Lucy Lawless Speaks About Replacing Gina Carano In Star Wars
Lucy Lawless has addressed her replacing Gina Carano in Star Wars.
This article is more than 2 years old
Former The Mandalorian actress Gina Carano was ousted from the show after she posted grossly insensitive and revoltingly inappropriate remarks on social media relating to her feelings of being a Republican in the United States at present. Lucasfilm’s decision to remove her from the show meant that they would be looking to replace her character, Cara Dune, with another actress. Fans of the show took it as an opportunity to vocalize their belief that Lucy Lawless (Xena Warrior Princess) would be perfect for the role. In a recent interview with Metro UK, Lucy Lawless candidly expressed how she felt about what fans have been asking for.
When asked how she felt about the fan outcry calling for her to be cast as Cara, Lucy Lawless revealed that at that time she was in talks to be in another undisclosed Star Wars project and that unfortunately the extent to which fans were communicating their desire for her to play Cara Dune in The Mandalorian effectively hurt her chances to be apart of either Star Wars show.
“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?”
Lucy Lawless
Lucy Lawless communicated that ultimately casting executives felt that they couldn’t give her either job because it would look as though they were giving into what fans wanted and in doing so that would set a precedent that fans have the power to choose what actors get to play which roles. Additionally, Metro Entertainment highlighted that Lucy Lawless said that because of the nature of why Gina Carano was removed from the show it made her, “…look like a political appointment and not an actress.”
However, even though Lucy Lawless seemingly lost out on two different Star Wars roles the actress did say that she was flattered that fans thought that she would be a perfect fit and that she knows that their requests for her to portray Cara Dune came from a well-intentioned place. She emphasized that she was very appreciative of their passionate resolve.
It looks as though Lucy Lawless won’t be cast in The Mandalorian, or any other Star Wars project for that matter, anytime soon. However, fans of Xena: Warrior Princess can likely look forward to a reboot of the beloved show in the future. Lawless recently sat down with Comic Book and confirmed that she is confident that a new Xena is coming. Exact details of when the reboot will happen still have yet to be determined, however in the meantime fans can look forward to hearing her perform in an upcoming Despicable Me sequel called Minions: The Rise of Gru set to release on July 1, 2022, where she voices the role the Nunchuk.
At present, even though we know that Lucy Lawless has definitively not been cast as Cara Dune, it is still unclear as to exactly who will take up the mantle. The uncertainty has even led some to speculate that Disney would actually consider hiring back Gina Carano for the upcoming fourth season of The Mandalorian. However, due to the nature of the actions that resulted in her being removed from the show in the first place, it is exceedingly unlikely that Disney would ever consider working with the actress again.
