Disney and Lucasfilm sued over digital recreation of deceased actor in Rogue One
Kevin Francis and Tyburn Film Productions sued Disney and Lucasfilm in British court alleging they illegally used digital facial recreation technology to depict the deceased actor Peter Cushing in the 2016 film Rogue One, reportedly violating a 1993 agreement in which Cushing refused consent for his likeness to be used via special effects.
What happened
Disney and Lucasfilm digitally recreated the likeness of deceased actor Peter Cushing to portray the character Moff Tarkin in the 2016 film 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'. A different actor, Guy Henry, performed the role and his face was digitally altered post-production to resemble Cushing.
Kevin Francis, a film producer and friend of Cushing, and his company Tyburn Film Productions sued Disney, Lucasfilm, and Lunak Heavy Industries in British court. Francis and Tyburn alleged that Cushing had rejected the use of his likeness via special effects in 1993 during negotiations for a different television film project, and that this refusal applied to all future films.
Index analysis
Lucasfilm and Lunak contended they held the rights to the Tarkin character as part of the original Star Wars films and had paid Cushing's estate approximately €33,000 for use of his likeness.
The defendants argued that the digital use of Cushing did not violate the 1993 agreement, as that contract concerned a specific television project that was never produced.
Governance controls
A British court initially ruled in favor of allowing the lawsuit to proceed after Lucasfilm and Lunak attempted to have the case dismissed in December of the previous year.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.