David Zaslav’s New Superman Has a Big Legal Problem

David Zaslav, James Gunn
David Zaslav could run into trouble distributing the company’s entire Superman library internationally—everything from the Christopher Reeve classics to the Smallville TV series to Dwayne Johnson’s Superman-adjacent Black Adam movie. Photo: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic/Getty Images
Eriq Gardner
February 5, 2025

The lawsuit claiming Warner Bros. has lost foreign rights to the Superman character could affect much more than this summer’s planned relaunch of the franchise. Of course, most of the headlines about the case have centered on the ramifications for James Gunn’s anticipated July 11 tentpole, Superman, which is intended to jumpstart the studio’s revamped DC universe. But Friday’s complaint, filed by longtime Warners nemesis Marc Toberoff, could be legal kryptonite for other studios, too. If Toberoff prevails, the estate of Superman co-creator Joseph Shuster won’t be the only one to take advantage of the fact that—in territories including the U.K., Canada, and Australia—25 years after an author’s death, copyrights revert to their estate.