‘I Feel Like I’m Sitting Here In The Desert’: The Mandalorian Alum Gina Carano Gets Real About Trying To Find Work After Being Fired By Disney

It’s been over three years since The Mandalorian alum Gina Carano was fired by Lucasfilm and the Walt Disney Company. The MMA fighter-turned-actress was let go by the entertainment conglomerate after sharing social media posts that stirred up controversy. In the aftermath, the star hasn’t minced words when sharing her feelings about her former employees and, just weeks ago, it was revealed that Carano is suing Disney over her ousting. As she moves forward with the legal proceedings, Carano is now getting real about what it’s been like trying to find work since she was dropped. 

Before landing the role of mercenary and New Republic official Cara Dune on The Mandalorian, Gina Carano had a number of other film and TV credits under her belt. Fast & Furious 6, Deadpool and Almost Human are just some of them. She recently caught up with The Post Millennial to discuss her current professional prospects and, as she explains, it’s been tough for her to find work. She believes her Disney firing is now “stuck” on her and used an alleged scenario involving a potential new agent to illustrate her point: 

I tried to get a voice acting agent because I think anime would be something really fun to get into. And the first thing that lady asked me— the first question— ‘well, how is your relationship with Disney?’ And I was like, ‘well, they fired me.’ But, you know, I was just kind of like, this is stuck on me. This is like, all these things are stuck on me.

Lucasfilm announced the actress’ firing in early 2021, specifying that there were no plans to use her in upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows. Among the posts she shared a message that compared today’s political climate to Nazi Germany. She was also chastised for making comments about trans-friendly pronoun usage, which were viewed as derogatory. She also notably made comments in regard to supposed voter fraud in the 2020 U.S. Presidential election as well as masking and health protocols amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Fight Girls alum has scored some gigs since being written out of The Mandalorian as, shortly after, she announced a partnership with The Daily Wire. Gina Carano’s first project with the brand was a thriller film called Terror on The Prairie, and she also starred in the political movie My Son Hunter. As she explained during this recent interview though, she and the conservative entertainment company are no longer partners. With that, she says she now finds herself alone on a “desert”:

It’s like I’ve been in this desert where I belong nowhere. I’m alone. I had my moment with The Daily Wire, but I don’t work with them. I’m not employed by them. I’m a solo artist out here. And I’m grateful for them. But like, you know, I’m just on my own out here. And so I feel like I’m sitting here in the desert and just trying to stay positive and trying to rebuild, you know, getting doors closed on me.

Since her firing, Gina Carano has claimed she was “bullied” by the House of Mouse and added that she felt “head-hunted” as well. Though she’s been critical of the brand itself, she shared loving words for former co-star Pedro Pascal in the aftermath. Now, via her lawsuit, Carano is suing Disney and Lucasfilm on the grounds of discrimination and wrongful termination, and Elon Musk is helping to fund the suit. She’s seeking at least $75,000 in punitive damages. As she conveyed in this recent interview, she seems content with how the proceedings are going and is optimistic about her career moving forward:

Now it’s like, now it feels like there’s this energy that’s pushing forward that is like an actual rehabilitation of a career and a comeback. And I can feel it and it’s so exciting. And I see it and other people see it. It’s happening in other people’s careers.

As of this writing, Disney and Lucasfilm have not spoken publicly on Gina Carano’s lawsuit. It remains to be seen whether her efforts to sue her former employers will be successful and whether it’ll become easier for her to find work as time goes on.