Gina Carano’s Character Is Left Out Of The Newest 'The Mandalorian’ Artwork

Gina Carano - the actress behind ex-rebel shock trooper Cara Dune in the smash-hit Star Wars TV series The Mandalorian - has never been shy from voicing her opinions over socio-political issues online. While fans are divided on their support toward her, things took a further turn when a recently released piece of official artwork for the series did not feature the major character.

Lucasfilm artist Mark Raats posted the official artwork on Twitter December 21st last year, with the post reading:

The stunning "light vs dark" style of the artwork featured fan favorites of the series, with Nevarro's magistrate Greef Karga and (former?) Jedi Ahsoka Tano being the two "representatives" for the light side apart from Din Djarin and Grogu, who expectedly took the spotlight as protagonists. Fans have, however, quickly noticed the absence of Cara Dune, who had more screen time and appearances than Ahsoka (whose only appearance was in the series' "Chapter 13: The Jedi") and arguably played a more important role to the series' plot development across the two seasons. The questionable character lineup in the official artwork was therefore seen by many as an indication of Cara Dune being excluded intentionally, leading to speculations that the artistic decision was linked with the social media controversy surrounding Carano for the past couple of months.

Carano has long been the focal point of debate within the Star Wars fan base due to her frequent Tweets expressing apparently rightist opinions on a range of social and political issues, including mask-wearing policies amid the COVID-19 pandemic, alleged voter fraud in the US Presidential elections, and transgenderism. In mid-November 2020, Carano also announced her presence on Parler, a new social media app funded in part by right-wing investor Rebekah Mercer and notably popular among conservatists such as Senator Ted Cruz and members of the Trump family. Carano was also criticized of being silent during the Black Lives Matter movement earlier in the year. More recently, calls for Carano to be fired resurfaced in the comments section of Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Chapek's statement condemning the capitol riots.

Fans of the series have been virtually divided into two camps on this topic, with hashtags #WeLoveCaraDune, #IStandWithCaraDune, and #FireGinaCarano trending frequently on social media platforms. Carano's The Mandalorian co-stars Pedro Pascal, Ming-Na Wen, and Katee Sackhoff have, on the other hand, voiced their support for the actress under fire.

While the newly announced Rangers of the New Republic series (confirmed at the Disney Investor Day 2020 event) will likely be Carano's own spinoff series following season 2 of The Mandalorian (similar to how Rosario Dawson is set to receive her own spinoff show Ahsoka), there have been rumors that her appearance in the show would be conditional upon her issuing an apology in response to the controversies sparked by her online comments. A YouTube content creator has also speculated that Lucasfilm has been gradually distancing itself from the actress.

Harsh response to backlash is not unprecedented in Disney - the voice actor role of Leia Organa in the animated Star Wars Resistance series underwent a change in personnel in 2018, after Rachel Butera was recast for mocking Dr. Christine Blasey Ford in the Brett Kavanaugh hearings on social media.

Producers of The Mandalorian Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni have not commented on Carano's future place in the series, while executives from Lucasfilm and Disney have remained silent on the issue and the discussion surrounding the official artwork as of now.

Written By Geoff Lo

Source(s): Inside The Magic, IndieWire

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