Posted in: Disney+, Star Wars, streaming, TV | Tagged: gina carano, lucy lawless, mandalorian, star wars

The Mandalorian: Lucy Lawless Fan Push May Have Hurt More Than Helped

Published Thu, 30 Sep 2021 11:57:10 -0500

Last updated Fri, 18 Mar 2022 17:29:41 -0500

By now, you pretty much know the story behind Gina Carano being ousted from Disney Plus' The Mandalorian (though we have a brief recap below) over some controversial social media posts and other matters. When news of Carano's firing hit social media, one of the most prominent names to top fans' lists of who should replace her was geek pop culture Hall-of-Famer Lucy Lawless (Xena: Warrior Princess, Battlestar Galactica). Speaking recently with Metro.co.uk in support of My Life Is Murder, Lawless explained how the push for her to take over the role may have impacted her chances at joining the "Star Wars" universe- and not in a good way.

"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," she explained. As Lawless sees it, she was brought into the middle of a political firestorm that she had nothing to do with, adding, "I became political and I had nothing to do with the discussion." But Lawless harbors no ill wills, understanding that it was meant to be positive moves by the fans. "That's the way the world is and they meant it out of love, and I thank the fans for their fealty to me," she said. "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'."

Back in May, an article in Variety noted Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy's update on Rangers of the New Republic: "not currently in active development." Now while "not currently in active development" doesn't mean the project is dead especially since the narrative direction of the series was never officially confirmed. Speculation when the series was first announced was that Carano's Cara Dune would lead the series considering the character's new role as Marshall of the New Republic in Season 2 laid the groundwork for there to be something more.

Of course, that all changed when Carano was booted from Lucasfilm and Disney+'s "Star Wars" spinoff series after months of controversial social media posts continued enflaming the "Star Wars" universe- culminating in an Instagram Stories post where Carano supported the idea of comparing the "persecution" that she believes conservatives endure with Jewish people in Nazi Germany. Here's a look back at the image Carano posted that was apparently the final straw for the streaming service- one of the expressions of free thought Carano stated she wouldn't back down on if she was going to "stay true" to herself before taking it down (we made out thoughts know on all of this here, here, here, here, and here). Fans online have offered Timothy Olyphant's Cobb Vanth and Katee Sackhoff's Bo-Katan Kryze as possible new leads, though nothing official from Lucasfilm or the streaming service has been released regarding the spinoff series' current status beyond the news in the Variety article.

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