Mercedes Varnado, aka Sasha Banks, talks playing a Mandalorian warrior
By Dan Selcke
WWE wrestler Sasha Banks showed up as Mandalorian warrior Koska Reeves in the latest episode. Is this a one-and-done thing or the start of a long character arc?
On the latest episode of The Mandalorian, “The Heiress,” our hero Din Djarin finally met a few more of his kind: the Mandalorian warrior Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), and members of her crew, including the brave Koska Reeves (Mercedes Varnado).
I say “brave” because Koska threw herself into a watery pit to face down a fearsome sea monster called a Mamacore, all to save Baby Yoda, which immediately endeared her to fans. “So adorable,” Vernado said of Baby Yoda, talking to USA Today. “Oh my goodness, it is so beyond words. You get to watch it on Disney+, but to see it in person, it’s like, ‘What?!’ I need one in my life. Everybody needs a Baby Yoda in their life.”
Agreed on all counts.
Varnado may be best known to fans as WWE wrestler Sasha Banks, but for this role, she opted to use her real name. “I’m so thankful for the role of playing Sasha Banks for so long, but it took Mercedes Varnado to put in that work, and it took Mercedes to get through those doors of the WWE and to be able to do ‘Star Wars,’ ” she said. “I’m just so excited to show the world exactly who I am.”
And it sounds like this is just the beginning of her ambitions. “I have so many goals and so many things that I would love to do in Hollywood, and so many things that I would love to do outside of WWE that I’m making possible. So keep on watching in 2021. I’m going to keep on killing it and crush all my dreams.”
Amusingly, Vernado first came to the attention of The Mandalorian producers after she did an episode of the YouTube show “Hot Ones,” where guests eat increasingly spicy chicken wings. “Your true self comes out when you are eating spicy food, I’ll tell you that.”
Her performance in “The Heiress” seems to have gone over pretty well, and it sounds like there’s more plot ahead for Bo-Katan and her crew, what with the vile Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) in possession of the Darksaber, which Bo-Katan needs to retake the throne of Mandalore. Does that mean that Koska Reeves will be back?
“The beautiful thing with Disney is they love to have their magic,” Varnado said, cryptically. “So you have to keep on watching and see what magic we’re going to create.” 10-4.
We may be getting ahead of ourselves. Right now, perhaps it’s time to enjoy the episode we have. That’s what Varnado is doing. “I watched it, but still have not really gotten to take in the whole episode because I was screaming and crying the whole time,” she said. “It was just absolutely incredible. I mean, to kill a Stormtrooper? Hello? Wow, wow, wow.”
New episodes of The Mandalorian drop Fridays on Disney+. We’ll be watching out for her…
Next. Why some Mandalorian fans are cancelling Gina Carano (Cara Dune). dark
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