J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: The Force Awakens promises to be a rather epic cinematic event, but the truth of the matter is that it's just the start of something a whole lot bigger. The blockbuster will be kicking off an entire new era of Star Wars movies, and in the span of just a few years it will be followed by Star Wars: Episode VIII and Episode IX. Obviously at this point we don't really know what directions the franchise will go in, but if a new rumor is to be believed, then Game of Thrones star Gwendoline Christie may be on track to become a key part of the series' future.This story is the latest reported by Making Star Wars , and links back to a story from about three months ago regarding a character named Captain Phasma. At the time , it was speculated that this character would be played by Gwendoline Christie and that she would be a chrome Stormtrooper and the commanding officer of Finn (John Boyega). Now a few new rumored details have emerged about her, including the fact that she plays a rather minimal part in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but is an "emerging character" who is expected to continue her arc in Star Wars: Episode VIII and possibly beyond.In the description of Captain Phasma, it's suggested that The Force Awakens will position her as a "Boba Fett-type" - and while that may sound exciting, it also has its drawbacks. After all, the Mandalorian armor-wearing bounty hunter was arguably the most badass-looking character in the original trilogy, but he didn't actually get to do very much other than stand around. This was very much a result of George Lucas not utilizing the character's full potential, but if Captain Phasma becomes beloved fast enough, we can count on the franchise taking advantage of that fact.It's also worth noting that there seems to be a pretty good reason that Captain Phasma's role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens would be somewhat minimized: she will be sharing screentime with two other antagonists. Kylo Ren - the hooded figure with the crossguard lightsaber in the debut trailer - is said to be the primary villain of the blockbuster, and he will be getting most of the exposure. Also reportedly in the mix is Andy Serkis' character, whom Making Star Wars refers to as "Uber." Even his role is incredibly tiny compared to Kylo Ren's, however, and the site says he will only be in about three scenes.Hopefully we won't have to wait long before actual official details come out about Captain Phasma, as we are now just a couple weeks away from the biggest Star Wars event of the year. The annual Star Wars Celebration event will be kicking off on April 16th, and it's expected that the expo will be used as a platform to not only launch a new Force Awakens trailer, but also spill the beans on the movie's plot and characters. We'll have to wait and see how it turns out, but we will be on the ground covering it!