Controversial 'Mandalorian' Actress Reportedly Returning to 'Star Wars' - Inside the Magic

The Mandalorian Season 2 garnered more than its fair share of online drama, not due to anything plot-related, but as a direct result of Cara Dune actress Gina Carano’s controversial Tweets regarding her social and political opinions.

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Ultimately — despite support from many fans who made hashtags like #WeLoveCaraDune and #IStandWithGinaCarano trend — the #FireGinaCarano camp won out and the actress lost her job in the Star Wars franchise in February 2021.

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Not long after this occurred — and Lucasfilm confirmed that Carano’s spinoff series, Rangers of the New Republic, was “no longer in active development” — another Mandalorian actress, WWE Superstar Sasha Banks, real name Mercedes Varnado, became controversial for a similar reason.

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Banks liked a social media post relating to anti-vaccination sentiments, causing some to believe that she herself was against the COVID-19 vaccine, although the actress — unlike former Muy Thai and MMA fighter Carano — has not specifically spoken out regarding her stance.

Now, it seems that Banks may be teasing her return to The Mandalorian saga in The Book of Boba Fett, which is set to debut on Disney+ on December 29, 2021.

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Yesterday, on the heels of the Book of Boba Fett premiere announcement, Banks shared a post [above] about the upcoming “next chapter” in The Mandalorian universe on her official social media.

This has led to much fan speculation that Banks will show up in the project, possibly alongside Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) and fellow Nite Owl warrior Axe Woves (Simon Kassianides).

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When we last saw Banks’s Koska Reeves, she was onboard Moff Gideon’s (Giancarlo Esposito) Imperial cruiser alongside Kryze, Dune, bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), and Boba Fett’s right-hand woman Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen) on a rescue mission to save Grogu (AKA “Baby Yoda”) from Gideon and his deadly Dark Trooper droids.

The character fought bravely until Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker (CGI Mark Hamill) made his epic return to the Star Wars story, saving the day and taking Grogu as his Padawan in a bittersweet moment.

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Keep in mind that nothing about Banks’s return as Koska Reeves has been confirmed by Disney or Lucasfilm at this time, but it seems likely that Mandalorian characters — perhaps even including leading man Djarin and Marshal Cobb Vanth (Timothy Olyphant) — will return in the series.

Few details are known about The Book of Boba Fett, except that it will likely follow Fett’s quest for vengeance against those who have wronged him now that he presumably rules the Tatooine underworld from Jabba the Hutt’s palace.

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The series was officially confirmed during the Mandalorian Season 2 finale episode’s surprise post credits scene that saw Fett (Temuera Morrison) and Shand storm Jabba’s palace and take his throne after killing Bib Fortuna (Michael Carter).

Do you think we’re about to see more of Koska Reeves and the Mandalorian Nite Owls?