Gina Carano’s exit doesn’t mean Cara Dune is gone from ‘Star Wars’

Lucasfilm has reportedly cut ties with “Star Wars” actress Gina Carano, meaning she will no longer appear on “The Mandalorian.” But just because Carano is gone, that doesn’t mean we’ve seen the last of Cara Dune.

On Wednesday, Lucasfilm said Carano had been let go after a recent round of social media posts that commented on Jewish people being attacked in the streets during the Nazi era in Germany.

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“Gina Carano is not currently employed by Lucasfilm and there are no plans for her to be in the future. Nevertheless, her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable.”

So Carano is gone, according to reports from Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, Ars Technica, The Verge, People magazine and other sources. But her character could live on. “The Mandalorian” spent multiple episodes setting up Cara Dune as an important character, linking her to potential spinoffs and projects. So while Carano may be gone from Lucasfilm, her character might live on.

A way to exit ‘The Mandalorian’

Look, it’s totally possible Cara Dune will exit the show. “The Mandalorian” did offer the character a way to exit the show. In the episode titled “The Siege,” New Republic officers showed up to find out what happened at an Imperial base (spoiler: the Mandalorian and Cara Dune helped destroy it). The officers asked Dune if she’d ever considered joining the New Republic, referencing her history as a soldier and her time on Alderaan. She turned down the idea. We learned later in the season that Cara Dune had joined the New Republic and had been given the title of marshal.

Cara Dune didn’t exactly end the season in a great place with the New Republic. She had helped Mayfield (Bill Burr) escape from imprisonment. And she lied about her whereabouts in order to help the Mandalorian fight the Empire remnants in the Season 2 finale. So it’s pretty easy to see how the show could have Cara Dune exit the show, especially since Season 3 will feature a time jump.

That said, we know Disney is planning to release a new show called “Rangers of the New Republic,” which will follow soldiers and rangers of the New Republic. That would, in theory, suggest Cara Dune could be in that show since she had joined the ranks. Recasting the role could be a possibility there. There were reports that Carano was supposed to receive her own series, so it’s not completely out of the possibility that there would be another actress who could fill the role.

Returning through animation

Gina Carano may be gone from the live-action “Star Wars” universe. But that doesn’t mean Cara Dune couldn’t show up in another project. In October, there were rumors of a spinoff animated show with Cara Dune (Gina Carano) and “Rebels” character Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), as I wrote for the Deseret News. Bo-Katan appeared on “The Mandalorian” during Season 2, so that only added fuel to the rumors.

“The thrill of this rumor extends beyond seeing these two warrior-women of ‘Star Wars’ uniting. Gina Carano and Katee Sackhoff are two fan-favorite personalities outside of their respective character-acting work, and seeing them in a project together would definitely turn heads,” ComicBook.com reported at the time.

But the rumors were unclear about whether or not it would be a live-action or animated series. Given Bo-Katan’s history as an animated character, though, it’s totally possible it would lean in that direction.

So we don’t have any official word on this. But Gina Carano’s exit doesn’t mean Cara Dune is gone from “Star Wars.” She could return in the “Rangers of the New Republic” with a new actress in the role — it’s not like “Star Wars” hasn’t recast character before — or in an animated series with someone else voicing the role.