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Just months ahead of the release of Superman — the first movie in the new DCU from DC Studios, written and directed by co-head of DC Studios, James Gunn — the family of one of the character’s co-creators is suing DC Comics and Warner Bros. Discovery over whether or not the movie can even be released in certain territories across the globe.

A filing in Federal Court in the Southern District of New York on behalf of Mark Warren Peary, responsible for the estate of Joe Shuster, is seeking to potentially restrict the release of the movie in certain English-speaking countries, based on the legal system inside those countries. The lawsuit claims that, in countries following British copyright law — which it argues includes the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Ireland — Warner Bros. does not have the legal right to release Superman in theaters… or so anything with the character at all, as (the lawsuit alleges) a portion of the copyrights reverted back to the Shuster estate years ago in those territories.

As per the lawsuit, “Shuster died in 1992 and Siegel in 1996. By operation of law, Shuster’s foreign copyrights automatically reverted to his estate in 2017 in most of these territories (and in 2021 in Canada). Yet Defendants continue to exploit Superman across these jurisdictions without the Shuster Estate’s authorization—including in motion pictures, television series, and merchandise—in direct contravention of these countries’ copyright laws, which require the consent of all joint copyright owners to do so.”

The filing asks that the court awards damages to the Shuster estate, as well as “injunctive relief” in the aforementioned regions — which, absent further clarification, would appear to mean that the release of the movie could be blocked in those countries. Lacking specifics, it is unclear if the estate is making a wider claim to any and all Superman-related product, including comic books and other publications.

A spokesperson for DC said in a statement in response to the filing, “We fundamentally disagree with the merits of the lawsuit and will vigorously defend our rights.” The same statement was given by Warner Bros. Discovery to other outlets.

Depending on the results of the lawsuit, 2026’s Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow movie might also be impacted, as the character is a derivative of the original Superman character. Should the court agree with the plaintiff, the comic book futures of Superman, Supergirl, and Superboy could also be impacted in these territories. 

There have been multiple lawsuits between the estates of Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel over the ownership of Superman and related characters, with filings made by the creator and their families in 1947, 1969, 2004, and 2010. The most recent significant legal judgment on the matter came in 2013, when courts ruled that pre-existing agreements between the families and DC invalidated any attempts to terminate ownership of Superman on DC’s side. (Subsequent appeals were unsuccessful.)

DC’s ownership of Superman will terminate in 2034 in the United States, when the character passes into public domain according to current US copyright law; however, central elements of the character’s mythos — including his ability to fly, his heat vision, the Daily Planet newspaper, and the Fortress of Solitude, and even his hometown of Smallville — didn’t appear until later in his career and would remain under copyright for longer.

Enjoy our guides to how to watch the recent DCEU, the Arrowverse, and James Gunn's upcoming DCU.