Rumor: Peter Cushing's Grand Moff Tarkin To Be Digitally Recreated For Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

The late, great Peter Cushing, who played primary antagonist Grand Moff Tarkin in 1977's Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, will appear in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, according to the Daily Mail.

Despite having passed away in 1994 at the age of 81, Cushing is being brought back to life for the Star Wars spinoff with help from the latest, state-of-the-art computer-generated technology. "This is one of the most complex and costly CGI re-creations ever," a source told the Daily Mail. "Cushing is a pivotal plot line as he was the one to create Darth Vader and there's a whole back story that will come out."

Digital artist have encountered one major hurdle: creatingCushing from the waist down. The boots that were given toCushing for his role as the intelligent and (overly) confident Commander of the Death Star were too tight. Because of that, he wore slippers during much of filming and director George Lucas shot him from the waist up.

That means there is a lack of visual reference for the digital artists to work from so they are taking drastic measures. "They are going through hours and hours of old footage from the horror movies to recreate his legs and feet to produce realistic movements," their source told them. "It is eerie to see someone who has been dead for so long come to life on a screen."

The film is being directed by Gareth Edwards (Godzilla). The cast includes Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Alan Tudyk, Mads Mikkelsen, Forest Whitaker, and Riz Ahmed.

Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One will be in theaters on December 16, 2016.