Gina Carano Has Been Let Go By Lucasfilm, Will No Longer Be A Part Of 'Star Wars'

Gina Carano will no longer be a part of the Star Wars universe. The actress, who plays soldier Cara Dune on The Mandalorian, has been let go by Lucasfilm, who confirm "there are no plans" for Carano to be employed by them again "in the future."

In a statement first reported by io9, a Lucasfilm spokesperson announced that Carano is no longer employed by the company, effectively relieving her of her recurring role on The Mandalorian. The statement reads:

"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."

The social media posts in question, many of which have been called anti-Semitic and transphobic in nature, have raised a storm of protests from Star Wars fans, who demanded that Carano be fired from her role in The Mandalorian. With this news, it seems unlikely she'll appear in season 3, as production is due to begin in April this year.

The news comes a day after the hashtag #FireGinaCarano trended on Twitter in response to an anti-Semitic post on her Instagram Story. The image was a Tik Tok post comparing today's divided political climate in the U.S. to Nazi Germany, with the implication that conservatives are oppressed. Carano is a noted conservative whose social media posts have earned her much criticism in the past, including comments mocking mask wearing, others falsely suggesting voter fraud, and most notably, mocking preferred pronouns in her Twitter bio in a move that was widely deemed transphobic. She later backtracked, saying that Mandalorian star Pedro Pascal, whose sister recently came out as trans, "helped me 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 & freedom to choose."

It's a move that couldn't have come soon enough, considering Disney's strict upholding of its family friendly-image. Having a major star from the biggest Disney+ show spewing poisonous rhetoric seemed odd for the House of Mouse, especially in lieu of how swift Disney was to fire James Gunn from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. But sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that Lucasfilm had been looking for reasons to fire her for "two months" following her November anti-mask and voter fraud tweets, which ended up putting a stop to early plans to unveil Carano as the star of her own Star Wars show during a December investor's day presentation.

The Mandalorian season 3 is expected to premiere on Disney+, sans Carano, in December 2021.