Disney saw a huge shakeup this week in their Star Wars universe as Gina Carano was fired from her role as Cara Dune in Disney+'s The Mandalorian. Carano was set to reprise her role in the series' next season as well as additional projects in the same timeline, including a spin-off series that would have propelled Carano into a lead role.
The actress was fired due to a series of controversial tweets in which she compared being a Republican in modern day America to being Jewish during the Holocaust. It's unclear what the character's future in the Star Wars universe will look like now, whether Disney opts to recast the character or simply remove her from the show altogether.
Rumors indicate Disney had been looking to part ways with Carano for some time now due to past tweets during her tenure with the company. This was a major part of the company's decision not to reveal Carano as the lead of her own show during December's Investor Day event.
A major part of the Star Wars brand — as with most of Disney's properties — is the merchandising, and a key part of the Star Wars product lineup comes from Hasbro, the toy maker that holds the license to produce the majority of Disney products. Following Carano's firing, Hasbro have responded indicating their future plans for products involving the character.
NO MORE MINI CARA DUNE
Yak Face Forums, via CBR, is reporting that "the planned reissues of the 6″ Black Series and Vintage Collection" Cara Dune figures "have been canceled" by Hasbro following Gina Carano's firing from The Mandalorian. Hasbro did confirm they "still intend to release the Retro Collection version as planned" in the coming months.
WILL CARA DUNE BE ERASED FROM STAR WARS?
While it doesn't provide explicit confirmation, Hasbro's decision likely indicates Disney's intention to simply erase the character of Cara Dune from the world of Star Wars. The character's several Mandalorian appearances will obviously continue to exist in the already-released first two seasons of the series; however, Disney will likely exclude the character from all future merchandise unless she is recast.
Hasbro's decision to proceed with the release of only one product involving the character seems to indicate that production on the Retro Collection figure is too far along for canceling release to be financially viable. This seems to suggest that this figure will be the last collectors will see involving Cara Dune, meaning it's likely to turn into a rather rare collectors item which may be worth scooping up while it's available.
It's unlikely that directors/producers Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni have come to a plan for how to handle the character's sudden absence from the world just yet. The Rangers of the New Republic series which was announced at Disney's Investor Day was believed to star Carano, meaning the company will either need to significantly restructure the series or recast her role entirely.
The Mandalorian is set to return in 2022, with the timeline next being explored in The Book of Boba Fett, releasing in December 2021.
