Lucy Lawless says a Mandalorian fan petition might have cost her a Star Wars gig
Lawless has suggested that a petition calling for her to replace Gina Carano on The Mandalorian might have made it harder for Disney to hire her
The fan petition has become a potent—or at least a very loud—tool of audience expression in recent years, as it’s become easier and easier for vocal advocates for this or that pop culture stance to make those feelings known with little more effort than signing their name to an online form. (Or someone else’s name. Or Big Bird’s.) The actual efficacy of these campaigns is much more murky, though; for every petition that can be linked to a series getting a surprise revival from a network impressed by a groundswell of fan devotion, there are hundreds more that are promptly ignored.
Or maybe, even, actively harmful to the cause. Take the case of Lucy Lawless, who gave an interview to Metro this week in which she briefly touched upon a petition that circulated earlier this year, asking Disney to replace Gina Carano—who tweeted herself right out of a job back in February—on Disney+ Star Wars series The Mandalorian with the beloved New Zealand actress.