No Superman for the UK: James Gunn’s new DC movie might not be released in these countries due to legal issues

Anticipation is growing ahead of the July release of Superman. The James Gunn written and directed movie is the first as part of the DC Comics Universe series and a reboot of the classic Superman film with the role of Clark Kent (Superman) played by David Corenswet.

The movie which explores Kent’s journey to make peace with his Kryptonian heritage however has been embroiled in legal complications which may impact its release in a series of key markets.

Legal wranglings

The estate of one of Superman’s original co-creators have filed a copyright lawsuit in a U.S. court against Warner Bros ahead of the film’s July release.

The lawsuit was filed recently in a New York City court by the estate of Superman illustrator Joseph Shuster, who created the famous superhero along with writer Jerome Siegel.

The lawsuit claims that original illustrator Shuster and writer (Siegel) licensed their rights to the character to Detective Comics, the predecessor of DC Comics, now a subsidiary of Warner. The lawsuit claims that under British law, Shuster’s rights reverted to his estate in 2017, 25 years after his death.

The estate for both original creators of the superhero accuse Warner of unlawfully failing to pay royalties to use Superman in Britain/Ireland, Canada, Australia and other countries outside the United States.

This ‘hot potato’ will now fall into the hands of lawyers and should no legal settlement be reached prior to the global launch, the release in certain markets could be impacted.

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