Star Wars fans praise ‘incredible’ recast, and we back it

There’s been a lot of live-action Star Wars recasts since the first film in the franchise, Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, dropped back in 1977, and some are definitely better than others.

When I think of good recasts, my mind immediately jumps to the likes of Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi, Joel Edgerton's Owen Lars, and Donald Glover’s Lando Calrissian, but it seems the Star Wars community had a different pick for the top spot in mind.

Over in a thread on the r/StarWarsCantina subreddit, users shared their opinions on who they think is the best Star Wars recast of all time, and their answer surprised me: Genevieve O'Reilly's Mon Mothma.

“There have been some excellent recasts. Donald Glover is a joy on screen. Everyone knows Ewan McGregor is our One True Lord and Savior,” commented user wbruce098.

“But no recast has pulled off as incredible a performance as O’Reilly.”

“Yup! As much as I absolutely love Ewan McGregor as younger Obi-Wan, Genevieve O'Reilly as Mon Mothma is easily the best recast in the series (Ewan is a very close second though),” replied user Newtype879.

Andor will return for its second season this month.

What’s perhaps most surprising about O’Reilly’s positive feedback is that her role as Mon Mothma was actually originally cut from the theatrical version of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.

Although O’Reilly’s scenes were added as extras for the DVD release of the film, most fans will be most familiar with her portrayal as Mon Mothma in a completely different Star Wars movie: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

Kind of funny that it took director Gareth Edwards bringing George Lucas’ original recasting back for O’Reilly’s performance to get the credit it truly deserves.

Still, I think the fans might have convinced me this time around. Just a shame Lucas didn’t give her the chance to shine the first time around.