Wedge Antilles

Wedge Antilles was a Human  male Rebel pilot that served the Alliance to Restore the Republic during the Galactic Civil War.

One of Antilles' first major engagements was the Battle of Yavin. Although he was initially doubtful that the Rebellion's plan to destroy the Death Star could be successful, he played a significant part in the Rebel victory. Flying as Red Two, he saved the life of Luke Skywalker by destroying a TIE fighter that was chasing Skywalker's X-wing, and was one of the three pilots in the last attack run on the battle station, although damage to X-wing forced him to disengage. Antilles proved to be one of only two survivors of Red Squadron.

During the Battle of Hoth, Antilles was a member of the snowspeeder unit Rogue Group, which was led by Skywalker. Along with his gunner, Janson, Antilles took down an Imperial AT-AT walker by tying its legs with a tow cable.

Antilles served as Red Leader during the Battle of Endor. After taking out multiple Imperial fighters early in the battle, he was one of several Rebel pilots to fly into the Death Star II. He destroyed the station's power regulator while the Millennium Falcon, piloted by Lando Calrissian, destroyed the main reactor. Both Antilles and the Falcon managed to narrowly escape before the station exploded.

Behind the scenes
Wedge Antilles was created as a supporting character in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, but first appeared in the Star Wars novelization, which was released in 1976, before the film's 1977 premiere. Though the film did not give his full name, crediting the character only as "Red Two (Wedge)" and only using his first name, the script established his last name as Antilles, and it was included in the novel. The character evolved from an early concept involving a hotshot young pilot by the name of Chewie, but when that nickname was assigned to the character of Chewbacca in the fourth draft, the pilot character became Wedge. The Antilles name originated with a separate character named Bail Antilles in early drafts, before it became the Chewie character's surname.

In the film, Antilles was played by two actors: Colin Higgins and Denis Lawson, but both British actors were dubbed with the voice of American David Ankrum. Higgins portrayed Antilles during the Death Star briefing scene, but Lawson played the character in the battle scenes and was the actor credited in the role. Higgins, used to television acting practices, had not memorized his lines, of which the Antilles character originally had several, closely and grew increasingly nervous and dispirited as he struggled during shooting. After one day of shooting, he was fired. Lawson, who had originally been passed for the role in favor of Higgins, was brought in. Fan confusion over Higgins's uncredited turn as the so-called "Fake Wedge," with many thinking Jack Klaff had been the mystery man playing Antilles, was only resolved in 2005 when Pablo Hidalgo researched the original production reports and confirmed that Higgins had been "Fake Wedge."

Lawson went on to portray Antilles in 1980s sequels Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Lawson was initially surprised to be called back for The Empire Strikes Back, as he had been under the impression that Antilles had died in A New Hope. Lawson was asked to reprise the role for Star Wars Episode VII, but declined, stating that it would have "bored" him.

Preliminary drafts of Return of the Jedi featured an early scene in which Antilles, flying a TIE after infiltrating an Imperial formation near the Executor, lost control of his craft and required rescue by Leia Organa, who had also infiltrated the fleet.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
 * Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi