Star Wars: Episode VII character named in honor of Phantasm

Last Updated on July 22, 2021

STAR WARS isn't really something that we cover here on Arrow in the Head. The movies are populated by nifty looking creatures and feature the likes of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, but they certainly don't fall into the horror category. Still, some horror-related STAR WARS news did recently come out that was too cool to let pass by without a mention.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, STAR WARS: EPISODE VII – THE FORCE AWAKENS director J.J. Abrams discussed the origins of some of the film's new characters' names, one of those new characters being Captain Phasma, a member of the villainous First Order who wears a shiny chrome variation on the traditional Stormtrooper armor. Beneath that armor is 6'3" GAME OF THRONES actress Gwendoline Christie, and what I believe is the most interesting thing about the character is the fact that Abrams has revealed that the name Phasma is a reference to Don Coscarelli's classic 1979 horror film PHANTASM.

Abrams said, 

"Phasma I named because of the amazing chrome design that came from Michael Kaplan’s wardrobe team. It reminded me of the ball in Phantasm, and I just thought, Phasma sounds really cool."

This isn't the first time STAR WARS and PHANTASM have crossed paths; the similarities between the space opera's creatures called Jawas and the horror film's undead dwarf creatures have been pointed out in the past. The naming of this character isn't the first time Abrams has been connected to the world of PHANTASM, either. Angus Scrimm, the actor who played franchise's evil Tall Man, appeared on a handful of episodes of the Abrams-created television show ALIAS. In recent years, former New Line Cinema executive Jeff Katz revealed that when the studio announced their intention to remake PHANTASM back in 2005, the director they had in mind was Abrams. The remake never happened, of course, and Abrams quickly went on to become one of the biggest directors in this world and in a certain galaxy far, far away, but he's obviously still a fan of PHANTASM.

STAR WARS: EPISODE VII – THE FORCE AWAKENS hits theatres on December 18th. The release date of the next PHANTASM movie, PHANTASM: RAVAGER, remains a mystery.

Gwendoline Christie