20 Things You Didn't Know About Star Wars: The Force Awakens
7. Captain Phasma & Supreme Leader Snoke Were Gender-Swapped
Two of The Force Awakens' most prominent villains were actually gender-swapped during pre-production. First Order commander Captain Phasma was originally written as a man, with it being reported that Benedict Cumberbatch was in consideration to play the role.
Yet apparently due to complaints about the lack of major female characters in the film, Abrams decided to switch Phasma's gender in the middle of the casting process, a mere three weeks before shooting was set to start.
Ultimately the part went to Game of Thrones' Gwendoline Christie, and no matter how disappointingly small Phasma's role was, Christie knocked it out of the park.
And then there's Supreme Leader Snoke, who according to senior sculptor Ivan Manzella was very nearly female, to the point that a full-size plasticine character model was even sculpted.
Yet it was eventually decided, for reasons unknown, that Snoke would be male, and that's when Andy Serkis was brought in to provide performance capture for the character.