(Updated with full statement from Gina Carano) Ahead of a September trial date, Disney and Gina Carano have put down their lightsabers over the former MMA fighter’s more-than-yearlong discrimination lawsuit over her 2021 firing from The Mandalorian over political postings.
In a joint filing today in federal court (read it here), the ex-Star Wars series star and the Bob Iger-run conglomerate asked for the Elon Musk-backed legal action to be dismissed — with the company clearly on bended knee.
“Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1)(A)(ii), Plaintiff Gina Carano, on the one hand, and Defendants The Walt Disney Company, Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC, and Huckleberry Industries (US) Inc., on the other, by and through their undersigned counsel, hereby stipulate that this action and all claims, including all defenses asserted therein, be dismissed with prejudice,” said lawyers for both sides in a short but to-the-point document.
A judge will have to sign off on the request, but this is de facto done and dusted in a galaxy far, far away and here at home with a distinct win for the openly conservative Carano.
While no specific details on the settlement have been revealed — like whether she getting her Rebel shock trooper Cara Dune role back as desired or any of the millions in damages she was seeking — Disney and Carano clearly are back in business. To that, a source close to Carano told me she is “happy with how things were dealt with.”
Online earlier today a deft Carano posted somewhat cryptically at the time with a scattering of emojis: “… and the truth shall set you free”
Hoping “this brings some healing to the force,” she later put our a full statement thanking Musk ( “A man I’ve never met, who did this Good Samaritan deed for me in funding my lawsuit”). Carano added: “I am excited to flip the page and move onto the next chapter. My desires remain in the arts, which is where I hope you will join me.” Read Carano’s full statement below
On the other side, in this era of knee bending and ring kissing in the face of MAGA forces, the House of Mouse once again today adopted that trying to please Red State tone it has been putting out there since Donald Trump took back the White House last November. A tone that was reinforced late in 2024 when Disney paid the then POTUS-elect $15 million to settle another lawsuit in what is still widely seen as a shakedown capitulation.
Today, they tried to make it a bit more dignified.
“The Walt Disney Company and Lucasfilm are pleased to announce that we have reached an agreement with Gina Carano to resolve the issues in her pending lawsuit against the companies,” a spokesperson said Thursday. “Ms. Carano was always well respected by her directors, co-stars, and staff, and she worked hard to perfect her craft while treating her colleagues with kindness and respect.”
In case you had any doubt who was the victor here, let the last sentence of the Disney ands Lucasfilm statement hit you – hard. “With this lawsuit concluded, we look forward to identifying opportunities to work together with Ms. Carano in the near future.”
Boom!
That’s a very different tone from last year when Disney insisted, as it had before, that the ex-martial arts fighter lost her high-profile Star Wars series gig four years ago because of her decision “to publicly trivialize the Holocaust by comparing criticism of political conservatives to the annihilation of millions of Jewish people — notably, not ‘thousands’ — was the final straw for Disney.”
Or how on February 21, 2021, just after the second season of the Carano co-starring The Mandalorian was over on Disney+, Lucasfilm put out a piercing public slapdown on its relationship with the actress: “Gina Carano is not currently employed by Lucasfilm and there are no plans for her to be in the future. Nevertheless, her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable.”
Gina Carano in Season 2 of The Mandalorian (Disney+/Lucasfilm?Everett Collection
Disney+/Lucasfilm
Citing progressive leaning political statements and posts from Mandalorian lead Pedro Pascal and Luke Skywalker himself (and Mandalorian Season 2 finale guest) Mark Hamill, Carano’s February 2024 wrongful termination and discrimination suit proclaimed that she was canned because she wouldn’t back down from her conservative opinions and postings. “Defendants made it clear that only one orthodoxy in thought, speech, or action was acceptable in their empire, and that those who dared to question or failed to fully comply would not be tolerated,” read the jury trial seeking complaint. “And so it was with Carano.
Now, it’s going to be a whole new match up for the ex-UTA represented actress (the agency dropped her not long after Disney/Lucasfilm did in February 2021), who truly leaned into her Red State beliefs since being pink slipped. As well as starring in Daily Wire and Brietbart News backed projects, Carano and her Musk paid for lawyers won round after round in court the past 18 months
Will Carano be part of the California filming Mandalorian movie? Will she get ” already promised” roles in new Star Wars series and other full length feature films from the franchise?
Might not be the Force, might not be the way (as the Mandalorians say), but we will likely know the truth in due time.
Read Gina Carano’s full statement on her legal settlement with Disney here:
I have come to an agreement with Disney/Lucasfilm which I believe is the best outcome for all parties involved. I hope this brings some healing to the force.
I want to extend my deepest most heartfelt gratitude to Elon Musk, a man I’ve never met, who did this Good Samaritan deed for me in funding my lawsuit.
Thank you Mr. Musk and X for backing my case and asking for nothing in return.
To my lawyers at Schaerr|Jaffe who walked me through this unknown territory, thank you for your wisdom and guidance.
I am humbled and grateful to God for His love and grace in this outcome.
I’d like to thank you all for your unrelenting support throughout my life and career, you’ve been the heartbeat that has kept my story alive. I hope to make you proud.
I am excited to flip the page and move onto the next chapter. My desires remain in the arts, which is where I hope you will join me.
Yes, I’m smiling.
