No Watchmen Until 2010? Maybe...

It has been reported at a number of sites, including Worst Previews, that a lawsuit could cause a delay in the release of Watchmen. This delay could push the release back as far as 2010. Now, no one wants that, do they? Well, 20th Century Fox does, if they can get their way.

I am sure a few of you do not know what is going on or why this would be happening. Well, it seems that Fox claims to own the copyright to the Watchmen source material, then there is some fuzziness that led to Warner Brothers believing they purchased said rights and went ahead to produce the film. Now that the film has been made, Fox has stepped in and filed an injunction to prevent the release of the film next March. There are reports of the two studios haggling over the actual start date of the trial which involves gray copyright laws and Hollywood contracts, none of which is likely to start until after the proposed March release of the film.

It will definitely be interesting to see how things shake out. I cannot believe that Fox wants the movie on the shelf, since it is pretty much guaranteed to make money. What this is going to come down to is carving up the pie and deciding who gets the bigger piece. Beyond that, will the haggling result in a delay of the film's release? I certainly hope note, the trailer looks spectacular.