The Mandalorian's Katee Sackhoff Recalls Finding Out About Bo-Katan Casting

When The Mandalorian creator Jon Favreau and producer Dave Filoni decided to bring Bo-Katan Kryze to the world of live-action, actress Katee Sackhoff -- who voiced the character in both Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels -- was kept in the dark almost as long as fans were. Even when the actress participated in meetings about the opportunity, the chances that she'd really get to play the character seemed so unlikely, it didn't dawn on her during those actual conversations that one of the topics being discussed involved her actually joining the series. A third season of The Mandalorian is expected to debut later this year.

"It was so funny. So, I was at [Star Wars Celebration] when they were announcing our last season of Clone Wars and they were also, I think, there for Mandalorian and I remember saying to [Dave Filoni] in that moment, in sort of a wink-wink, nudge-nudge, 'You know I play a Mandalorian. I'm still alive, I'm free,'" Sackhoff shared with ComicBook.com in support of Topps' WinterCon about learning of the opportunity. "And I think it was probably about six months after that when we got the call ... the timeline is all crazy in my head, seriously, because I lost last year [due to the coronavirus pandemic]."

She continued, "When I was asked to sit down with John Favreau, I remember sitting in that meeting and getting halfway through the meeting and still not realizing that he was talking about me being in The Mandalorian. I don't know why, I could have been intelligent enough just to look around and see the artwork on the walls, but I don't know. There was a part of me that was like, maybe this was a trial, like he wanted to make sure that I wasn't insane or something, I don't know. But no, it was literally in that moment. So I was, I'm still shocked."

While Sackhoff was only one of many performers who had voiced a character in their animated version and got to bring them to life for The Mandalorian, this wasn't the case with all characters, so it's easy to see how she might have been doubtful about getting to embody the character for the series. Ahsoka Tano, for example, was voiced by Ashley Eckstein since her debut in The Clones Wars back in 2008, though Rosario Dawson has taken on the character for her live-action appearances.

Sackhoff was only one of a number of stars to appear at Topps' WinterCon this past weekend. You can learn more about Topps' Star Wars: Card Trader at their official website. Stay tuned for details on Bo-Katan's future.

Are you glad Sackhoff took on the role? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!

Watch The Mandalorian on Disney+.

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