When it comes to its “Star Wars” franchise, The Walt Disney’s Company’s Death Star just exploded.
On Thursday, in a decisive turn of events, Disney and conservative actress Gina Carano announced the settlement of a lawsuit Carano filed last year accusing the House of Mouse of wrongful termination.
And while the exact terms weren’t disclosed, there’s no doubt who the winner was.
Carano’s statements on Thursday make it clear.
“[A]nd the truth shall set you free,” she wrote in a post on the social media platform X.
She followed that up with a lengthier statement that thanked mega-billionaire and Renaissance man Elon Musk for financially supporting her lawsuit. She thanked her attorneys and her supporters.
And she thanked God.
Those are not the sentiments of the losing side.
I have come to an agreement with Disney/Lucasfilm @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, @elonmusk a man I’ve never met,… https://t.co/qiAX7W1vgf
— Gina Carano (@ginacarano) August 7, 2025
Disney fired Carano in 2021 from her role in the “Star Wars” spinoff series “The Mandalorian” after she stirred controversy by using a social media post to compare the treatment of conservatives in the United States to the public abuse and systematic roundup of Jews in Nazi Germany.
She deleted the post, but Carano’s outspoken views had already made her a target in COVID-era America, and Disney hit hard.
The company not only fired her, it issued a public statement denouncing her views as “abhorrent and unacceptable.” It declared that not only was Carano no longer employed by the company, but that “there are no plans for her to be in the future.”
(In an old movie, that would be the movie mogul villain telling a young heroine: “You’ll never work in this town again.”)
Carano, a former professional mixed martial arts fighter, responded by fighting back, aided greatly by Musk, who funded her lawsuit.
Disney, for its part, published a statement Thursday that — in light of its caustic 2021 attack — needs to be seen to be believed.
“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,” the statement said, according to the trade publication Variety.
“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. With this lawsuit concluded, we look forward to identifying opportunities to work together with Ms. Carano in the near future.”
So, Carano has gone from being “abhorrent and unacceptable” to “always well respected.” Her employment status has gone from essentially “never again,” to Disney looking forward to ways to work with her “in the near future.”
To paraphrase Winston Churchill in another Nazi-era context, that’s abasement wrapped in embarrassment inside a humiliation.
As a headline for the entertainment news website Deadline put it, hearkening back to Carano’s professional fighting past:
“This Really Is The Way! Gina Carano Piledrives Disney Over ‘Mandalorian’ Firing With Settlement & Job Offers.”
Should Carano have forced Disney into court?
As usual with lawsuit settlements, the behind-the-scenes moves are likely to remain behind the scenes, but it’s a good chance that a procedural win by Carano in April set the stage.
A court ordered Disney, at Carano’s legal team’s request, to produce files documenting compensation to the stars of “The Mandalorian” and other “Star Wars” series. That might have proven how differently Carano was treated compared to fellow “The Mandalorian” star Pedro Pascal.
Whatever is in those files, Disney is keeping it out of the public eye.
But whatever was behind it, there’s no question that Carano scored a resounding, all-but-declared sweeping victory.
As most Americans know, the original “Star Wars” movie climaxed with the explosion of the Death Star, the most fearsome weapon of the evil Galactic Empire.
That didn’t mean the death of the empire — and Carano’s win over Disney doesn’t mean the death of the liberal fascism (in Jonah Goldberg’s memorable wording) that has a chokehold on Hollywood and so much of American culture.
But it shows victory is possible — and the conservative fight is worth it.
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