Sophia Michaels
When “The Mandalorian” returned for its third season on March 1, it was made clear that Gina Carano’s character Cara Dune would not be returning to the series. This was due to the actor’s string of controversial social media posts that expressed transphobic views and supported far-right causes, such as conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election and the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol. Executive producers Rick Famuyiwa and Dave Filoni have now addressed where Cara Dune stands in the galaxy.
The incident that led to Carano’s firing was a social media post she shared on Instagram in February 2021. The since-deleted post featured a TikTok that compared being a conservative Republican today to being Jewish during the Holocaust. This caused an overwhelming wave of criticism, with the hashtag #FireGinaCarano trending. On Wednesday night, Lucasfilm released a statement confirming Carano’s firing.
In the first episode of season three of “The Mandalorian,” Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) visits Greef Karga (Carl Weathers) in Nevarro. Karga offers Cara’s old job to Mando, telling him that after she captured Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) at the end of season two, she was promoted to the Special Forces of the New Republic and left the town.
Famuyiwa and Filoni commented on Cara Dune’s future, with Famuyiwa saying, “Cara was a big part and continues as a character to be part of the world.” Filoni added, “Now Season 3 is mainly dealing with Mandalorians and the Mandalorian saga, the Mandalorian tale. [There are] different characters he’s met since Bo-Katan [who] take a lot more prominence, which makes sense where his arc is going, the story of him and Grogu specifically.”
Carano has mostly doubled down on her statements since she was let go. In a September 2022 interview with Tucker Carlson, she said, “I was speaking out about lockdowns, mass vaccinations, and pronouns way before anybody was even saying a word about it.” She also starred in a movie for The Daily Wire titled “Terror on the Prairie” and another for Breitbart News called “My Son Hunter.”
New episodes of “The Mandalorian” stream Wednesdays on Disney+.
