Gina Carano Fired For Social Media Provocations, Not Returning To The Mandalorian

The Mandalorian is one of the least controversial Star Wars properties out there right now. Yet, the toxic fandom on YouTube and other social media outlets will find a way to make it so. One person helping them do that, however, is a (now former) member of the cast. Retired UFC fighter Gina Carano played Cara Dune, the former Rebellion soldier who originally hailed from Alderaan. The actor claims to hold “conservative” views, however the views she’s shared have little to no bearing on serious political discourse. Instead, she’s denigrated the transgender community, specifically the practice of stating (and respecting) one’s preferred pronouns. She’s spread lies about the COVID pandemic and the 2020 election results. However, today Lucasfilm effectively fired Gina Carano when she posted something that compared pushback to these (at best) misguided ideas to being Jewish in Germany during World War II. Yeah, she endorsed the idea that getting mean tweets is comparable to the Holocaust.

The response from social media was swift and nearly unified. A hashtag that read “#FireGinaCarano” trended on Twitter all day, spending many hours as the top trend. This is not the first time that hashtag saw a lot of activity. Fans of Star Wars, The Mandalorian, science, and basic human decency took umbrage at the needlessly confrontational tone from the actor on social media for months now.

Image via Disney+

Usually, the trend goes away with no comment from Disney, Lucasfilm or those in charge of The Mandalorian. Yet, with this latest incident, it appears the powers-at-be had enough. Lucasfilm put out a statement that effectively fired Gina Carano from The Mandalorian, yet the wording suggests that they reached this decision some time ago.

The statement read, via The Hollywood Reporter:

“Gina Carano is not currently employed by Lucasfilm, and there are no plans for her to be in the future. Nevertheless, her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable.”

There has been no statement from Carano since Lucasfilm finally spoke on the issue. By the time the season 2 finale of The Mandalorian was finished shooting, the controversy around Carano hadn’t really started. Yet, the firmness of this statement from Lucasfilm suggests that Gina Carano was fired from The Mandalorian before today. Likely content to just let her absence speak for itself, Lucasfilm finally confirmed they are out of the Gina Carano business. While the role could be recast, it’s far more likely that a new character will step into to take her place. Either way, considering that she wasn’t under contract with them while the next season of this show is in pre-production makes it seem like Cara Dune (at least this version) was already on her way out.

What do you think about Gina Carano being fired from The Mandalorian? Share your reactions, thoughts, and what sort of new character you’d like to see in The Mandalorian in the comments below.

Featured image via Disney+

Joshua M. Patton is a father, veteran, and writer living in Pittsburgh, PA. The first books he read on his own were comics, and he's loved the medium ever since. He is the greatest star-pilot in the galaxy, a cunning warrior, and a good friend. His book "What I Learned: Stories, Essays, and More" is available in print from Amazon and from all electronic booksellers.