Few actors are as universally admired and beloved as Lucy Lawless. The pride of New Zealand has charmed fans on and off camera since her breakout role in Xena: Warrior Princess, appearing in fan favorites series like Spartacus and Ash vs Evil Dead. But did her ardent fan base jeopardize her chance to join the Star Wars universe? While she voiced the Aeosian Queen in the animated series Star Wars Resistance, Lawless has never made a live-action appearance in the franchise.
In an interview with Metro, Lawless discussed a widely circulated fan petition that called for Lucy Lawless to take over the role of Cara Dune on The Mandalorian after Gina Carano was fired for offensive tweets.
Lawless as Cara Dune? Obviously an inspired choice. But it turns out that the erstwhile Xena was already in talks to join another Star Wars project in development at Disney+. “Well to be honest with you, I was already in discussions about something on – it wasn’t The Mandalorian – something Star Wars-affiliated,” Lawless said.
“It might have hurt me in some way, because then they couldn’t hire me because it would seem to be pandering to… I’m just guessing here, I don’t know anything, but in some ways, it can be unhelpful, because if they pander to this fan group, then how are you going to pander to every other fan group, do you know what I mean?”
Lawless added, “I became political and I had nothing to do with the discussion.” Despite whatever negative outcome the petition may have had, Lawless remains grateful for the fandom support, saying “But that’s the way the world is and they meant it out of love, and I thank the fans for their fealty to me,” adding “I haven’t thought about that since, so it hasn’t given me any pain, but that was my thought at the time, like, ooh, this makes me look like a political appointment, and not an actress.”
Lawless can currently be seen playing private investigator Alexa Crowe in Acorn TV’s My Life Is Murder, which is a thoroughly delightful series. And it’s probably a good call to phase out the character of Cara Dune entirely as opposed to recasting the role. Still, you have to wonder what the Lawless project might have been, and if we’ll ever see her in the franchise in the future.
In the meantime, we’ll be here, shaking our fists to the sky, wondering why the Nerd Gods won’t let us have nice things.
(via Metro, image: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images for Australian LGBTI Awards)
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