Star Wars fans have come to an agreement on who was the best character that got recast in the franchise, and we actually have George Lucas to thank for this one (for once).
Disney aren’t exactly doing a great job of producing Star Wars content at the moment. Dozens of cancelled projects and a few terrible films have really left the fan base with a sour taste in their mouth.
However, everyone over on the r/StarWarsCantina subreddit can agree that they’ve done one thing right: they kept Genevieve O'Reilly as Mon Mothma, following her taking over the role in Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith.
“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.
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“But no recast has pulled off as incredible a performance as O’Reilly.”
“It really helps that the OG mothma was just kind of... there?” replied user MaethrilliansFate.
“Like she had dialog and was in scenes in the OT but she was more or less a background character that stood out in terms of impact. O'Reilly on the otherhand is putting on a clinic of good scenes, strong dialog, and heaps of focus.”
In case you aren’t familiar with the recast, Mon Mothma was originally played by Caroline Blakiston in Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi.
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As George Lucas needed a younger actress to portray the character in Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, O’Reilly was cast in the role (although her only speaking part was eventually cut from the film).
However, when it came time to re-introduce Mon Mothma again, Disney brought O’Reilly back to portray the character in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
This would result in O’Reilly portraying the character again in the Disney+ series Andor, and her role in the show truly cemented her as one of Star Wars’ greats.
Here’s hoping we get to see her return again in some capacity down the line.