Katee Sackhoff Speaks Out On Being Replaced

The Mandalorian’s Bo-Katan, Katee Sackhoff, has spoken out about her future potential replacement in the Star Wars universe.

Related: 7 Reasons Why Bo-Katan Needs Her Own Live-Action ‘Star Wars’ Series

The star has played Bo-Katan Kryze across Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, and now The Mandalorian. Her performance as the strong-willed Mandalorian warrior and the one-time regent is irreplaceable, with Sackhoff lending her trademark combination of stoicism and warmth to the role from the very start.

But it’s that irreplaceable nature which has her and other performers worried. With the advent of Artificial Intelligence, the possibility that performers may no longer need to be directly involved in their own performances is one causing no small debate in Hollywood and beyond.

Only last month did actor and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) star Michael Douglas speak on his fears about his appearance being used after his death to The Guardian.

It’s an issue that has a very recent precedent in the Star Wars universe itself. It was only in last year’s Kenobi that iconic Star Wars actor James Earl Jones gave permission for his performance as Darth Vader to be captured and recreated using the power of AI. It’s something fans will appreciate, with continuity across the vocal delivery and, in Jones’ case, it is easy to recreate Vader’s looks due to his fully costumed appearance.

For Sackhoff, physical recreation may be a little more difficult. But if the character was to appear in animation or with only her helmet on in future performances, it’s possible her voice could be recreated by AI and used in lieu of her actual appearance.

Comicbook’s Chris Killian put the question to her in a video interview ahead of her appearance at Megacon Orlando about how she felt about her performance living on without her.

She said:

“I mean, if my family reaps the benefit of that? Yeah, of course. I think we’re into a really, really tricky place with AI. It’s scary to me in some regard and others, you know, for a fandom to continue to have new content after someone is gone is pretty amazing.

“But I do believe that the original artist should always be financially, paid for their work and to sit there and say that they’re not working anymore is, that’s fine but you don’t see people out there copying Picassos and being like, you know, it’s fine. Someone’s getting paid for that. There’s a trust somewhere.”

This a nuanced response from Sackhoff, who acknowledges the practicalities of being able to continue an iconic performance while also noting that there needs to be some precedent for ensuring families or estates are shown some compensation for the act.

Related: ‘Star Wars: Rebels’ Character Makes Surprising Live-Action Debut In ‘The Mandalorian’ Season 3

There doesn’t seem to be much risk of Sackhoff being replaced any time soon, though, with the actor currently appearing as a mainstay on the current season of The Mandalorian. There’s no doubt that the real Bo-Katan Katee Sackhoff will continue to play a vital role in the show as the story unfolds, especially given the rising tensions around who can save and rule Mandalore, with Bo-Katan at the head of that race.

How do you feel about actors being replaced by AI? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!