Yeah not trying to say otherwise, just that there was one other strong character in there and even though she doesn’t get much screen time, she does have a strong presence and is believable as being in that position of power.
The others were just simply in regards to representation of females which I agree could have been higher and better represented in leading roles by today’s standards but I think it is entirely expected and the norm for the time it was made in. Star Wars '77 is akin to other movies that were more directed at portraying a young male as the main protagonist who starts out as a nobody (ie. the boys watching the movie) who goes on to find high adventure, rescue a damsel in distress and ultimately saves the day. Most female characters in such movies are only there to support the main male character and not much more, it is actually a small miracle that we got Princess Leia as she was, who in the frame of only Star Wars '77 existing at the time, is still literally called a “Princess” who is rescued and offers her hero a kiss who is holding her as they’re about to swing across a chasm on a rope. Pretty cliche stuff.
In saying that, many females still loved the OT movies and actually looked up to Luke as their hero and inspiration as he was a great character that both males and females could relate to and the same could be said of Leia. Furthermore, yes there could be more females as lead characters in the OT but is this an issue in relation to the story? No. As long as the characters themselves are compelling and effectively tell and communicate the story being told then it matters not whether they are male or female. The very fact that Katee Sackhoff made an awesome Starbuck in the 2004 remake of the Battlestar Galatica is proof enough of this and the fact that many females look up to Luke’s character despite being of the opposite gender.
The only actual issue a lack of female leads across a multitude of movies and genres points to is equal opportunity and that’s what needs to be addressed, not putting females in lead roles who are not fit to convincingly portray that character just to balance out a ratio which has no impact at all on how good a movie will be.
In regards to the female pilots, I looked it up recently via this article which seems to indicate it being in 1977 for the original Star Wars. I am wondering if they are mistaken though, if you look behind Lando between 0:18 and 0:19 in the below ROTJ video I am sure you can see the same female pilot as is seen in the below image taken from the article:
https://www.cinemablend.com/new/Revealed-Star-Wars-Originally-Had-Female-X-Wing-Pilots-34581.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWXVUJfSvDs
Another reference actually talks about 4 female pilots, with 3 being cut and the below one being dubbed over with a male’s voice (I remember learning about this particular example some time ago myself but had since forgotten about it):
Anyway getting back to strong female characters in Star Wars, I meant to add my own to the thread in my previous reply, which would be Mara Jade from the Heir to the Empire book trilogy by Timothy Zahn. I’ve only read it once so far in the past year but I think she’s a great character that can stand on her own against the biggest characters in the OT.
While the story of that series wasn’t perfect by any means, I think an adaptation could have been absolutely brilliant as it feels infinitely more like Star Wars than the current ST and logically furthered the story of the existing saga up to that point. Even if it wasn’t made into the new ST, I wish the new ST could have been made so that the Heir to the Empire series could easily coexist within the time jump from the OT to the ST.
Val