Why was Gina Carano fired from ‘The Mandalorian?’

Gina Carano, a former mixed-martial-artist-turned-actress had a fairly good run before getting herself cancelled in 2020. Best known for her role in The Mandalorian, despite several Hollywood blockbusters under her belt, the star is more widely known for her controversial statements and her lackluster follow-up films produced by the Daily Wire.  

Who is Gina Carano?

With several martial arts wins under her belt, the fighter transitioned to acting roles designed around physicality and landed her first leading role in Haywire (2009). She would go on to star in several prominent movies including Dead Pool and Fast & Furious 6 before being tapped by Disney for a role in The Mandalorian.

Her background in MMA made Carano the perfect choice for Cara Dune. Dune is a tough former mercenary for hire and one of the few survivors from Alderaan. Imbittered toward the world and looking for something more from life, she goes from a lone wolf to a Marshall of the Republic. A fantastic character, Cara was primed to have a strong recurring role throughout The Mandalorian and was even rumored to have her own spin-off in the works. Unfortunately, Carano would be one of many conservative media personalities to get herself cancelled and Disney would cut the character from the Mandalorian storyline for good.

What she said

In a 2020 Instagram post which has since been deleted, Carano compared the response to conservative political beliefs to Nazi Germany. She claimed that the aggression and violence directed at Jewish people by their former friends and neighbors in the beginning stages of the Third Reich mirrored the treatment of Conservative Americans. While the comment was the final nail in Carano’s Disney coffin, it wasn’t the first time the star has courted controversy.

Carano’s affiliation and vocal support of President Trump was another point of contention for some fans. After the 2020 election she spread misinformation on Twitter about voter fraud, calling for new voting laws and for America to “…clean up the election process” though there was never any evidence to suggest a clean-up was needed. Additionally, she posted memes with anti-mask sentiments during the height of the Pandemic.

Carano would again mire herself in fan rage when she refused to add pronouns to her Twitter bio. The refusal would have been enough for most, but Carano took it one step further. While the former fighter has claimed to be staunchly anti-bully, she went to social media and — in a move anyone who has ever met a high school girl would recognize as bullying — posted, “Beep/bop/boop has zero to do with mocking trans people & [100%] to do with exposing the bullying mentality of the mob that has taken over the voices of many genuine causes. I want people to know you can take hate with a smile. so BOOP you for misunderstanding. #AllLoveNoHate”

Disney severed ties with the actress calling her comments “abhorrent and unacceptable.” Though her mainstream acting career was essentially over, Carano would continue to find work with the right-wing media company The Daily Wire.

The aftermath

Since her cancellation Carano has talked about the incident several times. She accused Disney of “bullying her” in an interview with conservative talking head Ben Shapiro. Carano claimed the company had been “head hunting” her and she was reeling from the treatment. A boxing term, head hunting refers to the repeated assault of an opponent’s head rather than alternating between body parts, and according to Carano though she could feel the result of the treatment, she was unwilling to give up the fight. Carano considers her sacking a learning experience, telling Ben Shapiro that she has become a better person through it all.

As far as her return to Disney, there isn’t a future in which that is a possibility. The company — and perhaps more importantly the majority of fans — have no desire for Gina Carano to return as Cara Dune. A Change.org petition to bring her back has reached a measly 87,000 signatures in its two years on the site. While many mourn the loss of the character, especially showrunners Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau, her removal has opened the door for the upcoming seasons of The Mandalorian to explore the lush groundwork laid by the Star Wars animated universe about the Mandalorian people.