Darth Vader "Shards of the Past" Star Wars Fan Film Controversy
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Overview
Darth Vader "Shards of the Past" Star Wars Fan Film Controversy refers to a copyright dispute between Disney, who owns the rights to the Star Wars film franchise, and YouTuber Star Wars Theory, who created a fan film focused on the Star Wars character Darth Vader.
Background
On December 21st, 2018, YouTuber Star Wars Theory released the video "VADER EPISODE 1: SHARDS OF THE PAST – A STAR WARS THEORY FAN-FILM." Within one month, the video received more than 7.2 million views (shown below).
Developments
Copyright Dispute
On January 14th, Star Wars Theory tweeted [1] a screenshot of an email from YouTube that Disney and Warner Chappell had claimed ownership of the music in the video, which sounded similar to composer John Williams' theme for Darth Vader The Imperial March. The tweet received more than 730 retweets and 3,400 likes (shown below, left).
That day, the Star Wars Theory creator Toos uploaded a video of himself explaining the situation. In the video, he states that he received permission from LucasFilm, the creators and producers of Star Wars, to make the fan film so long as he did not monetize. He agreed. The video originally did not play with advertisements, costing him "$80,000." Additionally, he claims that he hired a composer to compose original music for the film based on the music of Star Wars.
Online Reaction
On January 15th, Redditor [2] YoutubeArchivist posted the video regarding the dispute in the /r/videos subreddit. Within two days, the post received more than 110,000 views (86% upvoted) and 3,900 comments.
That day, many on Twitter called for a boycott of Disney, particularly 2019's Star Wars: Episode IX. Many argued that the advertisements that profit Disney should be removed and that the YouTuber should be given an apology (examples below).
LucasFilm Interference
On January 16th, Star Wars Theory posted a video entitled "LUCASFILM STEPS IN! ORDERS THEM TO REMOVE CLAIM! JUSTICE!!" In the video, he explains that Lucasfilm reached out to Disney and Warner Chappell to take the claim down. The video received more than 620,000 views in 24 hours.
Media Coverage
Several media outlets covered the controversy, including The Daily Dot, [3] Movieweb[4] and more.
Search Interest
External References
[1] Twitter – @SWTheory66's Tweet
[2] Reddit – StarWarsTheory creates a Darth Vader fan film, hires a composer to create original music, and doesn't monetize the video. Warner Chappell is falsely copyright claiming the video's music and monetizing it for themselves.
[3] The Daily Dot – Disney files copyright claim on YouTuber’s Darth Vader film--and the creator is devastated
[4] Movieweb – Lucasfilm Saves Darth Vader Fan Film from Disney Copyright Claim
Top Comments
Kevster99410
Jan 17, 2019 at 02:20PM EST
Chris the Lovable Jerk
Jan 17, 2019 at 12:43PM EST in reply to