This week, a U.S. District Court Judge made yet another ruling in the decade-long legal battle between DC/Warner Bros. and the estate of late Superman co-creator, Jerry Siegel. The latest ruling (in this convoluted case) stated that all was fair (legally at least) regarding the licensing fees WB paid to DC comics in 1999, in order to develop properties like Superman Returns and Smallville.
Here’s the part you’ll care about: while the judge found that the deals between WB and partner DC weren’t illegal, he did state that WB should’ve paid 3-4 times what they did, and that if WB doesn’t produce another Superman film by 2011, the heirs of creators Siegel and Joe Shuster (who will jointly own 100% of the rights to Superman come 2013) will be able to sue the studio to “recover their damages.”
So, will Warner Bros. try to get another Superman film into production by next year?
|
|
Here’s what Warner Bros. currently has going for them, as far as a new Superman movie is concenered: No script. No director. No Supes film of any kind in development. No star to play Superman. Bupkis, really. No Man of Steel sequel to Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns; no “dark” Superman Unleashed reboot. Nothing but Bupkis. So much for months and months of rumors…
So what’s the best move now for Warner Bros. and DC?
Understand: in 2013, when the Siegel/Shuster heirs take ownership of the rights to Superman, NOTHING gets done without their approval. DC doesn’t release one issue of the comic book or any animated features; Warner Bros. doesn’t put out any Superman-related movies or TV shows. Unless the Siegels/Shusters give the go-ahead, WE DON’T GET SUPERMAN.
That said, it becomes easy to see why DC/WB might suddenly halt other planned comic book films to focus all their attention on Superman. After all, Supes is the most recognized superhero in the world and anything released with his name slapped on it is automatically going to have a better chance at ma$$ appeal than any other superhero this side of The Dark Knight.
Whatevs, I wasn't too keen on a "dark Superman" movie anyway...
But what can DC/WB do at this point? Developing and producing a Superman film takes a great deal of time and a WHOLE lotta money. And 2011 is NOT far away; we all know how quick time passes as movies crawl their way towards theaters.
So, the big questions: Should DC/WB try to push out one more Superman movie before the legal deadline? Should they try to go live action, or focus on an animated feature like the upcoming Superman/Batman: Public Enimies? Should they be in backrooms right now, trying to beg the Shuster/Siegel heirs to cut them a new deal before Superman ends up playing for team Marvel (it is possible)?
And finally: will this legal stuff effect the rumored Superman cameo in the upcoming Green Lantern live-action film?
Let’s get to the debate. Leave your comments.
(If you want to read more about the current legal battle between the Siegel estate and DC/WB, you can do so here.)
Source: Variety
Loading ...
58 Comments
Id hate to see Superman fall into Marvel’s hands. It just wouldnt seem right. Superman: The Movie is a classic and should not be remade whatsoever. And we all know Superman Returns is intended to follow after Superman 2. Yes Lois has a son now, but who says he has to be in the next film or two? He can be mentioned without being in the film instead. Id like to see Superman tackle villains like Darkseid, Brainiac, Metallo etc. As for Doomsday, i would only wanna see him if they cover Superman’s death comics the right way by including Eradicator, Superboy, Steel, Cyborg Superman. I wouldnt wanna watch a live action film of the death of Superman like that cheap dvd version of Superman: Doomsday animated film.
If WB does a reboot film of Superman and still plan to use Lex Luthor then they should have Lex Luthor on screen as a business man from Lexcorp. And he can just have a minor role in the film and encourage or hire another known fan favorite villain to take on Superman. Villains like Metallo , or parasite or Livewire etc. And not have Lex have a sense sillyness as seen from Gene Hackman or Kevin Spacey.
who cares? superman is overrated and not worth the effort.
@ Andy S:”I’m just tired of having to have Lex Luthor in EVERY single Superman film.”
He wasn’t in Superman III…
A few months after Superman Returns came out, I saw a trailer/blog about a sequal where the mass of kryptonian rock that Superman threw into space continued to grow and take orbit somewhere around the asteroid belt. The presence of such a large kryptonian mass attracted braniac to our solar system and, establishing a home on this new Krypton, he plots to take over the Earth. I’m no writer, but I’m sure that a pretty good movie could be made from that premise.
I’m upset with WB for feeling they needed to make Superman darker. Batman as a character is a dark individual and needed a makeover from the many campy iterations we’d been given. Superman is conflicted, yes, and could be portrayed with more gravity, but as a character he’s far from dark. There’s a reason why Superman usually is depicted as fighting during the day while Batman is seen at night.
The “angry” Superman could come after he learns that Braniac was the cause of Krypton’s destruction. He realizes that he may have to cross the line, lose control in order to prevent Earth from suffering the same fate.
