Disney Axes Iconic 'Mighty Ducks' Character from Hit Show After Star Actor Refuses to Get the Jab
Disney is poking a huge hole in its “Mighty Ducks” TV series by forcing a vaccine requirement one actor refused to obey.
Emilio Estevez, who was part of The Mighty Ducks” films in 1992, 1994 and 1996 and the first season of “The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers,” will not be back for the show’s second season, according to Deadline.
Estevez played the character of hockey coach Gordon Bombay in the series, which is shown on Disney+.
Disney required that actors and crew members who come in contact with them all be vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Deadline’s report, which was attributed to sources it did not name, said Estevez did not give Disney any assurances he would kowtow to the vaccine mandate.
After months without progress, and Disney needing to settle on scripts so that production could start early next year, the decision was made to simply drop the character.
Deadline’s report said that what it termed “sources close to Estevez” said that creative differences over the show may have been a factor in the decision to part ways.
Disney has not just imposed a vaccine mandate on its actors, but on all employees.
Emilio Estevez has been fired from Disney + series The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers after he refused to comply with the studio’s new COVID protocols. He will be written out for season 2. https://t.co/7RGlBNdTPL
— chris evans (@chris_notcapn) November 5, 2021
Emilio Estevez is out of season 2 of “The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers” over Disney’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
Good on you, Emilio. Push back must be maintained. pic.twitter.com/j7sagBZM4a
— Sgt. Rock ?? (@SgtRockUSofA) November 7, 2021
The hockey-themed series offers a new spin on the “Mighty Ducks” film franchise in which a player cut from the youth team worked with his mother and the character played by Estevez to rediscover the joy of playing the game for the fun of it.
To many, the Estevez situation was reminiscent of Disney’s breakoff with actress and former MMA fighter Gina Carano, who was fired from her role in the Disney+ hit “The Mandalorian” over a Twitter post that compared current political intolerance on the left to Nazi Germany.
Estevez said he was originally not inclined to continue playing Bombay when Disney launched the show.
“Over the years, there have been a lot of reunions, whether it was through the Anaheim Ducks or various charities. Famously, I have rejected all of those, whether it’s a reunion for ‘Breakfast Club’ or ‘The Outsiders’ or ‘St. Elmo’s Fire’ or ‘Young Guns,’ all of them,” Estevez told Entertainment Weekly in March.
“Fortunately I’ve been able to have starred in movies that have stood the test of time and have a long shelf life, so a lot of folks have wanted to see reunions of where are they now,” he said.
“So on one hand, it’s a blessing to have been involved in that but on the other hand, it’s like, I rarely, if ever, participate. So to come back do a ‘Mighty Ducks’ reunion with replaying this role was a big step,” he said.
Estevez said he was attracted to doing the Disney series because the character had changed over time.
“The fact that we were going to revisit this guy but so different than the last time we saw him? It’s certainly not what we expect. But what I like is that there’s 10 episodes that we had to discover where he’s been and ultimately where he’s going.”
He admitted he is not a fan of recycled plots or characters.
“The question is, are we at peak nostalgia yet?” he said. “If we’re not, we’re pretty close. “
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