Everything We’ve Figured Out About Star Wars’ Canceled Mandalorian Spinoff

Star Wars’ canceled Mandalorian spinoff, Rangers of the New Republic, would have changed the structure of the so-called “Mandoverse” completely. After The Mandalorian season 2, Lucasfilm announced it was working on developing a Mandalorian spinoff show called Rangers of the New Republic, which would further explore the New Republic’s wider galactic issues and how it was dealing with the Empire’s lasting legacy.

Unfortunately, the Rangers of the New Republic show was canceled soon after. Since then, some of the storylines we believe would have been included in Rangers of the New Republic have been introduced – some might even say forced – into other Mandalorian-related projects, including The Mandalorian itself and Ahsoka. Given what we know about the show, there’s a chance its cancelation will affect Star Wars’ upcoming film, The Mandalorian and Grogu, as well.

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Rangers Of The New Republic Would’ve Starred Gina Carano’s Cara Dune

Gina Carano was fired after she created controversial social media posts

The Mandalorian’s Gina Carano would have taken on the lead role in Rangers of the New Republic. Gina Carano first joined the Star Wars universe in The Mandalorian season 1, introduced as mercenary-for-hire Cara Dune. Dune, forced to become a galactic wayfarer after the destruction of her homeworld, Alderaan, eventually becomes one of Din Djarin’s closest allies. After fighting side-by-side with Din – and later, the late Carl Weathers’ Greef Karga – Cara became a Marshall for the New Republic and a protector of Nevarro in The Mandalorian season 2.

It was the perfect set-up for Carano’s return as Cara Dune in Rangers of the New Republic, in which she would have presumably led a crew of rangers, protecting and uncovering new dark forces that might harm the New Republic’s peacekeeping efforts. However, after The Mandalorian season 2, Carano was fired by Disney and Lucasfilm due to controversial social media posts – which included election fraud conspiracies and transphobic jokes – leaving Rangers of the New Republic to flounder and eventually be canceled altogether.

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It’s Safe To Assume The Pilots Of Adelphi Base Played A Major Role

What role will Captain Carson Teva and Garazeb “Zeb” Orrelios have in The Mandalorian franchise?

The Mandalorian and Ahsoka have introduced viewers to other prominent New Republic characters, most of whom would presumably have played a major role in Rangers of the New Republic alongside Cara Dune. (If you’re wondering why Lucasfilm didn’t just simply make one of them the lead of Rangers of the New Republic, you’re not alone). The pilots of Adelphi Base, led by Captain Carson Teva, would almost certainly have influenced the show, including Star Wars Rebels mainstay Garazeb “Zeb” Orrelios, introduced in live-action for the first time in The Mandalorian season 3.

Though Zeb hasn’t been seen since his brief cameo in The Mandalorian season 3, Carson Teva had a minor role in Ahsoka instead. He was one of the few who sided with New Republic General Hera Syndulla when she tried to convince the New Republic’s leadership of the threat of Thrawn’s return and the resurgence of the Imperial Remnant. The council, of course, was predictably unhelpful.

If, hypothetically speaking, Rangers of the New Republic had been set somewhere between The Mandalorian season 3 and Ahsoka season 1, we’d probably have seen more of Carson’s role within the New Republic and his relationship with Hera Syndulla. It might have made the New Republic scenes in Ahsoka feel more cohesive. More interesting, even.

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The Mandalorian Episode “The Spies” Feels Like A Massive Clue

It’s one of The Mandalorian season 3’s most controversial episodes

When Rangers of the New Republic was canceled, other projects in the Mandalorian sub-franchise were forced to take on some of its planned storylines. The Mandalorian season 3, episode 3, “Chapter 19: The Convert,” is almost certainly a result of Rangers’ cancelation. The episode pivots away from Din Djarin, Grogu, and Bo-Katan Kryze’s stories entirely and instead shifts to the New Republic’s troubles on Coruscant.

While it does re-introduce two former Mandalorian characters – Imperial Remnant officer and Moff Gideon loyal Elia Kane and Imperial scientist Dr. Penn Pershing – this episode feels completely out of place within The Mandalorian season 3. Kane and Pershing have been placed into a New Republic rehabilitation program, but Kane has a secret up her sleeve. She’s still loyal to Gideon and will do whatever she can to sabotage Pershing’s credibility and his scientific research.

