How will Cara Dune fit into The Mandalorian universe? Gina Carano knows – but she’s staying very quiet! The actress, 37, couldn’t help but squeal with excitement over her upcoming role in the latest Star Wars series, set to premiere on Disney+ on its November 12 launch date.
“I think Star Wars is just a part of all of us, in a strange way. It’s so big, it’s just crept into all of our homes and all of our hearts since we were little,” she says in the latest issue of Us Weekly. The series takes place seven years after the fall of the Empire, which was shown in Return of the Jedi.
Carano takes Us through the process of landing the role of a lifetime. When the Deadpool star met with director Jon Favreau, she immediately told him she was a fan and he asked if she knew why she was there.
“I was like, ‘I have no idea,'” she admits. “He said, ‘Well, you’re here because I thought of you for one of the characters for this new Disney+ Star Wars series that we’re doing.’ I just froze inside. I couldn’t believe it. … This was just like, ‘OK, I think I’m supposed to be doing this with my life.'”
The former MMA fighter then began wondering what part she’d get — “I was like, he’s going to have me put on a female Chewbacca costume or something,” she laughs — and was admittedly a bit nervous.
“Regardless, I’d say yes to anything that he was going to have me do, but I was like, ‘OK, am I going to be a Chewbacca?’ He then walked me through it all and I was looking through all the concept art,” she explains. “I saw this woman who looked exactly like me, and I was like, ‘No way, this is incredible.’ Then when I read the script, I just cried.”
While Carano had to stay tight-lipped about her character’s interaction with the Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) himself, she did tell Us a little bit about Cara, her ex-rebel shock trooper character, who fought under the Rebellion.
“She just really loves the adrenaline of the war, so when that all dies down, she’s kind of stuck. All the excitement’s gone, so she goes out from the outer realm,” she says. “She does little hustling jobs for money, and she’s a loner. She keeps to herself, she doesn’t really trust anyone; she just sticks to herself.”
In that way, Carano feels she and Cara are one and the same. “I feel like I’m on the outer planet! I’m a bit of a loner,” she adds. “She’s a lot tougher than I am, obviously, but I relate to a lot of what the character is and hopefully I get some friends!”
Cara runs into the Mandalorian on one of the outer planets. “It’s a really great first meeting, let’s just say,” she hints. “I think people will truly enjoy their dynamic. There isn’t a lot I can say about it, but I can say that working with Pedro Pascal … He’s just an absolute favorite. He really stands out in this quiet confidence that he has on-screen, and when you meet him off-screen, he is so goofy and so fun and has the heart of a child. He’s an incredible actor.”
The Mandalorian launches on Disney+ on Tuesday, November 12.
