It looks as if Gordon Bombay has finally lost his big fight… the character, played by Emilio Estevez, won’t be returning to season 2 of the Disney+ series The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers. According to reports by DEADLINE and THE WRAP, Estevez had creative differences with the producers, and he couldn’t commit to the Covid-19 health requirements. According to The Wrap, “an individual with knowledge of the production told The Wrap that the studio did not pick up Estevez’s option for the second season after multiple back and forths with the actor regarding the vaccine mandate.”
Deadline reported, “Heading into Season 2, The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers — like many Disney TV Studios series — has adopted a mandatory vaccination policy for the cast and crew in Zone A, which was included as an option in the most recent Return-to-Work agreement between the Hollywood studios and major unions. (Zone A includes all actors and crew members who come into direct contact with them.)”
Now, before you run to your twitter and tweet your hate for Emilio, just take a breath and realize that he made a decision to not return for whatever his personal reasons are… and he’s entitled to those reasons. He’s not hurting anyone by sitting at home and not returning to set. And he seems fine with himself about it.
If truth be told, though, Estevez hasn’t been a regular in front of the camera for some time. He’s been busier behind the camera as a director. So if you ask me, he’s probably not too upset about this development. It seems like he hasn’t been all-to-keen to be back onscreen. So he’s fine. Although the character of Bombay, who he made famous throughout the 90s, might not fare as well. There’s no telling what the writers will cook up to explain his absence. Hopefully they don’t kill him off… I mean, these Covid rules will eventually subside, won’t they? (some zealots might want them to be permanent rules, but that’s unlikely). So maybe they’ll leave the door open for a later return…. BESIDES, he wasn’t really the central character anymore. The series seemed to focus in on Lauren Graham’s character.
