Battle Royale Over Watchmen Could Delay the Movie
September 2, 2008

While fans wait on the edges of their seats for the big screen release of Watchmen, the adaptation of the acclaimed graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, the legal war is shaping up to be a Battle Royale over the rights to the film since studio heavyweights, Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox, are settling into their legal positions, with the possibility of more studios jumping into the Watchmen cage.

On Friday, August 29, as The New York Times reports, both studios submitted plans for the trial, which could delay the release of Watchmen since Fox is pushing for a trial date in June 2009 while Warner Bros. is gunning for a trial date of April 2009, which is only a month ahead of the planned March 6 release date.

Although Watchmen has been dogged by controversy ever since it went into production last year in Vancouver, The NY Times reveals that Warner Bros. is mounting a defense against Fox, which is aiming to prevent the release of the film over the ongoing issue of ownership of rights to the adaptation.

The latest update in the Watchmen saga sees Warner Bros. countering Fox's claims by taking the stance that Fox knew full well that Watchmen was being pitched and shopped around Hollywood and making the rounds to the various studios, but Fox allegedly didn't move on the project until after Warner Bros. shelled out $100 million to make the film.

However, according to the NY Times story, the legal war between Hollywood super powers might be getting even more complex, and could turn out to be an all-out Battle Royale, as Warner Bros.' Watchmen partners Paramount Pictures and Legendary Pictures could also be pulled into the legal battle since their bottom line would also be affected. At the same time, as the NY Times reports, Universal Pictures could also roped into the mix since, "Universal had tried to make a version of the film in 2001, before Paramount took over. And though Paramount dropped its plans for the movie, it became involved as a partner when Warner teamed up with the director Mr. Snyder in the wake of the box office success of 300."

Will fans even get to see Watchmen at all? Probably, but there's a chance it might not be until 2010, as the story also suggests.