Marv Entertainment Faces Lawsuit from Stuntmen Over Kingsman Clip in Elton John Tour
Lawsuit Filed Against Marv Studios Over Unauthorized Use of Stunt Footage
Marv Studios, the production company established by British director Matthew Vaughn, is facing a lawsuit filed by two stunt performers. The lawsuit alleges that footage from the film Kingsman: The Golden Circle was licensed without authorization for Elton John’s farewell tour.
Supported by the acting union Equity, stuntmen Theo Morton and Douglas Robson are suing Marv’s special purpose vehicle, Marv Bespoke Productions Limited. Each is seeking £100,000 ($133,000) in lost earnings for the unauthorized use of an 18-second clip that features John taking down villains.
The performers assert that the footage was employed in John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road stage show, which included 330 live performances. Morton and Robson also claim that the same clip was used in the special Elton John Live: Farewell from Dodger Stadium on Disney+ and his performance at Glastonbury on BBC iPlayer.
In their High Court filing, Morton and Robson stated, “All of this exploitation of this footage has been done without the performers’ prior consent nor prior knowledge. Its use therefore breaches the contract between the performers and Marv.”
Kingsman: The Golden Circle, released in 2017, is a sequel to Kingsman: The Secret Service, also directed by Vaughn. John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour spanned from 2018 to 2023. Morton boasts over 70 credits, including work on Game of Thrones and Dunkirk, while Robson has 50 credits, including The Batman and Guardians of the Galaxy.
