Rogue One: A Star Wars Story brought Grand Moff Tarkin back to the Star Wars screen despite Tarkin actor Peter Cushing’s death in 1994—and it’s now become a legal matter. Tarkin was introduced as Darth Vader’s right-hand man in A New Hope and is likely best known for his role in destroying Alderaan with the Death Star. Tarkin has appeared in Star Wars movies and TV shows since the original trilogy, including a cameo in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith and multiple appearances in Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
Those appearances were quite distinct from Tarkin’s return in Rogue One, however. As The Clone Wars is animated, it did not require Cushing’s likeness, and the character was voiced by Stephen Stanton in that show. In Revenge of the Sith, actor Wayne Pygram was able to be recast in the role through the use of prosthetics (and the fact that Tarkin was primarily shown from a distance). Rogue One opted to incorporate the late Peter Cushing into that movie’s recreation of Gran Moff Tarkin, though, and that has landed Lucasfilm in H๏τ water.
How Rogue One Brought Grand Moff Tarkin Back For Rogue One
Star Wars Used A Combination Of Digital Effects And Live Action
Unlike The Clone Wars and Revenge of the Sith, Rogue One used a digital recreation of Peter Cushing’s face in combination with the live-action performance of actor Guy Henry. Similar to the tools used to bring back Luke Skywalker in The Mandalorian season 2 and in The Book of Boba Fett, Henry wore motion capture technology that allowed his face to be replaced with a recreation of Cushing’s later on. Evidently, Henry was also able to convincingly voice the character in Rogue One.
Henry wore motion capture technology that allowed his face to be replaced with a recreation of Cushing’s later on.
The transformation was no easy undertaking, however. This process took nearly 18 months in total, and ABC News reported that it required a multistep approach. This began with the artists watching the footage of Tarkin in A New Hope repeatedly until they felt they had his visage fully understood. The next step entailed Henry’s live-action performance, for which he wore a head-mounted camera rig. It was this piece of technology that captured Henry’s facial performance, which was ultimately used as a reference to recreate Tarkin’s face.
Even that process was not flawless, though. It required meticulous adjustments, at times requiring frame-by-frame changes to minor details such as mouth movements. Shockingly, Rogue One was also able to use a cast of Cushing’s face that had been made for another movie, Top Secret (1984).
Per the New York Times, Grand Moff Tarkin was simply too important to the story for Rogue One to not include him. Lucasfilm story development executive and co-producer of Rogue One Kiri Hart explained:
“If he’s not in the movie, we’re going to have to explain why he’s not in the movie…. This is kind of his thing.”
It’s true that Tarkin was heavily involved with the creation and operation of the Death Star, so his absence from Rogue One would have been noticeable and a bit odd, but the use of Peter Cushing’s likeness for the movie nevertheless raised a host of ethical questions.
Grand Moff Tarkin’s Return Caused A Huge Debate About CGI
This Choice Sparked Conversations About Respecting Late Actors
The decision to use Cushing’s likeness for the movie was immediately controversial because it meant bringing a deceased actor back to the screen (obviously) without their awareness or consent. This is far from the first time this has been done in movies, including in Star Wars. Just three years after Rogue One was released in 2016, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker brought Carrie Fisher back as Leia Organa. This was arguably even more unsettling, as Fisher had only died a few years earlier and unused footage was part of bringing her back to life on screen.
This raises serious questions about whether such a practice is ethical. As these technologies become more advanced, this question will only become all the more pressing and important, and it seems both audiences and professionals in the industry are divided on the answer. Yes, these actors and characters are essential to these stories, but is a story really enough of a justification for potentially disrespecting the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ?
Is a story really enough of a justification for potentially disrespecting the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ?
Why Lucasfilm Has Now Been Taken To Court Over Rogue One’s Tarkin Cameo
A Close Friend Of Peter Cushing Alleges Rogue One Had No Right To Use Cushing’s Likeness
While this may be an ethical quandary for many, film producer Kevin Francis, who was a close friend of Peter Cushing, has taken a clear stance on the issue, as he is suing Lucasfilm over Tarkin’s Rogue One cameo. Francis is alleging that Cushing never gave permission for his likeness to be used in this way following his death. In response, Lucasfilm has argued that they did not need permission to recreate Cushing’s likeness. Disney attempted to have the case thrown out, but the lawsuit is moving forward after the company’s appeal was dismissed.
It will be fascinating to see how this plays out, not only because of what it means for Rogue One but also because it could have implications far beyond Star Wars. Lucasfilm is far from the only company using various technologies to bring late actors back to life, and that will only become more common. Should this lawsuit suggest such practices are unethical, it will raise major questions in the film industry. While audiences may have been pleased to see Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars again, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’s decision caused quite the controversy.
