A federal judge in Manhattan has dismissed a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by writer Christopher Wozniak against Warner Bros. Entertainment and DC Comics over the 2022 film.
- Mar 28, 2024
AceShowbiz - A federal judge in Manhattan has dismissed a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by writer Christopher Wozniak against Warner Bros. Entertainment and DC Comics over the 2022 film "The Batman".
Wozniak claimed that the film's plot was stolen from his 1990 story "The Ultimate Riddle", later retitled "The Blind Man's Hat". However, Judge Paul Engelmayer ruled that Wozniak had intentionally lifted material from DC Comics' works, which he had access to as a freelance artist in 1990.
Engelmayer also found that key similarities between the works, such as villainous loners who taunt with riddles and moments of revelation that drive them to crime, were too commonplace to support a copyright claim.
Meanwhile, DC Comics filed a countersuit against Wozniak, dismissing his allegations of how Warner Bros. may have obtained his story as "wholly speculative."
Despite the ruling against Wozniak, Warner Bros. still released a deleted scene from "The Batman" featuring Barry Keoghan as the Joker. In the scene, the Joker taunts Batman with the possibility that he agrees with the Riddler's critique of Gotham's corrupt leaders.
Director Matt Reeves confirmed Keoghan's role as the Joker in the film's end credits, but emphasized that it was not an origin story for the character. He hinted at a possible return in future movies, but stressed that no plans were currently set.
