Copyright law may be Superman movie's kryptonite

It seems Superman's otherworldly powers may be no match to defeat… copyright law. Warner Bros. Discovery is gearing up to release its latest Superman reboot, the crucial launch of a new DC Studios connected universe. But the estate of the character's co-creator, Joseph Schuster, has made a legal play that might stop the movie in its tracks (at least in terms of international release). 

The executor of Schuster's estate Mark Warren Peary filed a lawsuit against WBD and DC Comics on Friday seeking a jury trial in a matter of copyright law. According to the suit, "the copyright laws of countries with the British legal tradition—including Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Australia—contain provisions automatically terminating such assignments 25 years after an author’s death, vesting in the Shuster Estate the co-author’s undivided copyright interest in such countries" (via Deadline). Schuster died in 1992 and his co-creator, Jerry Siegel, died in 1996. "By operation of law, Shuster’s foreign copyrights automatically reverted to his estate in 2017 in most of these territories (and in 2021 in Canada)," the lawsuit declares. "Yet Defendants continue to exploit Superman across these jurisdictions without the Shuster Estate’s authorization—including in motion pictures, television series, and merchandise—in direct contravention of these countries’ copyright laws, which require the consent of all joint copyright owners to do so."

As the filing notes, Superman is all over DC content worldwide, but the timing of this lawsuit can be no coincidence. The studio is just now ramping up the marketing campaign for James Gunn's new movie (starring David Corenswet in the titular role) ahead of the July 11 release date. Worse still—though unclear how successful this gambit will be—Schuster's estate is seeking a pretty comprehensive cease and desist on all Superman content until the suit is adjudicated (and from infringing on the copyright in anyway "permanently thereafter… without Plaintiff’s prior written consent or license to do so"). That would put a real damper on Warner Bros.' release plans and on pretty much the entirety of DC Comics' operations. 

In a statement on the matter (via Deadline), a WBD spokesperson said, "We fundamentally disagree with the merits of the lawsuit, and will vigorously defend our rights."