The Star Wars franchise is finally returning to the big screen with the release of The Mandalorian & Grogu on the 2026 movies schedule. The title protagonists will embark on a new quest that seems them crossing paths with characters like Sigourney Weaver’s Colonel Ward, leader of the New Republic’s Adelphi Rangers, and Jeremy Allen White’s swole Rotta the Hutt, son of the late Jabba. On the flip side, however, now we’ve learned that Katy O’Brian’s Elia Kane has been left out of the upcoming Star Wars movie, which just has hoping even more that The Mandalorian Season 4 happens someday.
O’Brian (who wants to team up with Dave Bautista) shared her lack of involvement in The Mandalorian & Grogu while discussing her 2025 movie releaseQueens of the Dead, which comes out later this month. When Polygon inquired with her about if she’s heard anything about reprising Elia Kane, the actress answered:
Dude, nothing. I don’t know if they’re going to do a season 4. I know the movie’s coming out. I know I’m not in it.
Elia Kane was introduced in The Mandalorian Season 2 as an Imperial communications officer serving under Giancarlo Esposito’s Moff Gideon. She was arrested alongside Gideon, then resurfaced in the Season 3 episode “The Convert,” where she befriended Dr. Penn Pershing on Coruscant. However, she ultimately betrayed him by turning him into the New Republic authorities, then secretly sabotaged his mind-wipe. She was still working for Gideon as an undercover operative within the New Republic’s amnesty program.
Moff Gideon died in The Mandalorian Season 3 finale when he was engulfed by flames during his battle with Bo-Katan Kryze, and his dormant clones were destroyed shortly beforehand. So Elia Kane is now without a boss. Will she start working under another Imperial officer? Unfortunately, we won’t learn the answer to that question in The Mandalorian & Grogu. So far the only Empire-related character who’s set to appear in the movie is Jonny Coyne’s unnamed Imperial Warlord.
So I’ll cross my fingers more tightly that The Mandalorian Season 4 moves forward at Disney+. Elia Kane is one of those lingering plot threads that deserves to be revisited. Plus, Katy O’Brian has become a bigger name since joining The Mandalorian, appearing in major motion pictures like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (which was a chaotic experience for her), Twisters and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. If Season 4 happens, we could see Elia take on a more important role in this particular saga set in a galaxy far, far away.
We’ll learn about more characters who will be present in The Mandalorian & Grogu as its May 22, 2026 release date inches closer. Meanwhile, in addition to Queens of the Dead, Katy O’Brian can be seen in the new film adaptation of The Running Man starting November 14.
