Despite being the most hyped film  of 2009 for quite some time, further problems have emerged in the bitter legal battle over the adaptation of classic cult comic Watchmen. Several months ago it was reported that Warner Brothers (who produced and are releasing the Watchmen movie) were in a court battle with 20th Century Fox, who previously owned the film rights and claim they still have a stake in it.

This week saw a turn for the worst. The cases judge has now ruled that Fox has a stake in the film, and even a right to distribute the film. This means that further legal maneuvering is required to sort this out, which means that it is very possible that the film will not be released in March, as had been planned and promoted for the past few months.  This will be  huge blow to fans eager  to  watch the movie, as for the industry in total as now there’s no tentpole pic in  the spring  to boost  business.  There is a chance that Fox will just ask for a financial settlement, but considering  how WB  made more money this year than an other studio,  I wouldn’t be surprised if Fox (who are currently 6th) got nasty.