Disney Is Taken To Court For Digitally Resuscitating ‘Star Wars’ Actor
Photo: LANDMARK MEDIA / Alamy Stock Photo
Disney is facing legal pushback for bringing the late Peter Cushing back to the screen—digitally, that is. The entertainment giant is being sued by Kevin Francis, a longtime friend and producer of Cushing, over the CGI resurrection of the actor in the 2016 film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The lawsuit claims that Disney and its subsidiary, Lucasfilm, used Cushing’s likeness without proper authorization, allegedly violating the actor’s explicit wishes.
Cushing, who passed away in 1994, famously played Grand Moff Tarkin in the original Star Wars film in 1977. In Rogue One, his character was brought back using advanced CGI techniques, blending old footage with a body double.
Disney has been sued for using Peter Cushing's likeness in #RogueOne pic.twitter.com/6zWNoleqRj
— Culture Crave 🿠(@CultureCrave) September 10, 2024
Francis argues that Cushing had firmly stated that his image should not be reproduced without his direct consent—a condition he claims was ignored by Disney. Now, the lawsuit seeks over US$650,000 in damages, and the UK High Court has given the case the green light to proceed.
>Be Disney
— Oliver Jia (オリãƒãƒ¼ãƒ»ã‚¸ã‚¢) (@OliverJia1014) May 10, 2023
>Hire a guy who looks exactly like a young Peter Cushing to play Grand Moff Tarkin in Rogue One
>Put a bunch of expensive CGI shit on his face instead
>Looks like an uncomfortable plastic puppet the entire time
Yep, the future of acting in movies looks great. pic.twitter.com/si1QhldzaE
The controversy began after Rogue One prominently featured a digital version of Grand Moff Tarkin. Tyburn Film Productions, the company that worked closely with Cushing, alleges it had an agreement that prevented the use of his likeness without their consent. Lucasfilm and Disney maintain that they obtained the necessary permissions from Cushing’s estate, reportedly paying US$36,000 for the rights to use his image. However, Tyburn claims this wasn’t enough to satisfy their contractual rights.
A High Court judge in London has now ruled that the case should proceed, rejecting the House of Mouse’s attempt to have it dismissed. Judge Tom Mitcheson noted that while the case is not guaranteed to succeed, it is certainly worthy of a full trial.
The funny thing about Rogue One’s use of Tarkin is that they DID cast a guy who resembles Peter Cushing, and some neat makeup could’ve easily made him look nearly identical to ANH. What a colossal waste lmao pic.twitter.com/exjQTdJw16
— Raj 🩺 (@whitewolf_raj) August 17, 2024
[via Euronews, Slash Film, Futurism, Giant Freakin Robot, cover photo LANDMARK MEDIA / Alamy Stock Photo]
