50 in 50: The Phantom Menace 3D Character Countdown: Day 49: Ellberger (Bravo 5)

Today's Star Wars: TPM 3D 50 in 50 we take a look at a unique pilot.

In Star Wars: A New Hope we had old pilots, young pilots, thin pilots and fat pilots.  But the pilots had a couple things in common, they were all human and they were all male.

Fast forward to The Phantom Menace and we had some ladies at the yoke.  I always thought it was neat to see older pilots in the Naboo fighters then you would imagine in the cockpit.  As Wedge explains in the Expanded Universe, fighter piloting is really a job for the young.

Ellberger went by the call sign of "Bravo 5" and was part of the Naboo N-1 Starfighter assault on the Droid Control Ship.  It is interesting to note that the actress that portrayed Ellberger (Celia Imrie) also auditioned to play Shmi Skywalker.

Of course all this was before we had the Star Wars Blu-ray collection and the incredibly entertaining special features.

On Bonus Disc Two there is a collection of deleted scenes entitled, "Battle of Endor: The Lost Rebels."  The highlight of the entire package is an elderly female A-Wing pilot, lovingly referred to as Granny A-Wing by fans.

I love Granny A-Wing and I like to think that Granny is actually an elderly Ellberger still kicking butt. If it is, then at least we know she aged better then Obi-Wan and Anakin.

For more info on Ellberger and her career exploits visit her Wookieepedia page.