Gina Carano Says She’s Spoken to Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau About Possible Star Wars Return

Last August, Lucasfilm/Disney surprisingly settled their legal standoff with Gina Carano, ending the post-Mandalorian fallout with a mutual agreement. No bombshells, no courtroom drama—just a closed-door resolution. More surprising, Disney released a statement speaking warmly about Carano and hinting at future collaboration: “We look forward to identifying opportunities to work together with Ms. Carano in the near future.”

For an actress once publicly ousted and humiliated by the company, the sudden pivot felt odd—was Disney cracking open a door that might lead to a Star Wars return? What changed?

Carano now confirms that she has had conversations with Star Wars bigwigs Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau about a possible return to that universe. Speaking about a recent Zoom call on The Ariel Helwani Show, the actress says:

I’ve already had a conversation with Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau. Really lovely. You know, after we settled the lawsuit, we got onto a Zoom call. It was really nice. Dave is taking over as CEO of Star Wars. We didn’t miss a beat. Jon Favreau was really funny. He was like, ‘So, where did we leave off?

What is going on here? Why the sudden 180 on Disney’s part? My best guess is that Disney, and by extension Lucasfilm, has spent the last few years navigating an increasingly polarized audience landscape and has drawn criticism from a segment of conservative viewers who feel alienated by its content. Reopening a line of communication with Carano could serve as a gesture of goodwill toward that audience. Just look at what Pixar, under Pete Docter, has been saying and doing over the past few years.

In 2021, Carano was famously fired from “The Mandalorian” for what Disney deemed “offensive” social media posts. In Disney’s own words, she “trivialized” the Holocaust by sharing a post implying that today’s conservatives are treated like Jews in Nazi Germany. Carano also shared tweets questioning pandemic lockdowns and mask mandates. She called for increased voter security, arguing that public trust in elections would be strengthened by safeguards like voter ID.

Meanwhile, her defenders pointed to the “hypocrisy” of co-star Pedro Pascal’s own social media posts, in which he compared Trump voters to Nazis. Carano indirectly addressed Pascal’s comments.

A publicist insisted that Carano issue an apology, but she refused. “Can I just do my own research?” she told them. Lucasfilm requested that she join a Zoom call with around forty colleagues who had called her out on social media. She refused.

I think it’s a bit abusive that you want me to talk to forty people... forty people...a lot of them had been [slandering me]. I don’t feel like I really deserve this.

Carano’s career had been rising in Hollywood as an action star in one of the most popular streaming shows. Her previous credits included Steven Soderbergh’s “Haywire,” “Fast & Furious 6,” and “Deadpool.” After her firing, however, roles largely stopped coming. Since 2021, her career has veered the opposite direction. Shunned by the mainstream, she found a platform at The Daily Wire, producing and starring in the little-seen 2022 “Western Terror on the Prairie.” Outside of a guest appearance on “Running Wild with Bear Grylls,” she has basically been absent from Hollywood, with her screen presence largely confined to niche projects.