While reports are circulating that Disney-owned ABC and late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel are in talks to bring Jimmy Kimmel Live back on air after the show was pulled last week, more high-profile names from some of Disney’s biggest franchises have spoken out in protest of the decision. While some, like Aunt May actor Marisa Tomei and She-Hulk actor Tatiana Maslany, have called for a straight-up boycott of the company’s services, some other major players in Star Wars and Marvel are simply voicing their support for Kimmel and condemning ABC and Disney’s decision.
Mark Hamill, who has portrayed original Star Wars protagonist Luke Skywalker since long before Disney ever got its hands on the franchise, posted on Bluesky that he believes Jimmy Kimmel being pulled from the air in an effort to placate the FCC and the Trump administration will only embolden further attacks on free speech in America, and says that he finds Kimmel “very talented and funny.” This is in reference to comments from ex-Disney CEO Michael Eisner, who expressed similar sentiments on his X account and signed off with the same final line.
Another big Star Wars name calling out Disney for this move is Dan Gilroy, a writer whose work on the Disney+ series Andor earned him an Emmy. Gilroy wrote a guest column on Deadline comparing the real-world actions of the Trump administration to events of the show, which focuses on the Galactic Empire’s tyrannical reign.
“As one of the writers on the Disney+ drama Andor, we spent six years thinking about a fascist takeover of a galaxy far, far away,” Gilroy wrote. “Six years thinking about ordinary beings as an authoritarian regime comes in for the kill. Many people saw parallels between Andor and the real world. I see them as well, particularly in the events of the last week.”
On the Marvel side of things, Pedro Pascal, who plays Mr. Fantastic in Fantastic Four: First Steps and the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday, posted a photo of himself with Kimmel to his Instagram with the caption “Standing with you @jimmykimmellive Defend #FreeSpeech Defend #DEMOCRACY.” Pascal also plays the Mandalorian in Star Wars.
Mark Ruffalo, who plays the Hulk in the MCU, has been vocally supporting Kimmel since the decision was made last week, criticizing the Trump administration during a No Kings stream on September 18, saying this move was an attack on free speech. After it was reported that Disney’s stock had dropped following the calls for a boycott (though some dispute if this seven-percent drop is anything more than a standard fluctuation), Ruffalo warned on Threads that “It’s going to go down a lot further if they cancel his show.”
Disney and Kimmel are reportedly currently in talks, looking for a “compromise” to bring the late-night show back, but there has been no official word on whether these talks have borne any fruit.
