Warner Bros. has had the monopoly on creating comics, movies, cartoons etc., with their characters for the better of 80 or so years. This is fantastic for them, but it also means that something terrifying for them is looming. Within the next decade, some of their most loved characters will be entering the public domain, and no one knows what DC and Warner Bros. Discovery will do about it. The good news, however, is that with the right investor, Henry Cavill could return as Superman.
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Warner Bros. Discovery’s IP
It’s no secret by now that the DC Universe is going through a complete reset now that James Gunn and Peter Safran have been appointed the co-CEOs of the newly denominated DC Studios under Warner Bros. Discovery which completed its merger around the middle of 2022. They have since announced their “10-year-plan” to stay in competition with Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe. As we all know, this came at the cost of losing Henry Cavill as Superman and possibly Ben Affleck as Batman (he has been talking with Gunn about directing a film at DC Studios).
Something far more terrifying for WBD will also be looming around the corner in the next 10 years. US law states that works published before 1978 entered the public domain 95 years later. They do so on the following 1st of January after the 95 years have elapsed.
This might sound like some copyright jargon, but it spells some bad news for some of DC’s most popular and famous characters, which have driven millions of dollars in sales, both movies and merchandise, and are nearing the end of their lease in the private domain. Superman was first introduced in 1938, Batman in 1939, and Wonder Woman in 1941. This means they should all be entering the public domain on the 1st of January, 2034, 2035, and 2037 respectively.
In short, Henry Cavill could return as Superman… in 10 years’ time.
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Henry Cavill Could Still Be Superman In The Future
Although there is no doubt that Warner Bros. Discovery won’t be giving up their IP without a fight, even if that fight is with copyright law itself, these characters entering the public domain could change everything. The Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman that we know from the DC Extended Universe and have come to love seem to need to be put in DC Studios’ 10-year-plan. However, they still have a place invested in all of our hearts.
Suppose WBD doesn’t find a way to wiggle their way out of these characters entering the public domain. In that case, another director, production team, or studio could pick up the project, and we could see Henry Cavill return as Superman, again.
There is yet to be an accurate roadmap for where DC can go. Disney’s fight about Mickey Mouse is the only time a big company has argued against copyright laws and their IP entering the public domain. What they will do remains to be seen, and many attorneys believe that this area of the law will keep developing as companies manage to last longer and longer, reaching centuries of comics and movies.
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Lol…this will never happen. Why you guys don’t check your facts before publishing such misinformed material?
Public domain related? Will never happen. That’s exactly what Disney has been preventing for like 30 years now with their characters. Mickey Mouse turns 95 this year, 100 in 1928, he should have been in the public domain since 1998, but Disney has been preventing that since years before using legal loopholes, guile and obscene amounts of money. You think Warner and DC would let a character like Superman go into the public domain? Not even if that means the planet would break in half. They will do the same thing as Disney, Superman should be in the public domain as well, since 2008. Hasn’t happened. What that article says will NEVER happen.