When Peter Cushing’s Grand Moff Tarkin appeared in the latest Star Wars movie 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Rogue One, the main topic of discussion was whether his CGI recreation was any good or if he looked like a melted potato. Now that the excitement of another film from a galaxy far, far away has faded somewhat, people are asking another question; was it morally right for Disney and 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Lucasfilm to bring Cushing back from ꧃🧸the dead to star in a movie? 

Afterall, they basically had him appearing in a new film without his consent and if you’ve seen Rogue One you know we’re not talking about some minor cameo here. He was a significant part of the supporting cast and, having died in 1994, was unable to give his permission/sign a contract/be paid for the role, or indeed have a𓃲ny say in how he appeared at all. Legally speaking, Disney and Lucasfilm crossed no lines. They had permission from Peter Cushing’s estate to use his image and the dead basically have no rights anyway, but that hasn’t stopped some fans from saying it’s unethical.

It’s not the first time we’ve🍷 seen controversy like this. When Audrey Hepburn was recreated to advertise Galaxy chocolate bars a few years ago, half the world was impressed with the admittedly fantastic CGI, while the other half was appalled that the &lsqu😼o;50s icon was being used to sell candy. Again, Hepburn’s estate (her two sons Sean Ferrer and Luca Dotti) had given their permission for her image to be used and received a fee for their trouble.

Even before then, Fred Astaire danced with the Dirt Devil vacuum cleaner a decade ๊after his death thanks to his widow giving her permission, but she was “saddened that after his wonderful career he was sold to the devil”. The list goes on and on, and as technology only becomes mo🧔re able to bring back long since lost stars, it will only be getting longer. 

. “I think this work was done with a great deal of affection and care. We know that Peter Cushing was very proud of his involvement in Star Wars and had said as much, and that he regretted that he never got a chance to be in another Star Wars film because George [Lucas] had killed off his character.” He 𒈔added that “it was done in consultation and cooperation with his estate. So we wouldn’t do this if the estate had objected or didn’t feel comfortable with this idea.”

It’s a discussion that has gained more attention in light of Carrier Fisher’s death, who also appeared in CGI form in Rogue One. In Fisher’s case, she gave permission for the VFX team to recreate her younger self for a Princess Leia cameo while she was still alive. When news of her sudden and tragic death on December 27, 2016 (a fortnight after Rogue One was released) spread, it was naturally assumed by most that the same CGI skill would be used to complete her role in 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Star Wars: The Last Jedi and S🤡tar Wars 9. In fact, that representatives had spared no time in negotiating with her estate for the rights to do so. 

Since then, 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Disney/Lucasfilm have confirmed that they will not be using CGI to recreate Carrie Fisher for either of the sequels, stating on the : “We want to assure our fans that Lucasfilm has no plans to digitally recreate Carrie Fisher’s performance as Princess or General Leia Organa.” Is this because they couldn’t get the rights from her estate to do so? We just don’t know. Lucasfilm president to Knoll that Fisher approved of ꧒her part in Rogue One (“Kathy [Kennedy] called me right after she showed it to [Fisher] and𒅌 said how fantastic she thought it was. So she was very much in favour of it.”), so it’s perfectly feasible that it’s actually because her role in Star Wars 8 already reaches some kind of conclusion. 

No matter what, the question still remains whether it’s ethical to profit off a dead actor’s digital resurrection. After all, despite the joy movies bring us, they’re still made to make money and it seems no-one (Disney included) minds who they have to bring back to do so. Ultimately, I think it’s safe to say that Pe🤡ter Cushing would have wanted to have been a 𒁃part of Rogue One. Maybe he would have played the role differently… maybe he would have had suggestions for director Gareth Edwards... we’ll never know. But fans were certainly pleased to see the iconic baddie on the big screen again (even if he did look a bit like a melted potato), and as long as his family are happy with him reprising his role, who am I to say otherwise?