@ Sir Kech
Im with ya. Superman is the complete opposite of Batman. They want to reboot and make him darker only because TDK made money. Bryan Singer gave us 2 great X-Men films, i think he deserves another chance especially if they learned from what they did wrong. I read somewhere they already planned to have Braniac & Bizarro as the villains who would trade punches along with a hint that Doomsday will make a appearance. Just because they reboot it doesnt mean its gonna be great.
After the mess Singer made of Superman and the X-Men movies I wouldn’t let him near any comic book franchise ever again.
@Carlton: I agree x10.
As far as a new Superman film: Superman: Birthright.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman:_Birthright
There’s your story outline for the first film. Flesh out the script a bit more and get busy with casting.
DO NOT ALLOW BRYAN SINGER ANYWHERE NEAR IT.
I can’t believe WB is still dragging their feet with this. We finally had a new Superman with promises of more, and they have done nothing! Routh was perfect, he looks and sounds the part. I would hate for them to reboot the whole thing. I didn’t care much for Kate Bosworth, they could replace her, but everyone else was great. I have been waiting for a new movie for three years now. WB, just make one!!! You still made money off Superman Returns. Does a movie have to profit you $100M or more for you to be happy? What happened to making a movie for the creative and imaginative aspect? We want another Superman with Routh!!!!!!! And we owe it to Reeve to stay on the same path…the ending to Returns left it wideopen for more interaction between Superman/Lois and Superman and his son. Please make another movie!
Ollie I missed the Superman Birthright, thanks for the link. as for Routh….he was the worst Superman ever. if they called him Supernerd i would have believed it. they need to scrap this storyline and do something new. I would prefer seeing Smallville on the big screen.
@Carlton: No problem. As I’ve said before, it would be a fantastic way to begin a whole new franchise and really explore the aspects of why he becomes Superman in the first place: to fully realize his Kryptonian self, while simultaneously exploring the public’s fear & mistrust of this new god among men.
Then we can get a really dangerous Lex Luthor who’s out for more than just land. Not too mention, the special FX sequences for rendering the book’s finale could be Star Wars quality.
@ Ann
I agree with ya Ann. Id rather see them continue from the first two Superman films, Thru Supermans Returns and onton the next film. Especially if villains like Bizarro, Brainiac, aswell as Doomsday make a little appearance in the next one as prosposed. We sure as heck dont need another origin telling reboot. I thought scripts for failed Superman films pretty much sucked, even Batman Vs. Superman didnt look like it would be a great film. Anyways, Singer gave us two great X-men films and he and WB realized what they did wrong so i say we should atleast give them all one more chance. They can always reboot later. lol i cant believe i still hear people think if they go on the same road with Superman as they did w/ Batman in TDK, they could make a great Superman film. Batman is the opposite of Superman so just because it worked for Batman doesnt mean Superman will get that much praise. people really need to keep that in mind.
I agree about the Batman thing. The only reason they want to make it more like that is because they see $$ due to the Dark Knight being such a hit. Just because the movie was “dark” doesn’t mean that was the main reason it was well received. They need to look at the bigger picture. It was a pretty well made movie not to mention the curiosity factor due to Heath Ledger’s death.
I say they stay on the path, add some of those villains as you mention, keep the love story/interest going and see where they could go with the kid. I know some people didn’t like the kid aspect, but I think they could take that in a lot of different directions.
@ Ann
Yeah. I already thought of ways about the kid issue. They dont need to put him in the next film because one easy way for them to keep the kid involved in the continuing of the franchise with only mentioning him by name. That or they could keep his presence as a cameo appearance. Like in Superman 2 we all assumed Martha Kent was still alive and it wasnt only till Superman 3 we heard about her passing. Thats just a example. But thats my opinion.
I think Warner bros/DC Comics is getting a some major karma coming back to them.To me ,superman will always be associated with DC I cannot imagine it with Marvel Dark horse it’s a mess!
I think they should denfenly do another superman movie but if they do decide on a joint one with batman i don’t think they should have them fighting each other because no matter how differnt they are they both still stand for the same belives but with that said a film with both of them in would be a good idea also a i think a live movie of justice league would sell quite well. here is my idea for a new superman movie wait in till they end smallville and bring out a movie virsion to finsh it of it could him finaaly with the tights and cape
i duno i think w.b is going to screw things up AGAIN! so no madder how much we want a good superman you see what they give us. they just don’t care w.b. that is all they see is $$$$$$$$im suprised smallvile has done so well o-whell maybe after 2013 who knows tom has the torch now he would do good if the movie or script worthy
i love superman
What's your opinion? Leave a Reply!
Go to Gravatar.com and upload your own (we'll wait)!