Lucasfilm confirmed that Carl Weathers' Greef Karga will be recast for its next release. Rocky's Apollo Creed actor Carl Weathers was one of the founding fathers of Disney+'s The Mandalorian, appearing as fan-favorite Greef Karga. The character went on a compelling arc across three seasons, from the shady member of the Bounty Hunters' Guild who was sent after Grogu by Moff Gideon, to an ally to Din Djarin and the High Magistrate of Nevarro. Sadly, before production began on The Mandalorian & Grogu, ending the character's journey with Season 3 of the Disney+ series, in which he gave Mando a residence on Nevarro.
Disney+ announced the cast for LEGO Star Wars: The Mandalorian special in advance of its streaming premiere on Wednesday, September 2. Tragically, the cast includes the recasting of The Mandalorian star Carl Weathers as Greef Karga, with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier actor Carl Lumbly taking over as the High Magistrate of Nevarro for the non-canon release.
The brickified special won't be charting Greef Karga's story with Lumbly in Weathers' place, as Disney+ is focusing on retelling the previous season instead. Still, Lucasfilm is exploring more stories with Greef Karga on the page, as the character returned for a prequel comic to The Mandalorian & Grogu.
Lumbly is best known in the pop culture space for playing Isaiah Bradley in the MCU, including in Captain America: Brave New World. However, many will remember him as Martian Manhunter in Justice League Unlimited and the alien superhero's father, M'yrnn J'onzz, in the Arrowverse's Supergirl.
It should be noted that Weathers isn't the only major Mandalorian character to be recast for the upcoming LEGO special. Pedro Pascal has been replaced as Din Djarin with Gavin Hammon (likely due to his busy schedule), and Eric Bauza is standing in for Mark Hamill in Luke Skywalker's long-awaited return to Disney+.
The recasts land in a sea of returning actors for The Mandalorian special, like Giancarlo Esposito as Moff Gideon, Bill Burr as Migs Mayfield, Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano, Timothy Olyphant as Cobb Vanth, and Taika Waititi as IG-11.
It's unclear whether Lumbly's casting as Greef Karga is exclusive to The Mandalorian's LEGO remake, or if the door is now open to him taking over for Weathers in future live-action projects. After all, Lucasfilm has replaced live-action actors previously, even when the original star has sadly passed...
Disney Recently Recast 4 Major Star Wars Actors - Here's Why
Baylan Skoll
Dexter and Punisher: Warzone star Ray Stevenson made waves in 2023's Ahsoka as Baylan Skoll, a fallen Jedi and a lightsaber-wielding mercenary, hired by Grand Admiral Thrawn, who may be one of Disney's greatest additions to Star Wars.
When the credits rolled on Ahsoka's first season, Baylan and his apprentice, Shin Hati, were trapped in the distant galaxy of Peridea. There, he sought a power that could stop the endless cycle of war in his galaxy, which he may have found at the temple of the Mortis Gods, setting up his crucial storyline for Season 2.
Tragically, Stevenson passed away from a sudden illness at age 58 in May 2023, just months before his Star Wars debut hit Disney+. As Baylan had been set up as one of Ahsoka's most important characters whose trajectory would be vital to Season 2, the fallen Jedi was officially recast for the show's return in 2027.
Lucasfilm landed on Rory McCann, the 57-year-old Scottish actor best known for playing the Hound in Game of Thrones, to bring Baylan's narrative into Season 2.
Bail Organa
Jimmy Smits, a second serial-killer actor from Dexter after Ray Stevenson, had to be recast as Senator Bail Organa for Andor Season 2. The actor had carried the torch since 2002's Attack of the Clones, reprising the Republic senator and Leia's adopted father in Rogue One and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Showrunner Tony Gilroy confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that Smits didn't return because "the scheduling didn't work out" and they "really tried hard" to arrange his comeback before deciding to recast the role.
Miss Congeniality, Coco, and Law & Order actor Benjamin Bratt stepped into the role, which was mostly just a brief cameo on Coruscant, where he spoke with Mon Mothma about her plans to publicly condemn the Emperor in the Senate.
Dryden Vos
Many will forget that the MCU's Vision actor, Paul Bettany, joined the Star Wars galaxy with 2018's Solo as Dryden Vos, the public-facing leader of Maul's Crimson Dawn crime syndicate who was actually more of a high-ranking lieutenant.
Ultimately, Vos was killed by Emilia Clarke's Q'ira in Solo, but that didn't stop him from returning for this year's Maul: Shadow Lord. The character's first meeting with the former Sith Lord was depicted in the finale as Vos helped Maul and his crew escape the Imperials on Janix in exchange for control of Crimson Dawn.
However, for as-yet-unconfirmed reasons, Bettany's Star Wars role was recast for Maul: Shadow Lord, as longtime voice actor Scott Whyte took his place. It seems likely that Bettany's busy schedule or budgetary restrictions for the CGI-animated show prevented him from reprising his role for the animated outing.
Marrok
Ahsoka introduced audiences to Marrok, an almost entirely non-speaking physical foil to the titular Jedi, played by stuntman Paul Darnell. The live-action MandoVerse series revealed Marrok as a mercenary working under Morgan Elsbeth, who was ultimately killed by Rosario Dawson's Ahsoka Tano.
While Marrok's story concluded in the MandoVerse, Lucasfilm Animation unraveled his history during the era of the Empire in Maul: Shadow Lord. The series confirms that Marrok was a Jedi-hunting Inquisitor, also known as the First Brother, who was tasked by Darth Vader to hunt down and kill Maul.
However, Maul: Shadow Lord opted to recast Marrok as he was elevated to a supporting role, with the longtime Star Wars voice actor (and the man behind Gambit in Marvel Rivals) A. J. LoCascio taking over for Darnell.
