‘The Mandalorian’: Cara Dune Theory Connects Her To Prequel Royalty
The Mandalorian is already a show that is on the top of every Star Wars fans’ radars. Not only is it a new and fresh take on the Star Wars universe, but it introduced a lot of new characters for fans to fall in love with. There’s, of course, Mando, aka Din Djarin, with his stoic attitude and big heart. Then there’s Kuiil who we had to say goodbye to at the end of the season. Plus, how can anyone forget Baby Yoda, the breakout star? And always in the heart of the action is Cara Dune. She’s mysterious and there’s a lot left to learn about her. Could one of those secrets be her true lineage? A new theory relates her to prequel royalty.
The theory that Cara Dune is related to Padmé is very convincing
Reddit user u/Our_Warm_Opal posted a theory in December that The Client could be long-lost Master Sifo-Dyas, the Jedi Knight who commissioned the Kaminoans to make the Clone army. But at the very end, they put another shocker of a theory: that Cara Dune is secretly Ryoo Naberrie, Padmé Amidala’s niece.
They don’t go into as much detail with this theory, but it kind of speaks for itself. They link to a photograph of actress Gina Carano, who plays Cara, at the premiere for The Mandalorian. She paid tribute to Padmé by rocking one of her hairstyles from Revenge of the Sith. At the time, everyone thought it was only that, but now there could be more.
The image also puts her side-by-side with the last time audiences saw Ryoo Naberrie, at Padmé’s funeral. It also correctly states that they’d be the same age at the time The Mandalorian takes place. Ryoo was Padmé’s sister Sola Naberrie’s daughter. Padmé was born a Naberrie but took on the monarchical surname Amidala when she became Queen of Naboo at 14 years old. But that’s not all that fits into this theory.
Gina Carano has given hints to a major secret that could back this up
Other than appearing in a deleted scene in Attack of the Clones, the funeral in Revenge of the Sith, and the canon novel Queen’s Shadow, not much is known about Ryoo. Certainly not enough to say Cara Dune is her all grown up, other than the matching ages and general features.
But what really sells it is what Carano told The Hollywood Reporter in December. The interviewer points out that we still don’t know a ton about Cara, but Carano knows her whole story and it involves a secret. “[Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni] withhold little bits and pieces from me, and they’ll come in and say, ‘Oh, yeah, also this,’” she said about filming. “Before I did the introductory scene, Jon told me a secret about my character, and it added so much depth to what her life has been like.”
She went on to say that Cara Dune is a “little diamond of a character” and that “the sky’s the limit with telling her story.” If the secret was that she was Ryoo Naberrie, that would hold a lot of depth for her character. Not only was she related to one of the most respected queens and senators Naboo ever saw, but her story is connected to the Skywalkers as well. Plus, she’d have a lot of reason to fight in the Rebel Alliance, a cause that her Aunt Padmé was a part of creating, in a way, at least in its beginning.
What do we already know about Cara Dune?
Cara Dune is running from something and pretty paranoid about people finding her, which is why she was so on-edge of Mando when they first met. But it’s revealed in the Season 1 finale that she’s from Alderaan. Moff Gideon calls out that she was a Rebel shock trooper during the Galactic Civil War, which is the one happening during the original trilogy of Star Wars.
Carano told The Hollywood Reporter, “The eye tattoo has a much deeper meaning once we get into it. Obviously, it’s a Rebel tattoo, but there’s much more to that story. So, I’m excited for that.” Carano is very proud to play such a physically and emotionally strong character, and hopefully, Season 2 sheds more light on who Cara Dune really is, Naberrie or not.
