LONDON, Dec 18 (Reuters) – Disney unit Lucasfilm on Thursday won its bid to throw out a London lawsuit over the use of the likeness of a long-dead actor in a Star Wars spinoff movie.
Peter Cushing, who died in 1994, was “resurrected” as Death Star commander Grand Moff Tarkin for the 2016 film “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” using visual effects and another actor.
He had appeared in the original 1977 “Star Wars” film, created by George Lucas, which became one of the most successful film franchises of all time.
The movies have collected more than $5 billion in global ticket sales since the release of the first installment in 1977, and spinoffs are still being produced.
Cushing had signed a deal with British company Tyburn Film Productions in 1993 to appear in a television film, an agreement Tyburn’s lawyers said gave it “the right to be the first to ‘resurrect’ Mr Cushing by way of visual effects”.
Tyburn claimed it had lost around 250,000 pounds ($333,725) and sued Lucasfilm and fellow Disney subsidiary Lunak Heavy Industries at London’s High Court for alleged unjust enrichment at its expense.
Lucasfilm and Lunak, however, said the case was hopeless and unsuccessfully tried to have the case thrown out twice. But the Court of Appeal ruled in their favour on Thursday.
Judge Sue Carr said that “it is impossible to identify anything at all that belonged to Tyburn which can be said to have been transferred” to Lucasfilm or Lunak, meaning the case could not continue.
Lucasfilm did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
($1 = 0.7491 pounds)
(Reporting by Sam Tobin, Editing by Louise Heavens)
