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Gina Carano has called on her Mandalorian co-star Pedro Pascal to testify on her behalf in her discrimination and wrongful termination lawsuit against Disney and Lucasfilm.
Pascal, 49, was listed as a key witness in a court document filed by Carano on July 26. Jon Favreau, British adventurer Bear Grylls, ex-Disney CEO Bob Chapek, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and Lynne Hale, the creator of the publicity campaign behind the Star Wars saga’s return, were also named as potential witnesses.
Carano, 42, who starred as Cara Dune on the Disney+ Star Wars TV spin-off, was fired from the series in 2021 after sharing social media posts that compared the Republican experience in the US to that of Jewish people during the Holocaust.
The former MMA fighter filed a lawsuit – backed by Elon Musk – against the entertainment companies in 2024, accusing the studios of damaging her reputation and discriminating based on her gender.
In Carano and Disney’s joint filing, seen by The Independent, both parties note the issues they each plan to raise during the trial, which is tentatively scheduled for September 25, 2025.
One of the key issues includes whether or not Carano was under contract on February 10, 2021, when she was purportedly fired.
Another issue is whether Carano was subjected to different treatment than her male co-stars. In February, she pointed to Disney’s lack of response to Pascal’s posts in support of Black Lives Matter and transgender rights, as well as a post he made comparing Donald Trump to Hitler, as evidence of gender discrimination.
“Upon information and belief, Pascal was not disciplined, required to review documentaries on any of these topics or speak to individuals with contrary points of view, or pressured to apologize for any of his posts,” her lawsuit at the time read. “His employment was not terminated, and Defendants made no public statements about his social media posts, much less refer to them as ‘abhorrent.’”
It is not yet known why Favreau and Grylls are being called on to testify; however, according to The Hollywood Reporter, it’s presumed that Mandalorian creator Favreau would act as a witness on whether Disney greenlit plans for a new spin-off titled Rangers of the New Republic, which would have been co-led by Carano’s Cara Dune character. Kennedy revealed the production’s title in 2020.
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Meanwhile, Grylls’s testimony would likely be regarding allegations that Disney pulled Carano’s episode of Running Wild with Bear Grylls after she was fired.
Disney disagreed with Carano’s list of witnesses in the filing but added that it would additionally call Lucasfilm’s VP of animation and live-action development, Carrie Beck, and Disney’s executive VP of communications, Paul Roeder, to testify.
Last week, US District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett rejected Disney’s bid to dismiss the lawsuit, turning down the company’s argument that under the First Amendment, it has the right “not to associate with a high-profile performer on a high-profile show who’s imbuing” the Star Wars series with “views it disagrees with.”
Carano is seeking a court order that would force Lucasfilm to recast her and pay out at least $75,000, plus punitive damages.
