Karl Urban debunks the Pedro Pascal The Mandalorian replacement rumors. The popular Star Wars TV show features the latter actor as Din Djarin, a Mandalorian bounty hunter who finds himself charged with the safety of a young alien later named as Grogu. Seasons 1 & 2 released in 2019 and 2020, respectively, while The Mandalorian season 3 is expected to premiere in late 2022 or early 2023.

Despite being a recognizable star, rising to prominence for his role in Game of Thrones, Pascal doesn't often show his face in the Disney+ series. As an adherent of the old Mandalorian religion, the bounty hunter is not permitted to remove his helmet in front of another, which has led to plenty of speculation as to how much of Mando's screen time is actually performed by a stunt double. That line of thinking has lately been pushed further, with a The Mandalorian replacement rumor suggesting that Lucasfilm had fired Pascal and cast The Boys star Urban in his place for season 3.

Now, in an interview on the UK's Radio X, Urban addresses the rumor with a heavy dose of incredulity. Admitting this was the first he's heard of the Pedro Pascal The Mandalorian replacement theory, the actor laughs it off before criticizing its lack of originality. Imagining how someone landed on his name as the re-cast, he cites his experience acting with a helmet on in 2012's Dredd. Check out Urban's full response below:

This is news to me... [Laughs] Isn't that like, 'Oh, who do we know that can work under a helmet? Oh I know, let's get Karl Urban, he did Dredd!' You know, it's like, come on guys, no.

Dredd pointing a gun in the 2012 movie.

As Urban implies, the rumor isn't all that well thought through - should The Mandalorian actually fire Pascal, it would be significantly cheaper to have stunt doubles in the suit full-time and just hire a voice actor. It wouldn't even take much explaining to have Din Djarin never remove his helmet again, since his Boba Fett appearance suggests he will seek redemption for doing so previously to be welcomed back into his faith. Considering that series caused Kevin Smith to say Boba Fett removing his helmet made him less cool, a pivot in that direction might even be welcomed by viewers.

Thankfully, though, there's no legitimate reason to believe The Mandalorian season 3 cast won't include Pascal in the lead role. Filming already wrapped in March of this year, meaning that fans won't have much longer to wait until they see Mando and Grogu on their next adventures. Until then, Star Wars audiences have Obi-Wan Kenobi to tide them over, with the highly anticipated miniseries set to premiere next Friday, May 27.

Source: Radio X