At this point, The Mandalorian has easily solidified itself as one of the hottest shows on television. In only two seasons, the series has taken the Star Wars franchise to new heights by telling compelling stories and introducing intriguing characters. It’s also managed to earn a number of high-profile award wins and nominations in the process. With such success, it was no surprise that Disney+ put several spinoffs into development, including Rangers of the New Republic. It would now seem that the show could be cancelled, though there is still some good news in the midst of this.
Rangers of the New Republic was originally announced during the company’s presentation at Disney Investor Day in late 2020. Though specific plot details were not explicitly confirmed, it was widely reported that the show would thrust Gina Carano’s Cara Dune into the lead role. Plans for the project likely changed, however, after Carano was dismissed from the studio for a social media post that was deemed “abhorrent and unacceptable.” By May 2021, reports suggested that the project was no longer in active development.
Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy recently provided an update and confirmed that there hadn’t actually been much movement on the Star Wars series. Nevertheless, the producer went on to suggest that those ideas could materialize in another form:
We'd never written any scripts or anything on that. Some of that will figure into future episodes, I'm sure, of the next iteration of Mandalorian.
Though the studio head didn’t explicitly confirm the project’s cancellation, her comments to Empire (via IGN) do seem to indicate that the project is, at the very least, close to being discarded. But if what she says does come to pass, The Mandalorian could still allow those ideas to see the light of day, which is great to hear. It would certainly be different from what fans may have initially imagined, but they could surely work in the context of the parent show.
Over its first two seasons, the acclaimed series has increasingly given hints as to how the New Republic operates. Season 1 featured cameos from a few of the fledgling government’s pilots, played by series directors Deborah Chow and Rick Famuyiwa as well as producer Dave Filoni. Season 2 then took the next step by introducing another pilot in a bigger role and having Cara Dune join up with the organization as a marshal. The latter plot point surely seemed to be teeing off things for the spinoff series.
Rangers of the New Republic’s fate is definitely up in the air at this point but, luckily fans have other Mando-related shows to look forward to. December will mark the release of The Book of Boba Fett, which will continue the adventures of the titular bounty hunter and his right-hand woman, Fennec Shand. Also, viewers will eventually catch up with Jedi Ahsoka Tano in her own self-titled series, which appears to be resolving a major plot point from Star Wars Rebels. So things look good for the Mando timeline and its chances of repurposing Rangers’ story ideas.
The first spinoff of The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, hits Disney+ on December 29, and you can stream the parent series ahead of the premiere.
