Yesterday, news broke that production company, Village Roadshow, had filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros. over the release of “The Matrix Resurrections.” The bulk of the suit is about how Village Roadshow believes WB sabotaged the release of ‘Resurrections’ by having it debut in theaters and on HBO Max at the same time, leading to low box office grosses. But also in the complaint, there are a couple of other interesting nuggets brought up by Village Roadshow that pull back the curtain a bit about a couple of the most talked-about franchises in development.
As pointed out by Eriq Gardener of Puck, there are more issues in the lawsuit from Village Roadshow than just the things about “The Matrix Resurrections.” Specifically, the studio is attempting to prove that WB’s “schemes” go further and affect the potential sequels of “Edge of Tomorrow” and the forthcoming “Wonka” prequel film.
First, we’ll talk about “Wonka.” Even though we know “Wonka” takes place before the events of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” focusing on a young Willy Wonka (Timothee Chalamet) and the events that would lead to him becoming the candymaker, WB has been less forthcoming about how it sits in the ‘Chocolate Factory’ franchise. As pointed out by Village Roadshow, the film is not a prequel to ‘Charlie’ at all, and the studio believes this is a way for WB to get around paying the studio for the rights.
The lawsuit states, “WB has also been devising various schemes to deprive Village Roadshow of its continuing rights to co-own and co-invest in the Derivative Works from the films it co-owns. Recently, after acknowledging—in writing—that its tellingly named upcoming film, ‘Wonka,’ was a prequel to Village Roadshow’s ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,’ WB did an about-face, claiming the prequel was not a prequel and the original picture, ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,’ was not one in which Village Roadshow had unqualified Derivative Rights. WB’s tortured excuses do not hold up to even the lightest scrutiny.”
But maybe the most interesting nugget is about “Edge of Tomorrow.” For years now, we’ve heard from filmmaker Doug Liman and stars Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt about how they all want to see more films in the potential sci-fi franchise. But we’ve never really seen anything come about with that. That said, apparently, WB is planning a TV series in the “Edge of Tomorrow” universe, and Village Roadshow is accusing the corporation of trying to push the studio out of the equation.
“More recently, WB made the decision to go forward with a television series based on ‘Edge of Tomorrow,’ another Village Roadshow film,” says the lawsuit. “But it insisted that Village Roadshow relinquish its co-finance and co-ownership rights voluntarily. When Village Roadshow refused, WB said the quiet part out loud: it will not allow Village Roadshow to benefit from any of its Derivative Rights going forward, despite the over $4.5 billion it has paid WB to make and distribute 91 films. In other words, if Village Roadshow won’t give up its rights, WB will make sure they are worth nothing.”
The entire lawsuit seems to paint the picture of the big, bad WB trying to drive franchises into the ground if the studio can’t reap all the rewards. Obviously, this is a tactic that would be employed in any sort of lawsuit. You have to assume the truth is a bit more complicated than that. Now, that said, if you’re hoping for more “Edge of Tomorrow” in your future, you are likely going to be disappointed, as that franchise seems deeply entrenched in this legal battle.