Disney Is Increasingly Bringing Dead Actors Back to Life in Its Movies. Now, It’s Starting to Get Sued

Examples include Peter Cushing, Carrie Fisher, Harold Ramis, and Ian Holm. It was about time the case went to trial.

September 12, 2024, 11:01 ET

John Tones

Disney is facing a lawsuit over its use of a digital replica of Peter Cushing in the 2016 movie Rogue One. The actor had been deceased for several years, but the studio used a digital version of him to play the character of Grand Moff Tarkin. The controversy arose when producer Kevin Francis, who was a friend of Cushing, claimed that the actor had said he didn’t want to have his likeness digitally recreated without his explicit permission before he died in 1994.

Disney used footage of Cushing from the first Star Wars film (Episode IV), which was shot 22 years before Rogue One. As a result, Tyburn Films, Francis’ production company, is suing Disney, Lucasfilm, the executors of Cushing’s estate, and Cushing’s former agency for authorizing the use of his likeness.

Disney claims that it had reached an agreement with Cushing’s agent for $36,000 and, therefore, was supposedly not obligated to seek further permission. However, Francis is seeking damages of more than $650,000. If the lawsuit is successful, it’ll be heard in courts in the United Kingdom.

All About the Replicas

It’s unlikely that the lawsuit will be successful, given that no documents signed by the actor opposing the use of digital recreations exist, only the word of his producer friend. However, the issue of digital recreations of deceased actors is increasingly becoming a hot topic. Cushing’s isn’t the only case in the Star Wars franchise. For instance, Carrie Fisher was digitally cloned in The Rise of Skywalker a few months after her death, possibly due to strict provisions in the contract she signed.

Most recently, the attention has shifted toward the surprise appearance of a digital replica of Ian Holm, who played Ash in the first Alien movie, in the 2024 film Alien: Romulus. Holm passed away in 2020, but that didn’t stop Disney from bringing him back in the latest installment of the popular franchise. This practice is becoming more common as technology advances. Other examples include Harold Ramis in the latest Ghostbusters, Paul Walker in Fast & Furious, and Christopher Reeve in The Flash.