The upcoming Superman reboot movie set in the new DC Universe is facing some legal trouble, adding to the list of past DC issues regarding copyright of movies, comics, and more. James Gunn is rebooting the iconic Man of Steel in July with Superman, starring David Corenswet as Clark Kent. The project is the first film in the DCU’s Chapter One, hoping to start the franchise with a bang after the animated Creature Commandos series introduced audiences to the new shared universe and even featured a Superman cameo.

During a Superman movie set visit attended by ScreenRant and other outlets, Gunn explained that his and Peter Safran’s 10-year plan for the DCU would only be able to happen if Superman was a success. According to the director of the Superman film, the DCU is “not just going to keep making movies” if Superman is not a hit. That is why a recent lawsuit against the upcoming DC film could complicate things. Superman‘s situation is a delicate one, as DC has both had success and faced problems in the past over copyright disputes.

Superman Creator’s Estate Is Suing WBD And DC Comics To Block The Movie

The DCU Needs Superman To Release In As Many Countries As Possible

Needing Superman to be a major hit to continue the DCU after the final films in the old DCEU faltered at the box office, DC Comics and its parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, are now faced with a complicated situation. Deadline revealed that the estate of Joseph Shuster, who co-created Superman for DC Comics alongside Jerry Siegel, is suing DC and Warner, trying to block James Gunn’s Superman reboot from being released in key territories. Shuster’s estate claims the companies do not possess the rights for the film’s release in Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Australia.

DC could lose more than $100 million with its new Superman film, based on how those key territories performed at the box office when Henry Cavill’s Man of Steel grossed $670 million worldwide. Warner Bros. Discovery was notably displeased with the lawsuit. A spokesperson for the studio issued a statement on the ordeal, saying, “We fundamentally disagree with the merits of the lawsuit and will vigorously defend our rights.” The copyright laws of the countries mentioned would have terminated the assignment of Superman’s rights to DC Comics 25 years after the authors’ deaths, with Shuster’s estate regaining them in 2017.

Superman’s Copyright History Includes A Fight For Superboy

The DCU Fight Is Not Warner’s First With The Superman Creators’ Estates

The lawsuit that could block the release of James Gunn’s Superman is not the first time DC has had legal issues surrounding Superman. It all started during World War II. Before being drafted into the U.S. Army, Joe Shuster pitched both a newspaper strip and later a comic book script about Superboy — Superman as a boy. After those were rejected by DC, he went to war, but DC would use Superboy without warning him. After he returned from war and spent a year frustrated, Shuster convinced Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel to sue DC for the rights of Superman and Superboy.

Siegel and Shuster partially won the case, with the judge granting Siegel Superboy’s rights and the duo royalties for DC’s use of Superman, though the company was ruled Superman’s owner. Surprisingly, they later gave DC Superboy’s rights in exchange for $100,000. Shuster’s heirs filed a copyright termination notice in 2003 to get Superman’s rights back. In 2012, a past deal between Shuster’s sister and DC settled the ordeal, as she had waved the rights to claims against DC. Similarly, a 2001 deal between Jerry Siegel’s family and Warner Bros. voided their claim for 50% of Superman.

The Batman Was Sued For Plagiarism But The DC Movie Won

Robert Pattinson’s Batman Had A Successful Box Office Run

The DCU’s Superman reboot is not the only recent DC movie to have faced legal issues. Robert Pattinson’s debut as Bruce Wayne, 2022’s The Batman, was also involved in a dispute. Christopher Wozniak, who was hired by DC as a freelance artist in 1990, claimed that director Matt Reeves’ The Batman plagiarized his Batman story treatment, “The Ultimate Riddle,” later retitled “The Blind Man’s Hat.” According to the lawsuit, Wozniak believes his Batman story, which featured the Riddler as a serial killer terrorizing a Gotham with corrupt cops and ruled by a criminal banking cartel, was stolen for the film.

The Batman Franchise

Movie
Release Date

The Batman
March 4, 2022

The Batman – Part II
October 1, 2027

The Batman 3
TBD

The lawsuit also stated that entire scenes from The Batman were lifted off the pages of Wozniak’s work. Those include Alfred being bombed by the Riddler and Batman learning about it on the phone after it happened. The lawsuit states that Wozniak sent his Batman story to DC at least three times before showing it to The Batman executive producer Michael Uslan in 2008. U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer ruled that The Batman was not a copy of Wozniak’s story, adding that the artist infringed DC Comics copyrights, lifting characters and more material from DC without consent for his story.

DC’s Captain Marvel Was Renamed Shazam After Copyrights Issues

A Popular Case Of Copyright Disputes In Comics

Brie Larson plays Captain Marvel in the MCU, and Zachary Levi gave life to Shazam in the DCEU, with the characters’ pasts in the comics explaining why they do not have the same name on the big screen. Fawcett Comics created Captain Marvel — now known as Shazam — as an answer to Superman in 1939. Since Captain Marvel had many similarities with the Man of Steel, DC took legal action against Fawcett around the time Captain Marvel got a live-action film serial in 1941. After many delays and a long court battle, Fawcett had to stop using Captain Marvel in 1954.

After Timely Comics became Marvel and produced popular heroes like Spider-Man and the Hulk, the company decided to secure the trademark for Captain Marvel, protecting its brand name from other publishers. However, Fawcett Comics would license the original Captain Marvel to DC in 1973. Due to how Marvel Comics had trademarked “Captain Marvel,” DC started publishing the character’s comics with the Shazam title, despite the character himself still being referred to by his original name. After years of confusion, DC finally renamed Captain Marvel in 2012, now calling him Shazam, which stands to this day.

DC Comics Sued Mark Towle Over His Replica Batmobiles

DC’s Copyright Issues Extend Beyond Just Comics, Movies & TV

Finally, DC has also had some issues regarding copyrights outside the boundaries of storytelling. In 2013, Warner Bros. won a legal dispute in a curious case. Mark Towle created Gotham Garage, where he built, customized, and then sold Batmobile replicas to car collectors. Stating that the Batmobile was a character and thus should be protected by copyright law despite the defendant’s claims that cars could not be copyrighted, DC and Warner were successful. As detailed by The Hollywood Reporter, U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Lew stated that “it is clear that the Batmobile is a copyrighted character.”

The case of the Batmobile replicas and all the others outlined show how DC is experienced at protecting its copyrights and characters. As such, even though the Shuster Estate is trying to block James Gunn’s Superman movie from being released in key territories based on copyright laws of countries with the British legal tradition, DC and Warner are likely to pursue every possible avenue to prevent the project from not being released in those countries. With Superman set for a July 2025 release, more developments in the ongoing lawsuit against DC are expected to come in the next months.