‘Star Wars Episode VII’ now has more female speaking roles than the entire original trilogy

As filming on "Star Wars Episode VII" continues, so too does the casting process. This week, the J.J. Abrams-directed sequel added British actress Christina Chong (“24: Live Another Day”), bringing number of women with speaking roles in the new film to a grand total of six. She joins Oscar winner Lupita Nygong'o, (“12 Years a Slave”), “Game of Thrones” star Gwendoline Christie, newcomer Daisy Ridley, Crystal Clarke -- and, of course, Carrie Fisher.

Now, six actresses may not seem like a lot (especially when compared to the 13 men who’ve been officially cast in “Episode VII”), but it’s important to realize that the number of women with speaking roles in “Episode VII” is now more than the whole original trilogy combined.

Go ahead: Try to name a female character from the original “Star Wars” trilogy other than Princess Leia. It’s pretty difficult, isn’t it?

If you’re a real “Star Wars” geek, you’d probably mention Luke Skywalker’s Aunt Beru from “A New Hope” or rebel leader Mon Mothma from “Return of the Jedi” -- but neither of those roles is very big. The two characters each only had about five lines of dialogue total, but that still makes them the most sizable female roles in the entire trilogy of films aside from Leia.

The only other female characters with lines are an unnamed rebel officer in “The Empire Strikes Back” (she has one line) and Jabba the Hutt’s alien slave girl Oola (who is devoured by the giant Rancor after uttering about two lines). Is it any wonder why casual fans without an encyclopedic knowledge of a galaxy far, far away might have some difficulty naming a female “Star Wars” characters? They basically don’t exist!

By comparison, six speaking roles for women in "Episode VII" is major progress. Abrams and company took some major flack from “the Internet” back in April when the first round of “Star Wars” sequel casting was announced. Newcomer Daisy Ridley was the only actress other than Carrie Fisher on the roster. Abrams quickly shot back, pointing out that casting was far from over, and since then, the production has added Nyong’o, Christie, Clarke, and now Chong.

As late additions to the production, Clarke and Chong’s roles are likely to be fairly minor, but given what we know about “Episode VII” so far, the rest are almost certain to play important roles in the new trilogy of films.