If you look at the episode as a completely standalone story, it’s a genuinely compelling piece of television. Within The Mandalorian season 3, though, it sticks out like a sore thumb, making it all the more plausible that this exact story was originally meant to be included in Rangers of the New Republic. Now that Gideon is supposedly dead, as seen in The Mandalorian season 3 finale, it remains to be seen what Elia Kane will do next – and where.

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Katy M. O’Brian’s Elia Kane Would’ve Been A Great Villain

The perfect link between The Mandalorian and Rangers of the New Republic

In all honesty, I think it’s a shame that Katy M. O’Brian’s Elia Kane was shoved, rather unceremoniously, into a one-off story in The Mandalorian. Elia Kane would have been a fantastic villain in Rangers of the New Republic. Her connection to Moff Gideon would have made for the perfect bridge between Rangers and The Mandalorian, but it’s more than that, too.

Kane was genuinely terrifying and electrifying in that Mandalorian episode. She lured Pershing in and wrung him out to dry when he was done being useful to her. The way she looked when he was being put through the mind-flayer was harrowing. Now that she’s got the trust of a few New Republic government officials, there’s no telling what kind of damage she’ll be able to wreak from the inside out.

There’s a chance Kane will be present in The Mandalorian and Grogu, but whether that movie will give her enough time to shine as a villain is doubtful. After all, The Mandalorian and Grogu is Star Wars’ big return to the cinema. Is Elia Kane a strong enough villain to carry that weight? Probably not. The film will most likely focus on Thrawn instead.

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The Rangers Of The New Republic Would’ve Been On The Front Lines Against Thrawn

What will happen with Thrawn in The Mandalorian movies and Ahsoka season 2?

Perhaps the worst part of Rangers of the New Republic’s cancelation is the fact that it would have been an important stepping stone in fleshing out the threat of Grand Admiral Thrawn’s return before the events of Ahsoka, The Mandalorian and Grogu and a potential Mandalorian season 4. As it stands now, the New Republic isn’t taking the threat seriously. Thrawn has returned and hidden himself away on Dathomir, and the rest of the Imperial Remnant simply wait for his orders.

For anyone who hasn’t watched Star Wars Rebels, it’s hard to understand just how big of a threat Thrawn poses. Rangers of the New Republic could have fleshed out his tactical prowess, why he was so close to Palpatine, and why the Imperial Shadow Council is so intent on following his lead. Thrawn is cunning and ruthless, but we’ve hardly had a chance to see that in the live-action Mandoverse. How will it feel if or when he shows up in The Mandalorian and Grogu?

Presumably, if Cara Dune had been leading a crew of Rangers – including Carson Teva and Zeb – they would have followed the Imperial Remnant’s trail. This may have been a great lead-in for Ahsoka’s search for Thrawn, too, and her reunion with Hera Syndulla. Additionally, the brief glimpses of Imperial/Separatist revolt we’ve seen from “ordinary” citizens, like the ones in Ahsoka and The Mandalorian season 3, would have felt more earned and more sinister. How many people still long for the days of the Empire’s rule? That’s something Rangers could have explored in depth.

Rangers of the New Republic is arguably the connective tissue the Mandoverse needed to truly do justice to this era of the Star Wars timeline. After all, the New Republic is in a precarious state – anything could tip the scales of power. Thrawn’s return could change everything, but so far, The Mandalorian and Ahsoka haven’t had enough time to truly tell the audience why he’s so vital to the Empire and Star Wars’ storytelling.

The Mandalorian

First Episode Air Date

November 12, 2019

Summary

“The Mandalorian” is a live-action Star Wars television series set in the post-Empire galaxy, five years after the events of “Return of the Jedi.” The series follows the adventures of a lone bounty hunter, Din Djarin, who becomes the protector of a mysterious child known as Grogu (popularly referred to as “The Child” or “Baby Yoda”). Combining elements of Westerns, samurai films, and classic Star Wars lore, “The Mandalorian” has become a cultural phenomenon, praised for its storytelling, character development, and visual effects.

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