It never occurred to me that there were no female fighter pilots in the original STAR WARS trilogy. STAR WARS has always had such a range of creatures and alien races that it never clicked that we didn’t see a single human female fighting for the Rebellion or the Empire. In fact, it was not until THE PHANTOM MENACE that we actually saw a woman, actress Celia Imrie, piloting a ship during battle.
Some recently uncovered images from RETURN OF THE JEDI reveal that there were actually three female Rebellion pilots whose scenes were cut from the film for unknown reasons. Some fans theorize it was because of the delicate nature of audiences in 1983 who would not have been prepared to see women die in battle sequences. One of them was kept in the movie but had her voice dubbed over by a man! Now, I know we have come a long way in terms of women’s rights in this country, but in 1983 were people still that misogynistic?
In either case, it is nice to know that women in science fiction are in a much better place today than they were 30 years ago. It may not be perfect, but just consider the list of strong female characters from shows such as BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, V, LOST, HAVEN, FRINGE, THE X-FILES, REVOLUTION, FIREFLY, and more.
Take a look below at these lost characters. While they may never have been major protagonists, any one of them could have been the next Wedge Antilles.