A legal battle that has been brewing for years is now going to trial, with a High Court in London ruling that Tyburn Film Productions can proceed with their lawsuit against Disney/Lucasfilm for using the late Peter Cushing's likeness in 2016's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
The Gareth Edwards-directed movie - which went on to gross over $1 billion worldwide - featured the return of A New Hope's villainous Grand Moff Tarkin, with Industrial Light & Magic's advanced computer-generated technology used to "resurrect" the legendary actor for several scenes.
It was one of the first examples of a studio employing what's come to be known as "digital necromancy" to bring a deceased actor's character back to the screen, but far from the last, and it always results in a significant amount of backlash. Most recently, the late Ian Holm's likeness was used for an android in Alien: Romulus, and we also saw the spirit of Harold Ramis' Egon Spengler return in Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
In 2019, Tyburn Film Productions - which is run by one of Cushing's oldest friends, Kevin Francis - claimed that the company had entered into an agreement with the actor prior to his death, which would prevent the reproduction of his likeness through special effects without their consent. Disney has attempted to get the bid thrown out several times, but a judge has now ruled that the case will go to trial.
In his ruling, the judge said that while he was “far from persuaded” that Tyburn Film Productions would succeed in its claim, the case was not “unarguable” and a “full factual inquiry” was needed.
The trial will now take place at a later date.
What do you make of this development? How do you feel about actors' likeness being used in movies and TV shows after their deaths? Be sure to let us know in the comment section, and have a look at Tarkin's first scene from Rogue One below.
"Former scientist Galen Erso lives on a farm with his wife and young daughter, Jyn. His peaceful existence comes crashing down when the evil Orson Krennic takes him away from his beloved family. Many years later, Galen becomes the Empire's lead engineer for the most powerful weapon in the galaxy, the Death Star. Knowing that her father holds the key to its destruction, Jyn joins forces with a spy and other resistance fighters to steal the space station's plans for the Rebel Alliance."