"Superman" Sequel in Jeopardy?
Oh, no! Say it ain’t so! Legal issues might thwart the production of the Superman Returns sequel and Justice League Mortal, scheduled for a 2009 release in theaters.
On Wednesday, a federal judge ruled that the heirs of Jerome Siegel — who 70 years ago sold the rights to Superman, whom he created with Joseph Shuster, to Detective Comics for $130 — were entitled to claim a share of the United States copyright to the character, according to a New York Times story. The ruling left intact Time Warner’s international rights to the character, which it has long owned through its DC Comics unit.
More after the jump…
Still in question is how much the company may owe the Siegel heirs for use of the character since 1999, when their ownership is deemed to have been restored. Also in question is whether the heirs are entitled to payments directly from Time Warner’s film unit, Warner Brothers — which took in $200 million at the domestic box office with Superman Returns in 2006 — or only from the DC unit’s Superman profits.
DC Comics fans are holding their collective breath to see whether all of this will complicate Warner’s plans to make more films featuring Superman, including another sequel and a planned movie based on DC Comics’ Justice League of America, in which he joins Batman, Wonder Woman, and other superheroes to save the world!
Image: Superman Returns, Warner Bros. Pictures, 2006
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