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Disney subsidiary Lucasfilm is being sued over its recreation of Grand Moff Tarkin actor Peter Cushing’s image in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
As reported by The Times, a friend of Cushing has alleged Disney did not have permission to recreate the actor’s image with special effects for Rogue One. Disney tried and failed to have the case dismissed for a second time on September 9, 2024.
The plaintiff Kevin Francis is suing Lucasfilm through his film company Tyburn Film Productions and also brought claims against Rogue One producer Lunak Heavy Industries, the late executors of Cushing’s estate, and Cushing’s agency Associated International Management.
Francis claimed he must give authorization for any recreation of Cushing’s image following an agreement made between him and the actor in 1993, one year before his death at age 81.
Lucasfilm claimed it didn’t think it needed permission to recreate Cushing’s image due to his original contract for Star Wars (the 1977 film which became Star Wars: Episode 4 – A New Hope) and the nature of the special effects. It also paid around $37,000 to Cushing’s estate after being contacted by his agent about the recreation.
On September 9, deputy High court judge Tom Mitcheson dismissed the appeal, stating the case should go to trial. “I am also not persuaded that the case is unarguable to the standard required to give summary judgment or to strike it out,” he added. “In an area of developing law it is very difficult to decide where the boundaries might lie in the absence of a full factual enquiry.”
Star Wars spans many eras and, having started in 1977, features actors throughout many stages of their lives. It has used special effects to de-age the likes of Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, for example, and this technology has been used to put deceased actors in its films too.
This includes Cushing’s Tarkin, of course, but also Carrie Fisher’s Princess Leia. The actress died in 2016, after just two of the three Sequel Trilogy films had been filmed, and Disney used special effects alongside repurposed footage to include her in Star Wars: Episode 9 – The Rise of Skywalker.
Image credit: starwars.com.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
