Elon Musk Is Helping Gina Carano Sue Disney for Firing Her From 'The Mandalorian'
After being fired from Disney, Gina Carano filed a lawsuit against the company, which is likely to proceed to trial.
Updated July 25 2024, 4:14 p.m. ET
Casting changes happen in film and television from time to time. Sometimes, tragically, an actor will pass away and need to be either replaced or written off the show. Other times, there are issues behind the scenes that lead to a casting change-up.
When it comes to the Disney Plus original series and Star Wars spinoff The Mandalorian, the issues involved a cast member and some unfortunate tweets. Gina Carano was fired from The Mandalorian, after two seasons of playing mercenary Cara Dune. So, who is in line to replace her, and how did Gina respond to the dismissal? We've got the details.
Why was Gina Carano fired from ‘The Mandalorian'?
After a slew of Gina’s social media posts went viral online in 2021, fans immediately called for her dismissal. Gina wrote on Twitter, “Jews were beaten in the streets, not by Nazi soldiers but by their neighbors…even by children."
She continued, “Because history is edited, most people today don’t realize that to get to the point where Nazi soldiers could easily round up thousands of Jews, the government first made their own neighbors hate them simply for being Jews. How is that any different from hating someone for their political views."
While it was initially believed by many that Gina was comparing the divided political climate in the U.S. at the time to that of Nazi Germany, in a February 2024 tweet, she declared that she had not.
Also, in November 2020, people accused Gina of making fun of those who listed their preferred pronouns on social media by listing “beep/bop/boop” in her Twitter bio as a joke. To many, the action came off as transphobic, and she received significant backlash. She later apologized, saying her Mandalorian co-star Pedro Pascal “helped [her] understand why people were putting them in their bios.”
“I didn’t know before but I do now. I won’t be putting them in my bio but good for all you who choose to. I stand against bullying, especially the most vulnerable and freedom to choose,” she said.
Though it took some time for Disney and Lucasfilm to pull the plug, they finally released a statement in which they explained they had cut ties with Gina Carano.
A Lucasfilm spokesperson said in February 2021, “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.”
With Elon Musk and X's support, Gina Carano filed a lawsuit against Disney and Lucasfilm in 2024.
When Elon Musk presented the opportunity in 2023 for people to reach out to him and X (formerly Twitter) for legal help if they had been fired for using the platform to exercise their freedom of speech, Gina said she responded with “I think I qualify.”
Sometime after, she says she "received an email from a lawyer who had been hired by X to look into my story & many others. Turns out after sending them as much information as I could gather these past few months, my now lawyers & X believe whole-heartedly in my case & are moving forward." Gina is now urging people to re-evaluate her past comments as she believes Lucasfilm and Disney's claims couldn't be "further from the truth."
She says, "The truth is I was being hunted down from everything I posted to every post I liked because I was not in line with the acceptable narrative of the time. My words were consistently twisted to demonize & dehumanize me as an alt right wing extremist. It was a bullying smear campaign aimed at silencing, destroying & making an example out of me."
Although there was an attempt to have the lawsuit dismissed, Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett denied the request, according to The Hollywood Reporter. This means the case will likely proceed to trial unless Disney and Gina Carano reach a settlement.
So, who will replace Gina’s character on ‘The Mandalorian'?
When the news broke that Gina was no longer going to play the role of Cara Dune on The Mandalorian, fans promptly sprung into action to give their suggestions on who should be recast in the role. While neither Lucasfilm nor show creator Jon Favreau have even noted that her character will return, some popular names have come up for replacements.
The front-runner among fans to take Cara’s spot is Xena: Warrior Princess star Lucy Lawless. One fan tweeted, “Let's make #LucyLawless the new and improved #CaraDune!”
Another echoed, “Hear me out, casting Lucy Lawless as Cara Dune would sell SOOO many action figures. I'm just saying. She'd bring in a lot of bank.”
Other contenders for Gina’s replacement included Once Upon a Time’s Lana Parrilla, You're the Worst star Aya Cash, and WWE star Becky Lynch.
Unfortunately, for those fans, it seems as though producers are taking a different approach. Rather than replace Gina's Mandalorian role with a new character, it appears producers are reportedly allowing Din Djarin to take over Cara's role, per Screen Rant, as the final scenes of Season 3 "seemingly confirm" this.
Stay tuned for updates on Season 4 of The Mandalorian.