Shocking the Star Wars fandom and the internet as a whole, this week saw Lucasfilm announce Gina Carano had been fired from The Mandalorian for her offensive social media activity, with the actress no longer attached to play Cara Dune in any future productions. Those who were outraged by her many controversial posts fully supported the studio’s decision, but Carano also had a lot of fans out there who are furious that she’s been removed from the franchise.
In response, a Change.org petition has been set up demanding that Lucasfilm rehires the former MMA star, blasting them for cutting ties with her for just “speaking her mind” and for giving in to online “cancel culture.” And the petition is picking up a lot of steam, too. At current count, it’s risen to over 3000 signatures, meaning it’s likely to reach its goal of 5000 before long.
Here’s how petition creator Logan Norfleet defends Carano in his description:
“This petition is for the executives at Disney. Please, why can’t you just leave politics out of the industry and press on? “The Mandalorian” is a fantastic show, and Gina Carano’s portrayal of Cara Dune is a joy to watch. The Mandalorian wouldn’t be the same without her.,, To the fans of “The Mandalorian,” please. Speak out. Disney needs to stop the trend of firing actors for controversial tweets, and just keep treating the fans to a great show. Rehire Gina Carano. Firing her isn’t justice.”
While it’s true that sometimes these kind of firings can be reversed, such as in the case of Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn, it seems unlikely that Lucasfilm would change their minds on this occasion and rehire Carano. Reports have stated that the studio has been growing uneasy over the Twitter storms the actress has been brewing up for months and her most recent alarming post was the final straw.
Not to mention that Hasbro is going ahead and cancelling an upcoming Cara Dune action figure, and showrunner Jon Favreau apparently agrees with her firing, too. Besides, Carano has quickly found herself a new gig.
Yes, she’s already partnered up with another controversial right-wing figure on social media, The Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro, to write, produce and star in a movie for Shapiro’s site. The activist blasted Lucasfilm in a statement announcing the deal, comparing the studio to the Empire and himself and Gina Carano to the Rebellion. As such, it seems safe to say that the bridge has well and truly been burned.