Let the Arrested Development jokes begin, because Carl Weathers, known his roles in Predator and the Rocky movies, has reportedly been cast in Jon Favreau’s upcoming Star Wars spinoff series The Mandalorian.
It’s a rumor that first made the rounds last month courtesy of MakingStarWars.net, but now Discussing Film is claiming that their own sources corroborate this report. Meanwhile, Weathers’ own reps allegedly say that they’re unable to comment on this story for the time being, so take that how you will.
Though we’re still waiting on some official confirmation, this is starting to look like a pretty plausible idea, and for anyone who grew up watching Weathers hold his own with action stars like Stallone and Schwarzenegger, this would surely be a welcome addition to a cast list that’s looking like a blank sheet so far.
That being said, Discussing Film also reported last month that minor roles are lined up for Bryce Dallas Howard and Taika Waititi, the latter of whom is supposedly voicing a droid. Again, such claims should be taken for the rumors they are, but we do already know that this pair will be directing episodes, along with the likes of Dave Filoni (Star Wars Rebels), Deborah Chow (Jessica Jones), and Rick Famuyiwa (Dope).
Interestingly, though we’ve known about The Mandalorian for a while now without any official casting news, the starring role for another Star Wars series headed for the upcoming Disney+ streaming service was announced concurrently with the project itself. Specifically, the news arrived just earlier this week that Diego Luna will be reprising his role as Cassian Andor in a show set before the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and while the details remain vague on both of these TV projects, 2019 is already starting to look like a critical year for this space saga on big and small screens alike.