Emilio Estevez dropped from The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers over vaccine mandate refusal

Deadline

Estevez won't be back as coach Gordon Bombay for Season 2 over the Disney+ series' vaccine mandate requirement. "I hear Disney Television Studios’ ABC Signature, which produces the hockey-themed sequel series, made the decision not to pick up Estevez’s option for Season 2 after weeks of back and forth with his team over the show’s Covid vaccination requirement," reports Deadline's Nellie Andreeva. "Reps for the studio and Estevez declined comment. 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.)" Andreeva adds: "Estevez, through his reps, has declined to provide assurances that he would comply with the policy. With the two sides at an impasse as the Season 2 scripts were being written and the planned early 2022 start of production was looming, I hear the studio made the call to not exercise the actor’s option and the scripts will be adjusted to continue the story without the character. Meanwhile, sources close to Estevez indicate that creative differences may have played a role in his exit."