Gina Carano’s exit from The Mandalorian poses an interesting question about how Disney can replace Cara Dune, but they already have the perfect answer: Bill Burr’s Mayfeld. The former Imperial sharp-shooter left season 2 before the climactic attack on Moff Gideon’s destroyer to rescue Baby Yoda, but that ending simply wasn’t satisfying. Far more intriguing is the idea of him continuing his journey to redemption alongside Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin.

Carano’s association with Star Wars ended in the wake of controversial tweets despite initial plans to spin Dune off into her own series. While Star Wars will survive the set-back and The Mandalorian can do without Dune as a character, it would still be preferable to preserve some sort of continuity. Dune may have been a hulk type character suited to heavy artillery battle, but there was substance to her story after she found her place as a Marshal of the New Republic. That arc is exactly what Mayfeld’s return could replace.

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Whether Star Wars choose to recast Cara Dune or not hasn’t yet been confirmed, but it seems unlikely, even with fan calls to bring in Xena legend Lucy Lawless. Dune is far from a crucial character, but The Mandalorian was often at its best in season 2 when Din Djarin was forced to abandon his usual isolation to adapt to new group dynamics. Taking away an established relationship is unfortunate and having Burr step back into the fold as Mayfeld suits several objectives. His arc is interesting, Burr’s chemistry with Pascal is great and his performance in general was very impressive.

The Mandalorian Bill Burr mayfeld

Mayfeld is one of the most complex figures in modern Star Wars, even if he was presented initially as something as an archetypical turncoat. He and John Boyega’s Finn share the same narrative backbone, having turned away from their military affiliation with the Empire out of moral disgust. Where the sequels failed to give Finn a satisfying story to really explore that arc, The Mandalorian’s future can explore it with Mayfeld. And giving him some of the narrative weight afforded to Cara Dune’s development - which seemed to lean heavily into the idea of a redemption arc without fully realising it - could pay dividends.

Mayfeld’s backstory isn’t the only thing that suits The Mandalorian: Bill Burr offered something different to the dynamic of Mando’s squad of characters. The pithy comic relief set Mayfeld against Djarin, but Burr and Pascal’s chemistry was some of the best of the entire show. On top of that, Burr’s performance was surprisingly complex, particularly when he faced his former commander in season 2 and explored the true cost of war. Burr proved to be the perfect anti-war mouthpiece to castigate not only the Empire but the Rebels for what they did to indigenous races in an eye-opening exchange that challenged the very binary pillars Star Wars has always been built on. His performance deserves more, but The Mandalorian also deserves more of Burr’s Mayfeld.

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