As previously reported, Warner Bros. will lose the rights to future SUPERMAN properties in 2013. That would mean that come that time, the rights holders will be free to shop a SUPERMAN film to Fox, Sony or Universal. Hell, anyone who wants to pony up to make a movie.
What’s weirder though is what aspects of Superman’s legacy have been divided between the heirs and WB/DC. The heirs to co-creator Jerry Siegel now own the rights to “depictions of Superman’s origins from the planet Krypton, his parents Jor-El and Lora, Superman as the infant Kal-El, the launching of the infant Superman into space by his parents as Krypton explodes and his landing on Earth in a fiery crash.”
Meanwhile DC/WB own the rights to elements of his history like “Superman’s ability to fly, the term kryptonite, the Lex Luthor and Jimmy Olsen characters, Superman’s powers and expanded origins.”
While obviously the hot button issue here is whether this will bring us a SUPERMAN movie faster, this shouldn’t be considered a good thing. Rushing a movie into to development to beat a clock is never a good thing (see: WOLVERINE). Both sides have so much invested in this, it would appear to be in both their best interests to find a way to renew their partnership and continue the legacy of Superman. I’d rather see a great SUPERMAN movie in 2015 than a terrible one in 2013.