Reasons Why We Need A Doctor Aphra Television Series
Image Source: David Auden Nash
Saw Guerra, Cad Bane, Bo-Katan Kryze, and, of course, Ahsoka Tano have made the jump from their respective animated series to live-action. With more seasons of The Mandalorian coming and the highly anticipated arrival of Ahsoka this spring, more fan-favorite characters will be making the leap from animation to real life.
With all the buzz of cartoon characters coming to life, there is another type of cartoon that is currently in the shadows. Perhaps it is time for Marvel Star Wars comic books to also join the proliferation of programming. With Marvel and Star Wars sharing the same parent company, now could be the perfect time to bring these characters out of the pages and onto the screen. They have provided the films and television series with interesting backstories and adventures that show how our favorite on-screen personas spend their time between films and series. One of these personalities has become a darling among fans, and some may argue that it could be time for her to make the jump onto the screen—Doctor Chelli Aphra.
Image Source: TieFighters
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For those not familiar with the comics, Doctor Aphra is the first non-film character to lead her own comic book series. Aphra first appeared in Kieron Gillen’s Star Wars: Darth Vader #3. Just over a year later, in December 2016, Aphra became the lead character in her own series, picking up where she last encountered Darth Vader.
Aphra is a well-written, well-rounded personality, a primary reason why she would be so good on the screen. Losing her mother in a staged Empire attack on their home planet, Chelli Aphra was raised by her archaeologist father, who was so absorbed in his work that his daughter literally burns down their house to get him to pay attention to her. Despite this, she follows in her father’s footsteps and becomes an archaeologist herself. Creator Kieron Gillen said that she has “a weird obsession with uncovering old stuff,” and this obsession and the monetary profits from it leads Aphra to do things that could be considered morally compromising.
Image Source: TFWoosh.com
Alyssa Wong, the next person to continue Doctor Aphra’s story, further elaborates on how she sees the character:
“Kieron Gillen built the groundwork for the series, and his Aphra is sly, dangerous, and emotionally complex. And I dig the thrilling, unsettling, and heartbreaking direction that Si Spurrier took us, with an Aphra who has to face the messy consequences of her actions.
Aphra is just so much fun. She’s got a ton of personality and brings chaos to every situation she steps into. You want to follow her because you never know what’s going to happen. Sometimes, she’s a hero. Sometimes, she’s a villain. She’s clever and hyper-competent, impulsive and arrogant, and her personal life is a flaming wreck. What’s not to love?”
An on-screen Aphra would also fill a void in television programming. She would be a queer woman of color to lead a show. Jesse Schedeen of IGN explained that the best way to portray "Marvel's riskiest Star Wars project to date” would be in a television series as “the distance from the movies gives Doctor Aphra a greater sense of freedom in terms of tone, style and plot possibilities.” Some of these possibilities include who she chooses to have relationships with. Doctor Aphra’s comic series was nominated for best comic at the 30th GLAAD Media Awards in 2019. Her romances with her two love interests are complicated and realistic. Many LBGTQ+ fans thought that she might have made an appearance in The Book of Boba Fett along with Cad Bane and Black Krrsantan. However, you never know what might be in the works for the future.
Image Source: Wookieepedia
Chelli Lona Aphra’s story is a plain good adventure story! She has held her own in the comics over the course of dozens of editions developed over several years. She escapes Darth Vader, survives several murder attempts, goes to different locations throughout the galaxy, and meets up with others in the Star Wars galaxy universe who have been able to make the leap from the page to the screen. So, why not? Fans have also voted for Hasbro to create a Doctor Aphra Black Series action figure! With all of the support of her loyal fan base behind her, it seems that this would be a worthwhile project for Disney to look into.
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