Disney Accused of Stealing Star Wars Fight Choreography

Disney Accused of Stealing Star Wars Fight Choreography

A Star Wars: Visions short is under fire as stunt performer and filmmaker Lorenz Hideyoshi says the Disney+ anthology lifted his lightsaber fight choreography from his 2019 fan film Dark Jedi.

The complaint centers on Season 2, Episode 7, The Bandits of Golak, produced by Indian animation studio 88 Pictures and directed by Ishan Shukla.

Hideyoshi posted a side-by-side comparison video on Instagram showing near-identical movements and matching camera angles. Fans have been sharing the clip across X, Reddit, and YouTube, calling the sequence “blatant” and accusing the episode’s creators of tracing over his work.

What Lorenz Hideyoshi Posted

Hideyoshi shared the video comparison with a lengthy message calling out Disney and the production team. His caption reads:

“Above is from my #starwars fan film ‘Dark Jedi’ (2019). Below is from ‘Star Wars Visions’ – S2, EP7 (2023). I mean they already had a different weapons setup, but still managed to brute force (push) my choreo onto that action. Didn’t even change the camera angles. Why @disney?
Is it because we made a non-profit tribute fan film of one of your IPs and now you feel justified in stealing from this pool of creative output? Maybe either a) pay your animators more or b) hire an action designer.”

The video comparison shows matching strikes, movements, pacing, and framing — enough that fans immediately recognized the choreography as the same sequence.

star wars visions bandits golak

What’s at Stake

Fan films sit in a legal gray area because they use copyrighted characters, but original choreography and shot design are still considered creative works.

Hideyoshi asks why Disney would source ideas from fan content without credit or compensation, saying the situation reflects how large studios treat the fan community.

For Lucasfilm, it raises questions about oversight of contracted animation studios and how they develop action sequences. For fans, it adds to ongoing concerns about Disney’s stewardship of Star Wars.

About Matt McGloin

Matt McGloin is the editor-in-chief and publisher of Cosmic Book News, the independent entertainment news site he founded in 2008. He covers movies, comics, TV, video games and pop culture and has reported major industry scoops over the years, including revealing the Avengers: Endgame title ahead of its official announcement. Through Cosmic Book News, he helped Marvel Comics promote Guardians of the Galaxy and Nova through exclusive previews, artwork, and interviews, with the site also quoted in solicitations and on comic covers. He also reported on Marvel’s Daredevil: Born Again retooling before it was later confirmed by the trades.

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