Gina Carano’s lawsuit against Disney for her termination from “The Mandalorian” is proceeding to trial after a judge denied Disney’s motion to dismiss, with Carano seeking reinstatement and damages over claims of harassment and unequal treatment.
Gina Carano may no longer be fighting the Galactic Empire on The Mandalorian, but her battle against Disney is still ongoing.
The lawsuit filed by the Elite XC and Strikeforce veteran is moving ahead with a trial looming. Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett denied a motion from Disney to dismiss the case. Garnett issued her ruling in a 23-page judgment on Wednesday.
“In sum, Defendants have failed to set forth an ‘impenetrable defense’ under the First Amendment,” Garnett wrote in her ruling. “Accordingly, for the foregoing reasons, the Court denies Defendants’ Motion.”
The lawsuit, backed by Twitter owner Elon Musk, comes after Carano was terminated from her role as Cara Dune in The Mandalorian. This followed a string of controversial messages posted on her social media accounts.
Lucasfilm, owned by Disney and running the Star Wars universe, issued a statement back in 2021. They said Carano was “not currently employed by Lucasfilm and there are no plans for her to be in the future.”
The studio also denounced social media posts from Carano. One message seemingly compared living as a conservative in the U.S. to atrocities suffered by Jewish people during the Holocaust.
“Her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable,” Lucasfilm stated.
Carano was removed from her recurring character status in The Mandalorian. Plans for a future series called Rangers of the New Republic were also scrapped. Her agents at UTA dropped her as well.
In her initial lawsuit against Disney, Carano argued she was bullied on social media. She claimed Disney/Lucasfilm harassed her over views regarding Black Lives Matter, gender pronouns, and COVID-19 mandates.
Carano also claimed Disney took no action against male co-stars who made controversial statements but faced no reprisal. She’s seeking reinstatement of her role on The Mandalorian along with at least $75,000 and punitive damages.
Disney filed for dismissal “on grounds that they have a constitutional right not to associate artistic expression with Carano’s speech.” They argued that the First Amendment provides complete defense to Carano’s claims.
Apparently, Judge Garnett disagreed with that argument.
With Disney’s motion to dismiss denied, Carano’s lawsuit is moving ahead to trial unless settled financially beforehand. Given its public nature, a settlement seems likely—but it remains uncertain how hard Disney will fight this case.