The time is now: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story arrives in theaters today and, if the box office predictions are any indication, we’re all going to see it this weekend. I’ve spent the week celebrating with some deep video dives into weird lore and fun fan theories. But for today I wanted to do something a little different: acknowledge and commemorate the four the female Rebel pilots from Return of the Jedi.
Back in 1983, Poppy Hands, Vivienne Chandler, Lynne Hazelden, and an unnamed elderly actress all signed on to play Rebels in Return of the Jedi. Hands and the older actress all took turns in the cockpit of the A-Wing set while Hands took the X-Wing for a spin. Hazelden was visible in the war room scene, speaking with her fellow pilots. Yet they are now mere footnotes in Star Wars history, either cut from the final film, shunted to the background, or in the case of Poppy Hands, clumsily turned into a man in post-production.
In the video below, I give a brief history of these women, how they opened the door for a new generation of female fighters in Star Wars, and ask Lucasfilm if it’s too late to bring them back into the fold.
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