Gina Carano’s controversial firing from The Mandalorian caused a major stir online earlier this year, as many people on both sides had strong opinions. After months of sharing divisive comments on social media, the former MMA star was ultimately let go by Disney following some remarks that were widely interpreted as antisemitic. Others, though, defended Carano, blasting the studio for contravening her right to free speech.
It’s a thorny business, then, and for the most part, the rest of the Disney Plus show’s cast has refrained from discussing the situation. At a recent appearance at Atlanta’s Dragon Con, however, actress Emily Swallow became the first cast member to discuss Carano’s firing publicly. Swallow appeared in three episodes of Mandalorian season 1 as the Armorer, which allowed her to work closely with the now-fired actress.
Swallow praised her own personal experience with Carano, describing her as “very giving… very gracious” and “interested in other peoples’ opinions.”
All I can say is that Gina, and working with her personally, what impressed me about her from the beginning is that she is so interested in other peoples’ opinions, and is so welcoming of other peoples’ opinions. She wants to have a genuine dialogue. She’s just like that in her day-to-day life. On set, she’s more curious about other people. She’s very giving, she’s very gracious.”
As for her acrimonious split with Lucasfilm, Swallow admitted that she knew as much about that as the fans but she was shocked as she considers Carano “a lovely person”.
“I know so little about what happened. I experienced it like you did. I don’t know anything about the inner workings of it. I can only speak about Gina being a lovely person, which she is.”
Swallow went on to open up about her feelings on cancel culture in general, saying she’s “thoroughly baffled” by it and finds it potentially “very dangerous.”
These comments of support for Carano echo what other Mandalorian stars have said about their own experiences with the actress. Prior to her firing, the likes of Pedro Pascal (Din Djarin) Carl Weathers (Greef Karga) and Ming-Na Wen (Fennec Shand) gushed about Carano on social media, making it clear that they all enjoyed a close working relationship with her. But, at this point, it’s unclear how they feel about moving ahead with the show without her.
Much about The Mandalorian season 3 is currently under wraps, though it’s thought to arrive sometime in 2022.
