TheQuartering [1/22/2021]
This whole thing stinks. If it was just a “creative” decision, I don’t understand it. If they are trying to remove Gina… that will backfire.
The Mandalorian’s Gina Carano — who plays ex-mercenary and current New Republic Marshal Cara Dune in the hit Star Wars series — has faced a great deal of online controversy over the past several months.
Throughout The Mandalorian Season 2, the actress consistently made the rounds on entertainment news sites due to her divisive Tweets about a variety of social and political issues, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Carano’s followers fall on both sides of these topics, with opposing hashtags — #WeLoveCaraDune, #IStandWithCaraDune, and #FireGinaCarano — trending at various points. #FireGinaCarano most recently again earlier this week following a Lucasfilm post that paid tribute to those who have lost their lives due to the coronavirus.
Carano — who has received support from Mandalorian co-stars like leading man Pedro Pascal (title bounty hunter Din Djarin), Katee Sackhoff (Bo-Katan Kryze), and Ming-Na Wen (Fennec Shand) — has long been expected to receive her own spinoff series, likely in the form of the Rangers of the New Republic series that Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy confirmed during the Disney Investor Day 2020 event.
There have, however, been unconfirmed reports that Carano’s Cara Dune will only be featured in the series if she issues an apology. Now, a video has begun making the rounds online that supports the theory that Lucasfulm is distancing itself from Carano.
In a video posted yesterday [below], YouTube channel Itchy Bacca asserts that Lucasfilm artist Mark Raats was asked to remove Carano from official Mandalorian artwork and replace her with fan-favorite Star Wars Rebels and Star Wars: The Clone Wars character, Ahsoka Tano (voiced by Ashley Eckstein/played in live-action by Rosario Dawson), who made her debut in Season 2, Episode 5 (“Chapter 13: The Jedi”).
Dawson is set to receive her own spinoff show, titled simply Ahsoka.