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Disney is facing backlash online for suing a Star Wars-themed car wash in Chile, accusing the small business of plagiarizing the franchise.
Owned by Matias Jara, "Star Wash" is located on the outskirts of Santiago, Chile's capital city. Along with a sign using the classic Star Wars font and themed decor, workers dress as beloved characters including Darth Vader, Chewbacca, Boba Fett, Cassian Andor and Stormtroopers.
Jara even hired a Pedro Pascal impersonator in December, who wore a replica of the actor's beskar armor suit in The Mandalorian.
Lucasfilm filed the lawsuit after Jara attempted to register Star Wash with the Chilean patent authority, INAPI.
Star Wars creator George Lucas founded the production company in 1971. He released the original trilogy, three prequel movies, and the Clone Wars animated series under the Lucasfilm banner.
Disney bought the studio in 2012 for $4.05 billion and has continued to expand upon the universe with an ever-growing list of films, TV shows, games and merchandise.
Lucasfilm alleges that the name "Star Wash" is too similar to the space saga, potentially leading customers to associate the car wash with the Star Wars brand.
"They say our name 'Star Wash' leads to confusion as someone can come with the intention to buy a movie, a helmet, or a figure they sell," Jara told Reuters.
"This is not the case. We have a car wash named 'Star Wash,' as it's a stellar wash.
"We don't make movies or sell their products or anything like that."
Jara is challenging the claim, suggesting the two names are different enough. He also highlighted that Lucasfilm's copyright does not cover car-washing, although it does include products such as toys and merchandise.
Newsweek has reached out to Matias Jara via Instagram and Lucasfilm by email.
After news of the lawsuit broke, Disney critics hit out at the company on social media, slamming the entertainment giant for taking on a small business.
"Typical exploitative Disney," said Noah on X, formerly Twitter.
"Petty," agreed Bradford Wise.
"It's a car wash...let people have fun," wrote Okiro.
"Really scraping the bottom of the barrel, huh Disney?" said @ClownTwink.
"Praying for Star Wash to win that s***," commented Favicon.
Other users suggested the copyright lawsuit was an attempt to recoup some of the money the company lost in 2023. Last year was a difficult period for Disney, with the company enduring multiple box office flops.
"Disney has lost so much money that they need to sue a car wash in Chile," said Eric Pellinen.
"I knew Disney had a bad financial year and all but DAMN didn't know it was this bad," wrote Uneasy Peasy.
"That's what happens when you're losing money as a franchise," commented Dadicus. "Sad."
After purchasing Lucasfilm, Disney released three Star Wars sequels—The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017) and The Rise of Skywalker (2019)—along with numerous spin-off TV shows including The Mandalorian (2019), The Book of Boba Fett (2021), Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022), Andor (2022) and Ahsoka (2023).
Disney has also diversified with more animated series and video games to correspond with the franchise's merchandise range.
While Disney still has plenty of die-hard fans, the company has also faced a barrage of criticism in recent years. This includes the oversaturation of some of its biggest franchises, particularly Star Wars and Marvel.
Previously considered a sure bet, the Indiana Jones reboot fell flat. Another Lucasfilm property, the fifth installment, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, made only $369 million at the box office compared to its $295 million budget.
Disney's live-action The Little Mermaid also underperformed, as did the Marvel sequel Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Once the cornerstone of the company's success, even Disney's animated originals Lightyear, Strange World and Elemental flopped in theaters.
The box-office failures have cost Disney at least $1 billion, according to Forbes. Disney+, the company's streaming service, also lost $387 million loss in the fourth quarter of 2023, while its theme parks have seen a drop in visitors post-pandemic due to price hikes and competition from rival attractions.
In response, CEO Bob Iger said that Disney would be focusing on quality over quantity moving forward, releasing less content of a higher standard.
"We're all rolling up our sleeves, including myself, to do just that," the 72-year-old said during an earnings call in November. "We have obviously great assets [and] great stories to tell."
About the writer
Sophie is a Newsweek Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in Lincoln, UK. Her focus is reporting on film and ... Read more