Women take their place on frontline of new Star Wars Movie

Star Wars director JJ Abrams said he wanted to make female characters a central part of The Force Awakens so it would “feel the way the world looks and feels”.

In addition to main character Rey, played by Daisy Ridley, the film also stars Lupita Nyong’o as pirate Maz Kanata and Gwendoline Christie as evil Phasma — as well as female stormtroopers and pilots.

Abrams said: “From the very beginning of our discussion about this movie, the notion of a woman at the centre of the story was always something that was compelling to me and exciting.