the many Jedi killed during the execution of Order 66, but there’s still plenty of story from her life up to that fateful moment that could be explored.
With Disney+’s Ahsoka coming out in August, it would be great to see the character return in the form of a Force ghost or in flashbacks featuring the Jedi Knight interacting with Rosario Dawson’s titular character.
Only time will tell if any of these female Star Wars characters will ever be used more, but if it does happen, you’ll be able to watch it all go down with a Disney+ subscription, where the entire franchise is streaming.
