A lot of crap has been going on regarding who owns the rights to Superman and various things super-related. Me, being a huge Superman fan, have been keeping my ear to the trail while listening for the approaching buffalo that signal a new “S” movie. Terrible analogies aside, let me bestow upon you some things that have happened recently.
The heirs of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster got a court ruling in their favor that said effective 2013, they will own the full copyright to Action Comics #1, which allows them the right to take Superman to other companies besides Warner Bros. to make movies and shows and stuff. If Warner Bros. gets a movie greenlit and rolling by 2011 then they will retain the rights to the character in that particular medium. This is pretty good because it forces the studio to stop dragging their damn feet and get a new movie going. Of course, Warner’s could still do a movie afterward, but they’d have to pay.
After that court ruling, the courts also gave the heirs the copyrights to other comics and newspaper strips after Action Comics #1. This includes Superman’s origins and all that implies, like the planet Krypton, his parents, baby-in-a-rocket-ship, etc. So, once again, if Warners wants to put that stuff in a movie, they have to pay, though it would be more realistic for them to just forget it and make a movie with Superman already being Super and stuff.
So what does all this mean; I have no idea. I hope it means that Warners will fast-track a new movie that will say “we don’t need no stinkin’ origin story” and get right to some punching and laser-vision. But, then again, it might mean that things will drag and then legal actions will keep getting put forth and we don’t see Superman on the big screen for another twenty years. I’m hoping for the fast-tracking one. You should be too.
Tags: Feet, Superman, Warner Bros.