‘Superman’ Legal Battle Returns: Joe Schuster’s Estate Seeking To Block WB From “Exploiting Superman” in the U.K., Ireland, Canada, & Australia

The long-running legal fight over Superman’s rights is back again, and it could cause trouble for James Gunn’s upcoming Superman film, set to release this summer.

According to Puck News, the battle has taken a new turn. Lawyer Marc Toberoff has quietly restarted his lawsuit over Superman’s rights. This legal fight could impact the international release of the new movie.

Marc Toberoff represents the family of Joe Shuster, one of Superman’s original creators. He says the rights to Superman have gone back to the Shuster estate in several countries, including the UK, Ireland, Canada, and Australia.

This could mean Warner Bros. might not be allowed to release or make money from Superman in those countries.

The first version of this case (read more about it here) was dismissed by a federal judge, who said the court didn’t have the right to decide it. Many thought the case was over. But Toberoff didn’t give up. He refiled the case in New York state court, and now it’s active again.

Toberoff is known for fighting hard in big Hollywood cases. He clearly believes the Shuster estate still has a claim to Superman’s rights, at least in some parts of the world.

Toberoff is now asking the court to stop Warner Bros. from using Superman in those countries until the case is resolved. If the court agrees, this could delay or even block the international release of James Gunn’s Superman, which is supposed to hit theaters on July 11.

The court is moving fast. Last week, a judge from the New York Supreme Court told Warner Bros. to respond to Toberoff’s request by Friday, and ordered both sides to appear in court on June 4.

That’s just weeks before the movie’s release, which shows the court knows how urgent this case is.

It’s rare for a judge to block a movie’s release, especially one as big as Superman. But strange things have happened in Hollywood before, so Warner Bros. is taking this seriously.

Millions of dollars and years of work are at stake. The studio wants to make sure nothing gets in the way of their big summer blockbuster.

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