10 Things Everyone Always Gets Wrong About Star Wars
6. Captain Phasma Was The First Female Stormtrooper
When fans found out Disney would be creating a new trilogy, it was, obviously, a cause for great excitement. The idea of more Star Wars films meant a chance to flesh out/diversify the galaxy. That's why it was so exciting to see the first female Stormtrooper in Gwendoline Christie's Captain Phasma. Except, she wasn't the first.
The first named female stormtrooper to appear in Star Wars was called Jes Gistang, and she was part of the comic-book series Star Wars Legacy. But, she's not the only one as there are also plenty of references to female troopers across the Expanded Universe novels and even the female Death Trooper DT-F16 in Rebels.
Additionally, while the Stormtrooper extras were played by men in the original trilogy, there's no storyline implication that they're all male. Their armour is completely uniform, meaning any of those troopers could be women underneath.
Another good example comes from the actor Samantha Alleyne. She played many characters across the Disney Star Wars movies, including multiple Stormtroopers, one of which appeared in Rogue One. The events of Rogue One certainly took place before Captain Phasma was around, so there's yet another canonical female trooper for you.
Phasma was undoubtedly the first on-screen, live-action female Trooper, but canonically, it's a different story.