Latest 'Mandalorian' Artwork Excludes Gina Carano’s Character

The Mandalorian’s Gina Carano — who plays ex-mercenary and current New Republic Marshal Cara Dune in the hit Star Wars series — has faced a great deal of online controversy over the past several months.

Related: Gina Carano Speaks Out About “Smear Campaign” Against Her

Throughout The Mandalorian Season 2, the actress consistently made the rounds on entertainment news sites due to her divisive Tweets about a variety of social and political issues, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Carano’s followers fall on both sides of these topics, with opposing hashtags — #WeLoveCaraDune, #IStandWithCaraDune, and #FireGinaCarano — trending at various points. #FireGinaCarano most recently again earlier this week following a Lucasfilm post that paid tribute to those who have lost their lives due to the coronavirus.

Carano — who has received support from Mandalorian co-stars like leading man Pedro Pascal (title bounty hunter Din Djarin), Katee Sackhoff (Bo-Katan Kryze), and Ming-Na Wen (Fennec Shand) — has long been expected to receive her own spinoff series, likely in the form of the Rangers of the New Republic series that Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy confirmed during the Disney Investor Day 2020 event.

Related: Jon Favreau Reportedly Stops Disney From Firing ‘Mandalorian’ Star Gina Carano

There have, however, been unconfirmed reports that Carano’s Cara Dune will only be featured in the series if she issues an apology. Now, a video has begun making the rounds online that supports the theory that Lucasfulm is distancing itself from Carano.

In a video posted yesterday [below], YouTube channel Itchy Bacca asserts that Lucasfilm artist Mark Raats was asked to remove Carano from official Mandalorian artwork and replace her with fan-favorite Star Wars Rebels and Star Wars: The Clone Wars character, Ahsoka Tano (voiced by Ashley Eckstein/played in live-action by Rosario Dawson), who made her debut in Season 2, Episode 5 (“Chapter 13: The Jedi”).

Dawson is set to receive her own spinoff show, titled simply Ahsoka.

Related: ‘Mandalorian’ Spinoff Could Potentially Erase ‘Star Wars’ Sequels

Fans have now discovered the Star Wars artwork in question on Raat’s official Twitter profile and Twitter users are beginning to question why Tano is featured in the artwork and why exactly Dune was seemingly removed.

The original post, from December, reads:

Its been my great privilege to have once again been asked by Disney and Lucasfilm to create art for Mandalorian. Thank you very much to @DisneyAUNZ and @Lucasfilm for the fun ride. 

Its been my great privilege to have once again been asked by Disney and Lucasfilm to create art for Mandalorian

Thank you very much to @DisneyAUNZ and @Lucasfilm for the fun ride. #starwars #themandalorian #lucasfilm #disneyaunz #originalart #jonfavreau #davefeloni #grogu pic.twitter.com/0Sj47HfnGc

— Mark Raats (@mark_raats) December 21, 2020

Yesterday, a Twitter user named Lee commented with his opinion:

Strange that you got rid of Cara…Seems obvious Disney-Lucasfilm & your weird story group has got it in for Gina. If Cara’s going, there’s not much sticking around for.

Strange that you got rid of Cara… Seems obvious Disney-Lucasfilm & your weird story group has got it in for Gina. If Cara's going, there's not much worth sticking around for.

— Lee (@Donald_TrumpUK) January 22, 2021

Evelyn said:

Beautiful work! However, how come no Cara? Did LF specifically ask that you exclude Cara in the art?

Beautiful work! However, how come no Cara? Did LF specifically ask that you exclude Cara in the art?

— Evelyn (@lady_blackfish) January 21, 2021

Sophie simply wrote:

Please don’t remove Cara!

Please don’t remove Cara!

— Sophie (@Laughandsing3) January 22, 2021

Another commenter shared these thoughts:

Excellent piece burn where’s Cara Dune? Love Ashoka but Cara was pivotal in both seasons? And the magistrate was one of the weaker characters IMO. Couldn’t you have picked another villain if you needed balance? Odd comp choices.

Excellent piece burn where’s Cara Dune? Love Ashoka but Cara was pivotal in both seasons?
And the magistrate was one of the weaker characters IMO. Couldn’t you have picked another villain if you needed balance? Odd comp choices.

— Rian Johnson’s sun hat (@_BlackBinLiner) January 22, 2021

Related: Gina Carano Is “In Love” With ‘Star Wars,’ Won’t Be Silenced

At this time, neither Lucasfilm nor Disney executives have commented on this specific piece of artwork or on the former women’s MMA fighter’s future with The Mandalorian.

Showrunner Jon Favreau and executive producer Dave Filoni have also remained mum on Carano’s place in The Mandalorian saga moving forward.

What are your thoughts on this situation?