Mandalorian actress Gina Carano — who plays ex-mercenary and current New Republic Marshal Cara Dune in the hit Disney+ Star Wars series — has been trending off-and-on for months on social media.
Related: Gina Carano Speaks Out About “Smear Campaign” Against Her
The former women’s MMA fighter has been vocal about her sometimes controversial political and social opinions on her Twitter account, sparking Twitter users to create several hashtags on both sides of her divisive stance.
#FireGinaCarano, #WeLoveCaraDune, and #IStandWithGinaCarano have all made the rounds on social media in recent months, almost overshadowing Carano’s performance as the fiery Cara Dune in The Mandalorian Season 2.
Her Star Wars co-stars have stood by her, with Pedro Pascal (leading man Din Djarin), Ming-Na Wen (Fennec Shand), and Katee Sackhoff (Bo-Katan Kryze); they support Carano and enjoy working with her on-set at various points throughout the second season of showrunner Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni’s top-rated hit streaming series.
Related: Gina Carano Is “In Love” With ‘Star Wars,’ Won’t Be Silenced
The Cara Dune actress’s future with the Star Wars franchise is not officially known. Rumors abound that the upcoming Mandalorian spinoff, Rangers of the New Republic, is currently set to follow her adventures as a Marshal on Nevarro. Still, Disney and Lucasfilm have not commented on unconfirmed reports that this will only happen if she apologizes.
Now, Lucasfilm is again taking heat — and #FireGinaCarano is trending — due to a COVID-19 memorial post this morning. Lucasfilm’s social media team wrote:
Lucasfilm joins the national moment of unity as we honor and remember the lives lost to COVID-19.
Lucasfilm joins the national moment of unity as we honor and remember the lives lost to COVID-19. #COVIDMemorial
Photo by Andres Acosta / David Perry & Assoc, Inc. pic.twitter.com/Qrto2fUkVt
— Star Wars | Andor & Tales of the Jedi On Disney+ (@starwars) January 20, 2021
Unsurprisingly, comments about Gina Carano’s social and political opinions immediately began pouring in in the comments on the Tweet.
Abby questioned:
aren’t y’all the ones who still have Gina Carano, an anti-masker, in their employ????
aren’t y’all the ones who still have Gina Carano, an anti-masker, in their employ????
— abby (@abbymcecilia) January 20, 2021
Related: Pedro Pascal Speaks Out on Gina Carano’s Performance in ‘The Mandalorian’
S.K. replied:
You hired an actress [Carano] who is an anti-masker and spreads misinformation about Covid on her sm [social media] accounts. Mid-information campaigns literally lead to more infections and deaths but okay.
You hired an actress who is an anti-masker and spreads misinformation about Covid on her sm accounts. Mid-information campaigns literally lead to more infections and deaths but okay.
— S. K. 💫 (@dippedinstars) January 20, 2021
Chris said:
Fire Gina Carano, the ant-masker [sic: anti-masker]
Fire Gina Carano, the ant-masker.
— Black Chrissantan🌻💙💛 (@DaftWreckpunk) January 20, 2021
Related: Jon Favreau Reportedly Stops Disney From Firing ‘Mandalorian’ Star Gina Carano
Another commenter on the original post wrote:
Then #FireGinaCarano who is a covid denier and anti masker
Then #FireGinaCarano who is a covid denier and anti masker
— 🏳️🌈 Vagrant Toddler Kyri 🤟 |🔮 (@DreadWolfChan) January 20, 2021
Patrick noted that he had taken action due to his belief that Carano should no longer be associated with Disney or Star Wars:
#FireGinaCarano Just canceled my Disney [sic: Disney+] subscription
#FireGinaCarano Just canceled my Disney subscription
— patrick (@patrick47500896) January 20, 2021
Another Twitter user going by Da Bear shared that Carano’s acting skills shouldn’t be enough to keep her involved with the Mandalorian saga. He wrote:
She isnt a good actor. Apparently fighting is her only talent. It is quite obvious that critical thinking isn’t her strong suit. #FIREGINACARANO
She isn't a good actor. Apparently fighting is her only talent. It is quite obvious that critical thinking isn't her strong point.#FIREGINACARANO
— #notsure (@davidmailhot) January 19, 2021
Carano, to be fair, has also garnered a great deal of support from Mandalorian fans who not only enjoy her acting in the show but also agree with her sometimes controversial opinions.
No matter what you think about the ongoing Gina Carano controversy — and how it could ultimately impact casting as the Star Wars franchise moves forward with The Mandalorian and its characters at the epicenter of storytelling — it appears that Lucasfilm will continue to take heat about maintaining their contract with Carano until an official statement regarding her employment is made one way or the other.
What do you think? Are you a Cara Dune fan?