It appears that Disney has succeeded in a bid to throw out a lawsuit against the company over its use of Peter Cushing’s likeness in Rogue One.

 

When Grand Moff Tarkin was brought back for Rogue One using the likeness of Peter Cushing — created with a combination of CGI and actor Guy Henry — it was somewhat controversial among fans. Some felt the CGI fell in the uncanny valley, where it was good enough for a video game but not a live action movie, while others were concerned that Cushing’s likeness had been resurrected by a corporation without his consent.

 

It was reported at the time that Lucasfilm did have the Cushing estate’s consent to use his likeness for Tarkin in the film, but that didn’t stop British company Tyburn Film Productions suing Lucasfilm over the decision to use it without consulting them first. That happened just over a year ago, and it appears Disney’s lawyers have been successful in its attempts to get the case thrown out.

 

According to Reuters, Disney finally overturned the case this week. Tyburn Film Productions claimed that they had signed a deal with Peter Cushing in 1993 that gave them the right to resurrect the actor’s likeness first by way of visual effects, and because Disney did it without their consent, they lost £250,000 ($333,725).

 

Disney have tried to get the case thrown out twice over the past year but had been unsuccessful until this week, when the judge finally ruled that “it is impossible to identify anything at all that belonged to Tyburn which can be said to have been transferred”.

 

That doesn’t necessarily mean that Lucasfilm and Disney weren’t wrong to resurrect a deceased actor for their latest film, just that there was no evidence that prior agreements prevented them from doing so. Either way, it seems that Lucasfilm and Disney acted legally when they brought Grand Moff Tarkin back to the big screen; now all that’s left to do is debate whether or not it was in good taste.


Josh is a huge Star Wars fan, who has spent far too much time wondering if any Star Wars character could defeat Thanos with all the Infinity Stones.