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How will Gina Carano’s departure affect ‘The Mandalorian’ season 3?
After the Cara Dune actress was forced out of the show, here’s how the show will continue despite her absence.
With season 3 of Disney+’s hit show ‘The Mandalorian’ coming out March 1, Gina Carano’s absence will be notable, with her character Cara Dune often teaming up with the eponymous Mandalorian Din Djarin to help him protect Grogu.
‘The Mandalorian’ showrunners have recently come out to explain how they will portray fan favorite Cara Dune now that Carano is out of the picture, and how much of a remaining role she will play in the highly anticipated third season.
Why was Gina Carano fired from the show?
In February 2021, Carano made a controversial tweet which led to fans calling for the actress to be fired from ‘The Mandalorian’. Disney quickly followed suit, and Carano was ousted from the cast.
“Carano is not currently employed by Lucasfilm and there are no plans for her to be in the future,” Lucasfilm said in a statement to Variety.
“Nevertheless, her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable.”
At the same time, Lucasfilm confirmed that UTA, Carano’s agency, had also dropped her from their roster. Hasbro also immediately halted production on a then-upcoming action figure of Carano’s character, Cara Dune, that was based on her likeness.
The Cara Dune spinoff series, ‘The Rangers of the New Republic’ was also canceled as a result of Carano’s firing, with elements of the story being incorporated instead into ‘The Book of Boba Fett’.
Will Cara Dune be in Season 3?
“Cara was a big part and continues as a character to be part of the world. It had to be addressed in the creative and [Jon Favreau] took the time to think about that,” said executive producer Rick Famuyiwa in an interview with Deadline.
“It was something that was discussed as we knew it was going to have impact on the show, but at the same time, what has been at the heart of the show are the two characters — Din Djarin and Grogu — so ultimately it felt like a servicing of that, and around the Mandalorians,” Famuyiwa added.
Screenwriter and executive producer Dave Filoni said that Cara Dune was “a great character, someone who was vital to Din Djarin’s beginnings; we’ll see if he has evolved beyond that.”
“Now Season 3 is mainly dealing with Mandalorians and the Mandalorian saga, the Mandalorian tale,” before adding: “(There’s) different characters he’s met since Bo-Katan (who) take a lot more prominence, which makes sense where his arc is going, the story of him and Grogu specifically.”
With the focus on the Mandalorians and Grogu, it appears that Cara Dune will no longer have a place in ‘The Mandalorian’.