One of the Disney+ Star Wars series Lucasfilm announced in December 2020 is no longer in development, possibly because of Gina Carano‘s rumored involvement. In a report on the latest executive moves by Lucasfilm, Variety confirmed that Rangers of the New Republic is no longer in “active development.” Carano played Cara Dune in the first two seasons of The Mandalorian, but Lucasfilm said it would no longer work with her in February 2021 due to her hateful social media posts.
Earlier this week, Star Wars fans became excited when the Star Wars website updated executive producer Dave Filoni’s title to Lucasfilm’s “executive creative director.” Variety confirmed that Filoni, who has been working on Star Wars shows since The Clone Wars launched in 2008, has held the role since last summer. In the report, Variety noted that Filoni and The Mandalorian executive producer Jon Favreau are executive producers on other series in the works for Disney+, including The Book of Boba Fett and Ahsoka. The outlet noted that the third spinoff announced in December, Rangers of the New Republic, is “not currently in active development.”
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This could mean that it is not in development now, or it could mean the idea is completely scrapped. Not much was known about Rangers of the New Republic, but it was widely thought that Cara Dune would star. In The Mandalorian Season 2, it was revealed that Cara took up a job as a New Republic marshal. Notably, Carano was not mentioned during the Dec. 10 Disney event when Rangers was announced, and no casting or plot synopsis was revealed at the time. “She was originally in that presentation when they announced all those things, and they pulled her off of it,” a source told The Hollywood Reporter after Carano was let go.
Carano published and liked several offensive posts on social media that led to #FireGinaCerano to trend on Twitter. In February, she shared a post comparing being a Republican to being Jewish during the Holocaust. Afterward, Lucasfilm announced Cerano was done with the studio. “Gina Carano is not currently employed by Lucasfilm and there are no plans for her to be in the future,” a Lucasfilm spokesperson said in February. “Nevertheless, her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable.”
Cara Dune was reportedly not going to be part of the next live-action Disney+ Star Wars series, The Book of Boba Fett. Although a Lucasfilm source told THR it is unlikely the role will be recast, the outlet suggested it could happen “down the road” for the story and merchandising reasons. Meanwhile, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, an animated follow-up to The Clone Wars, is now airing on Disney+ Fridays.
