Disney Wouldn't Address Systemic Racism In Mighty Ducks Show Says Star
Emilio Estevez, star of The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, says Disney decided to ignore America's systemic racism when shooting the reboot. The actor reprises his role of Gordon Bombay in the series. He previously portrayed the hockey coach in 1992's The Mighty Ducks, 1994's D2: The Mighty Ducks, and 1996's D3: The Mighty Ducks. The sequel series premiered on March 26 on Disney+.
The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers catches up with the underdog hockey team, which is now an absolute force to be reckoned with. The show follows 12-year-old Evan who, after being let go as a player, decides to put together his own hockey team, at the suggestion of his mother, Alex. The show stars Lauren Graham, Brady Noon, Maxwell Simkins, Swayam Bhatia, Julee Cerda, Luke Islam, Bella Higginbotham, Taegen Burns, Kiefer O'Reilly, De'Jon Watts, as well as Estevez. In returning to the role of Coach Bombay in The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, Estevez breaks his rule against reboots.
After nearly 30 years away from the franchise, some concerns followed Estevez's return in The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers. Since starring in the family film franchise, the Breakfast Club actor pivoted his attention to the independent movie circuit with the intention of telling socially relevant stories. His decision to come back to the role after all this time came with a couple heavy problems he ended up bringing to Disney. In a lengthy interview with Vanity Fair, Estevez reveals that, while the nation was grappling with social unrest due to the murder of George Floyd, the Mouse House refused to address it, or the issue of systemic racism, in the show. As they put it, the series was "going to be comfort food":
So I pushed back at the producers and at the studio. I said, “You know, guys, we have to acknowledge this. We’re in the middle of a pandemic.” I got on my soapbox and I cried out that I can’t play a character who’s complaining about owning a million-dollar piece of real estate in downtown Minneapolis when the city’s on fire around us. And the pushback was, “This is a show that people need that doesn’t remind them of what’s happening in the world right now. That is the Disney brand. We’re not going to acknowledge the virus; we’re not going to acknowledge the systemic racism; we are going to be comfort food as we shoot these episodes.”...I got in a huge argument with the showrunners about it. I said, “Look, you’ve got to check your own privilege here. We have an obligation as artists, as storytellers to speak to the times that we’re living in.” And there was pushback.
It sounds like bringing up the difficult issue was the right move for Estevez. The nation was just beginning to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic during production and George Floyd's murder was front page news. Additionally, the story Disney is telling in The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers takes place during present day, which makes it tough to ignore certain current events. All told, it makes sense Estevez had concerns.
At the same time, though, Disney's reasoning behind omitting these plot points makes sense, too. After everything that transpired in 2020, and the barrage of negative news and doom scrolling people were doing on a daily basis, audiences deserve fun comfort food TV for sure. This is largely the stance Disney has taken with its pandemic programming, so it's not too surprising The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers is no exception.
The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers airs Fridays on Disney+.
Source: Vanity Fair
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