Star Wars has been popular since the 1970’s, and after Disney purchased the rights to the franchise, new generations of fans have come along thanks to the new movies, shows, books, and more.
One relatively small characters in the movies is named Grand Moff Tarkin, who was played by the actor Peter Cushing.
He first appeared in the 1977 Star Wars: A New Hope film.
Sadly, Cushing passed away in 1994.
22 years after his death, Disney had him appear in “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” which takes place in the same general time frame as the original trilogy.
Disney had him appear in the movie by digitally reconstructing him from old footage. Fans of the original trilogy loved his appearance and for many, it was seen as a great way to honor the actor.
For his best friend Kevin Francis, however, it was a violation of the actor’s wishes.
Francis claims that prior to his death, Cushing insisted that nobody was allowed to reproduce his likeness digitally without getting express permission.
For this reason, he is suing Disney and their subsidiary Lucasfilm.
He is suing in the British Court system, which is not as transparent as the American system while cases are ongoing, so there aren’t many details.
From what is available, however, it appears that Disney has tried to argue that Francis is attempting to seek unjust enrichment and they wanted the case thrown out.
The high court denied that claim and is allowing the case to move forward.
Francis is demanding $650,000 in damages.
It is not clear when this case will move forward, or even when it was first filed, but it has been about eight years since the movie came out, so clearly he didn’t move quickly.
While it is impossible to predict what the court system will do, it is unlikely that they will find in Francis’s favor.
Why would his friend even be able to sue on his behalf?
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