Legal battle blamed for delaying next Superman film

THE LEGAL BATTLE between Warner Bros/DC and the heirs of Jerry Siegel has been blamed for causing delays to a further Superman film.

Earlier this week, the head of Warner's new DC Entertainment unit said there were no current plans for another Superman movie.

It's now reported that Warner Bros has admitted that ongoing litigation has stopped any attempts to get Superman back on the big screen.

According to fansite Superman Homepage, Warner Bros senior vice president of corporate communications Scott Rowe has said in an email: "Superman is an important member of our family, but because of ongoing litigation we cannot announce any concrete plans at this time.

"That said, at some point in the future, you're likely to see a new Superman. So... have no fear."

Warner Bros has been locked in a protracted legal dispute over rights with the heirs of the character's co-creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The studio faces a lawsuit from the Siegel estate if it does not begin production on another film by 2011.

In 2013, all rights revert to the heirs, which means Warners would subsequently need their permission to proceed with another film. It also means the heirs could take the character to another studio.

A follow-up to Bryan Singer's 2006 movie Superman Returns was ruled out long ago following mixed fan reaction to its controversial storylines coupled with an 'underperforming' box office. Singer has moved on to other projects and the next project has been clearly stated to be a reboot that reintroduces the hero.

Superman Returns made $391million worldwide, ranking it the sixth highest release for box office gross earnings in 2006. But, according to The Numbers this was set against a hefty production budget of $204million which, when added to a tax break of $28million and the $40million costs of previous failed film efforts, gave a total expense in the region of $270million as listed by Box Office Mojo.

Industry analysts' charts show that Superman Returns took 117 days to reach $200million, compared with five days for The Dark Knight and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, eight days for Spider-Man 2, nine for Spider-Man 3, 10 for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, 16 for Iron Man and 17 for X-Men: The Last Stand. Superman Returns ranks as the eighth slowest film ever to reach this amount.