Gina Carano put on a brave face in the wake of her firing from the Star Wars series The Mandalorian following a series of controversial posts on social media, but in reality her acting career being torpedoed left her in a terrible place.
As she prepares to return to her roots in MMA for a fight against Ronda Rousey on May 16, the former Strikeforce superstar admits that her public dismissal, which also nixed plans for a Star Wars series in which Carano would have served as one of the leads, was a difficult pill to swallow. Carano’s physical condition deteriorated as a result as she became pre-diabetic and she was physically unable to walk long distances without dealing with extreme pain.
“I was in a horrific condition, just physically and a bit emotionally,” Carano told The Hollywood Reporter. “I kind of lost my way and was just depressed.”
In the midst of all this, Carano was also navigating her way through a lawsuit she filed against Disney for wrongful termination. She eventually reached a settlement with Disney (the terms were not revealed) but that helped close a devastating chapter in her life.
Disney eventually released a statement saying the company looked “forward to identifying opportunities to work together with Ms. Carano in the near future.” Considering how the company distanced itself from Carano after her firing, she was stunned by the statement that followed the resolution of the lawsuit.
“Nobody really picked it up,” Carano said. “But it’s such a remarkable contrast from that first very horrendous statement that they had put out years earlier. I don’t recall Disney really doing that a lot at the time. That speaks leagues.”
Carano was eventually able to reconnect with The Mandalorian showrunner Jon Favreau, who played a huge part in her casting on the show in the first place. They eventually met on a Zoom call together to talk everything out.
“I think it was, ‘Let’s touch base,’” Carano said about the meeting. “Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni were two people that I always respected, and we went through two seasons together, and we had a great relationship. And even during everything that was happening, Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau were never the bad guys to me.”
Carano wouldn’t say if the conversation included a possible return to the Star Wars universe in the future but she called the meeting an “important conversation” after everything that happened. While acting is still obviously in her future, Carano has spent the past six months getting ready for the showdown against Rousey, which serves as her first fight since 2009.
Nothing was easy about the preparation considering where she was at physically when training began, but Carano promises she poured everything into her comeback.
“I’m coming from pre-diabetic, just in horrific condition, to becoming an athlete again,” Carano said. “And to do that in a year and a half—there’s just been so many different levels of it.
“I’m taking that opportunity. It’s been truly one of the hardest but healthiest things I’ve ever done for myself.”
As far as the buildup to the Rousey fight, Carano is happy with the relationship they’ve built while promoting the event. Carano was concerned that she wouldn’t fit into the current combat sports landscape where trash talk and animosity largely serve as the biggest building blocks for any event. She wasn’t sure how Rousey would approach it either, especially after their first encounter years ago wasn’t wasn’t exactly friendly.
Years earlier when Rousey was only a few fights into her career, Carano remembers running into her afterwards at a Strikeforce event. Rather than shake hands or enjoy a pleasant conversation, Carano remembers exactly what Rousey said to her.
“You’re not that big,” Rousey told Carano.
Carano says she only responded by saying hello to Rousey but ever since the fight was signed, she wondered how the former UFC champion would handle the promotion.
Thus far it’s been nothing but cordial and Carano says she’s just excited to get back in the cage again, although she says Rousey still loves to tell her “you’re really not that big.”
“I’m still bigger than you.”
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