Exclusive: Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s Star Wars Character Replacing Gina Carano’s Cara Dune
In the latest Giant Freakin Robot exclusive, we have it that Mary Elizabeth Winstead will effectively be replacing Gina Carano in Star Wars
Update August 2023: Mary Elizabeth Winstead did not act as a replacement for Gina Carano in The Mandalorian timeline but instead was cast as Hera Syndulla in Ahsoka.
Ever since Gina Carano’s ouster from the Star Wars franchise, and The Mandalorian specifically, fans have been wondering how or if the studio would seek to replace her in the story. Sure, it wasn’t likely that we would get a 1:1 recasting of Cara Dune, but a strong female presence, a fighter of some sort was a critical piece of that story. There was definitely a void left when Carano was forced to leave. Now, we might have an idea of what the Star Wars folks are thinking along these lines. The latest Giant Freakin Robot exclusive from our trusted and proven source has it that Mary Elizabeth Winstead is being tapped as a pseudo-replacement for Carano in the MandoVerse.
While it isn’t clear how exactly Mary Elizabeth Winstead will replace Gina Carano in this sense, it is sure looking like her character’s story will eventually dovetail or at least intersect with Mando’s either this season or next. Winstead’s Star Wars character isn’t known at this point and is being kept strictly under wraps by the studio. But we are first set to meet her in the events of Ahsoka, the series coming around Rosario Dawson’s Jedi character who was first introduced in a live-action setting during The Mandalorian’s second season.
With this news that the studio is eyeing Mary Elizabeth Winstead to effectively replace Gina Carano in the Star Wars universe, I think we can make a fair assumption that she isn’t going to be a Jedi of any sort, but rather some bad-ass type who brings the fight to her doorstep when necessary. This was one of the things that made Gina Carano’s Cara Dune such a fan favorite: her clear comfort with throwing down and holding her own in a fight was a welcome breath of fresh air for the franchise. While it’s unlikely that Mary Elizabeth Winstead is a 1:1 replacement in this sense, it looks like the idea is to have her operate along the same archetypal lines. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.
And it’s clear that Mary Elizabeth Winstead can hold her own in this kind of production, having taken part in a number of different movies that showcase the sleek confidence and ability to dial-up intense action scenes. Netflix’s Kate was basically 106 straight minutes of this with her titular assassin character on one last revenge tour through Japan. It was a frenetically-paced, almost visceral flick that Winstead completely carried. And she also played The Huntress in Birds of Prey for DC. After starting her career getting taken hostage in 10 Cloverfield Lane years ago, the actress has shown quite the range since.
It is sure looking like Mary Elizabeth Winstead is set to become a much bigger part of the Star Wars franchise of series on Disney+ that started with The Mandalorian. Because she’s now interwoven into multiple storylines, there’s a chance we see her for years to come. And with the news that an Ahsoka movie is in the works as well, we might have a chance to see her on the big screen playing this new character.
