Competing Buck Rogers Project in Development at Skydance as Legal Arguments Emerge

As previously reported, Hollywood studio Legendary, the home of Godzilla vs Kong, Dune, and [...]

By Spencer Perry

As previously reported, Hollywood studio Legendary, the home of Godzilla vs Kong, Dune, and Jurassic World, has announced that they are developing a reboot of the classic character Buck Rogers for the modern era, with recent reports suggesting George Clooney is in talks for the title role. Now though things are getting complicated as The Hollywood Reporter brings word that Skydance Media is now developing a competing adaptation but that they're working with the estate of Philip Francis Nowlan, the author who created the hero. There's one big wrinkle though, some tricky legal developments that will make this whole thing something to keep an eye on.

The very first story that the character appeared in was a novella titled "Armageddon 2419 A.D." which was published in 1928. Due to a lapse in copyright renewal in the 1950s though it now sits in the public domain, meaning that like The Great Gatsby or George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead anyone is free to adapt it into any medium as they see fit. This is where things get tricky though. Legendary's planned adaptation seemingly stems from this particular story; however, the character in the original novella is named "Anthony Rogers" and not "Buck."

Since the character was later renamed to "Buck" after the success of that original novella, Skydance and the estate of Philip Francis Nowlan are claiming Legendary doesn't have the rights to use the "Buck Rogers" name in their reboot, which is still seemingly protected by copyrights and trademarks which they own. Skydance secured the film rights to those in their new licensing deal.

THR reveals that a cease-and-desist letter was sent to Legendary today who were told by the Nowlans Estate's attorney that "Buck Rogers" and "Anthony Rogers" are different characters. This would be news to the long-lasting Buck Rogers series though, which means an ugly Hollywood legal fight could be on the horizon.

In a statement to the trade, Legendary said they remain full steam ahead on their planned franchise for the character, which according to the initial report will not only a "blockbuster film" but a "prestige television series" (which has hired Saga's Brian K. Vaughn to write it) and an "anime-style animated series." They wrote:

"We have secured the rights we need to proceed with our project and the company will not comment any further on these baseless claims," Legendary's statement reads. "This same party has been claiming for years that they have rights which they do not have and have been trying to inhibit projects based on rights they do not legally control."

Check back here for more details on this legal challenge and the two competing projects as we learn about them.

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