Did You Know 'Return of The Jedi' Cut Three Lady A-Wing Pilots?

Luke Plunkett said on Tuesday, “This is probably the most interesting piece of Star Wars trivia I have ever come across,” and we agree!

Apparently, there were three unnamed women who were filmed flying fighter planes in Return of the Jedi, but were edited out. The new Star Wars Blu-ray edition contains previously unreleased extra footage from the Battle of Endor — the one where they blow up the Death Star — in which these women can be seen fighting with the Rebel Alliance to bring down the Empire.

The two younger pilots even have some dialogue. The third pilot is an elderly woman, who would indicate that women were not only included in military efforts; they made lifelong careers of struggling against evil space fascism.

Imagine if we had known about this as kids! Now little boys no longer have a monopoly on daydreaming about fighting for an adventurous and righteous cause, and little fangirls have more Halloween costume options than just Princess Leia. Badass as she is, it's nice to know there was also equal opportunity in the Rebel army. 

This:

Totally beats this when you're freezing in October.

Likewise:

and 

Way cooler than: