Looks like Warner Bros. still might have a chance to get their “Watchmen” film in theaters for March if all goes well.
Then again, lawsuits do tend to drag. The 20th Century Fox vs. Warners “Watchmen/ We own the rights” trial is now set for a January 6, 2009 date which is much earlier than the spring and summer 2009 dates that WB and Fox had proposed earlier this week.
As Variety notes, Warner Bros. has not backed off March 6 as the release date for “Watchmen,” yet.
Two weeks ago, the Judge in the case denied Warner’s motion to dismiss the suit. Fox, who spent more than $1 million dollars in development fees on the project, alleges that they still retain distribution rights to the graphic novel through a 1991 claim.
Honestly? This still sounds totally ridiculous considering “Watchmen” was in turnaround for ages and was at two other studios before WB got to it. Fox must be using a legal loophole because of their sour grapes. We don’t neccesarily love Snyder and we’re not convinced this film will actually be good yet, but fair is fair and Fox appears to be in the wrong here from our vantage point.