- "The Mandalorian" executive producers addressed the future of Gina Carano's character, Cara Dune.
- Carano was fired in 2021 after comparing people with unpopular political views to Holocaust victims.
"The Mandalorian" season three premiere appeared to explain Cara Dune's absence after actor Gina Carano was fired by Disney.
Carano played a recurring character in the first two seasons of the hit "Star Wars" show. However, in 2021, Carano was fired following a social media post she made that appeared to compare the treatment of modern-day Republicans to the treatment of Jews during the Holocaust.
Disney-owned Lucasfilm told The Hollywood Reporter via a statement at the time: "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."
In the season three premiere, Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) returned to the planet Nevarro, which Cara, Carano's character, was helping to restore in season two. However, after being given the role of marshal for the New Republic, it seems she has gone off into the galaxy for other adventures.
Greef Karga (Carl Weathers), the High Magistrate of Nevarro, explained: "After she brought in Moff Gideon, she was recruited by Special Forces."
In a new interview with Deadline, "Mandalorian" executive producers Dave Filoni and Rick Famuyiwa also addressed Dune's absence in season three.
"Cara was a big part and continues as a character to be part of the world. It had to be addressed in the creative and [Jon Favreau] took the time to think about that," Famuyiwa said.
"It was something that was discussed as we knew it was going to have impact on the show, but at the same time, what has been at the heart of the show are the two characters — Din Djarin and Grogu — so ultimately it felt like a servicing of that, and around the Mandalorians."
Filoni added that the upcoming season will focus on the lead character Din Djarin and the people of Mandalore. The trailers indicate that the titular character is on a mission to get to Mandalore, likely to restore his honor after being exiled from his tribe.
"Now season three is mainly dealing with Mandalorians and the Mandalorian saga, the Mandalorian tale. [There's] different characters he's met since Bo-Katan [who] take a lot more prominence, which makes sense where his arc is going, the story of him and Grogu specifically," Filoni said. "The Mandalorian in the title is the story about the Mandalorian and his people."
Filoni added: "It's a big galaxy and we have many characters in it — many characters are fighting for their screen time. We'll just have to see as the season unfolds what the adventures are, but it's a great character, someone who was vital to Din Djarin's beginnings; we'll see if he has evolved beyond that."
"The Mandalorian" season three premieres today on Disney+.