"May the 4th be with you!" The last few days have been all about the Star Wars Day rollouts for Disney and LucasFilm, which have included many promotional items geared toward getting fans onboard with their Star Wars Rebels animated series - and of course, revealing new details about Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, their big year-end tentpole film, that will relaunch the franchise in a big way.

In the last few days, we've gone from having a slew of Episode VII rumors to getting firm confirmations about who the new characters are, and the general context that the new film exists in. After getting more official info about new characters like Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega), Poe (Oscar Isaac) and Darkside user Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), we now have official confirmation about Game of Thrones star Gwendoline Christie's character, now known to be "Captain Phasma."

Here's the official portrait of Captain Phasma, taken by photographer Annie Leibovitz for Vanity Fair:

CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER SIZE

Previous rumors about Captain Phasma were as follows:

BADASS DIGEST: According to my sources Gwendoline Christie is playing John Boyega’s commanding officer in Star Wars Episode VII, and she’s mad that he deserted. She’s looking for him. She’s an antagonist.

UPDATE: I’m have new info that puts things in new perspectives. She’s definitely hunting Boyega. I think she’s an Imperial officer, but I got one more piece of information that puts everything in a new light:

SPOILERS!

The actress has been training with a lightsaber.

Could she be an Imperial officer who has a lightsaber? Or is it something more? I’m hearing the S word.

Early marketing has tended to label Adam Driver's Kylo Ren as a "Darkside User," which isn't necessarily the same as a Sith Lord. Indeed there's been some confusion about how figures like Star Wars Rebels' Inquisitor could play into Episode VII, possibly offering a Darkside alternative to the Sith.

I bring all this up to say: Captain Phasma could indeed, as first rumored, reveal herself to be a Sith Lord (or Inquisitor type) as a twist in the film - a strong female Darkside antagonist to rival Daisy Ridley's Rey. Her position in The First Order high ranks would be ideal for a Sith looking wreak chaos upon the universe. If she is a Sith, is she master or apprentice? And in either case, who is her second? Could Kylo be her apprentice?

As for aesthetic: It looks like the official photo may reveal a different armor for Captain Phasma than the "Chrome Stormtrooper" armor from the second Star Wars 7 trailer, which many figured to be her signature look. Looking at the side-by-side, it's easy to see that Phasma is the character in both armors - after all, the black cap with red lining is a dead giveaway. The character may get an Iron Man-style armor change somewhere in the film (maybe the darker chrome look reflects her revelation of Darkside power?) ...Or just trick of the light?

The storyline for The Force Awakens takes place three decades after the defeat of The Empire,  where "The Resistance" and "First Order" factions have continued battling for control of the universe. On one side are OT characters like Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Chewbacca, taking on darker forces like Adam Driver's Kylo Ren or Gwendoline Christie's Captain Phasma. Caught in the middle are new young characters like Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega), Poe (Oscar Isaac), a missing Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and a mysterious character played by Domhnall Gleeson.

What do you think of Captain Phasma?

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NEXT: More New Star Wars 7 Photos

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Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens opens in U.S. theaters on December 18th, 2015.

Source: Vanity Fair