Star Wars-themed car wash where workers dress as Chewbacca sued by LucasFilm
The makers of Star Wars are allegedly suing a themed Chilean car wash which uses workers dressed as Chewbacca and Darth Vader to clean vehicles for piggybacking off its multibillion-dollar galactic film franchise.
Star Wash, located on the outskirts of the capital, Santiago, has shared videos on social media showing attendants clad in full-body costumes wiping down doors and wielding hose pipes instead of blasters.
Clips show Darth Vader appearing to use The Force to summon cleaning cloths and ordering a stormtrooper to buff a bonnet.
Others feature Chewbacca polishing a dashboard and Boba Fett and the hero Cassian Andor spraying down dirty cars.
The law firm representing the car wash said that while Matias Jara, the owner, was in the process of registering his brand with the Chilean patent authority, he received a lawsuit from LucasFilm accusing him of copying the franchise.
Mr Jara’s lawyers said the US company wanted to block the registration of the name and had argued that people could be confused into thinking that the car wash was affiliated with the Star Wars brand. It has not raised issues with the attendants, they said.
Mr Jara is contesting the lawsuit, according to his lawyers, who argue that the name is sufficiently different from the movie franchise to avoid confusion.
They also claim that the LucasFilm copyright, while covering products such as toys, furniture and non-alcoholic drinks, does not extend to cleaning cars.
“Of course this lawsuit is affecting us. We’re a small business and we’re spending on things we hadn’t budgeted for,” Mr Jara said.
He added that his young daughter had thought of the wordplay for his car wash while on a family trip to a Disney theme park in the United States that features a “Star Wars” area.
“We don’t make movies or sell their products or anything like that,” Mr Jara said, noting that his business was, however, a “stellar” car wash.
The Telegraph has approached LucasFilm for comment.
