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The Mandalorian is going to look a bit different when it eventually returns for its third season, as the show will be without one of its primary characters, Cara Dune. This, of course, stems from the firing of actress Gina Carano, who was let go from Lucasfilm due to “abhorrent and unacceptable” social media posts. Though the company confirmed it has no plans to recast her role, fans subsequently called for Lucy Lawless to replace Carano. While such love from the public would seemingly be a good thing, Lawless believes the fan demands may have cost her another opportunity
The Xena: Warrior Princess alum recently revealed that she had actually been in talks for a different Star Wars project when the Cara Dune fancasts began to surface. The calls for her casting were strong at the time, with many even posting artwork of her as the New Republic officer. Lucy Lawless, who’s not completely certain of Lucasfilm’s reasons for not hiring her, has reasoned that the company likely didn’t want to cater to a certain portion of its fanbase:
Well to be honest with you, I was already in discussions about something on – it wasn’t The Mandalorian – something Star Wars-affiliated. It might have hurt me in some way, because then they couldn’t hire me because it would seem to be pandering to… I’m just guessing here, I don’t know anything, but in some ways, it can be unhelpful, because if they pander to this fan group, then how are you going to pander to every other fan group, do you know what I mean?
Ahead of her firing, Gina Carano, who has a large following on social media, received backlash for several posts at different points in 2020. At one time, she came under fire for tweeting anti-mask and social distancing sentiments amid the COVID-19 pandemic. She was also called out last November for sharing voter fraud theories following the U.S. presidential election. The post that ultimately led to her ousting at Lucasfilm was a TikTok post in which she compared the current political climate to Nazi-era Germany.
Lucy Lawless further stated to Metro.co.uk that she herself became “political” even though she was not directly involved with Gina Carano’s firing. Still, she feels that the initial calls for her casting came from a positive place:
But that’s the way the world is and they meant it out of love, and I thank the fans for their fealty to me. I haven’t thought about that since, so it hasn’t given me any pain, but that was my thought at the time, like, ooh, this makes me look like a political appointment, and not an actress.
It’s hard to deny that Lucy Lawless would’ve been a prime fit for the franchise, and one can’t help but wonder what role she was being considered for. With the large slate of Star Wars TV shows on the horizon, it wouldn’t be hard to believe that she was in the running for a role in a project like Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka. New series like that one are slated to eventually hit Disney+, which you can sign up for using this link.
Lucasfilm has yet to give any concrete details on The Mandalorian Season 3 though, with production reportedly starting up soon, news could drop in the near future. There are plenty of questions that need to be answered, yet I’m sure viewers will be most eager to learn what becomes of Gina Carano’s Cara Dune.
