Stephen King is the undisputed master of horror, a literary giant who has spent decades terrifying readers. In addition, his work is a favorite well for Hollywood to draw from, resulting in iconic nightmares like It and The Shining. However, the author’s genius is not limited to things that go bump in the night. King has penned some of the most emotionally devastating dramas and fantasies in American literature, steering away from his dark roots to tell human stories. Several of these have been adapted into acclaimed films, such as The Green Mile, Stand by Me, and The Life of Chuck.
Videos by ComicBook.com
But arguably the most beloved of these deviations is The Shawshank Redemption, the 1994 masterpiece often cited as one of the greatest films ever made. While the Frank Darabont film is perfect in the eyes of many, the property might be getting a new cinematic treatment soon, as the story just became the target of a high-stakes copyright dispute. According to a new report from Puck, King is officially enforcing his Copyright Termination rights against Warner Bros., the studio that has held the rights to The Shawshank Redemption since acquiring Castle Rock Entertainment in 1996.
What Will Happen to The Shawshank Redemption After the Copyright Dispute?
Image courtesy of Columbia Pictures
Since King makes a significant amount of money from the licensing of his vast library, the author is notoriously strict about copyright management and usually demands rights reversals if a property is languishing with a studio that is not actively using it. The Copyright Termination provision in U.S. law gives authors a chance to regain control of their work after 35 years, allowing them to renegotiate terms or take their IP elsewhere.
This legal maneuver is similar to the messy battle that paralyzed the Friday the 13th franchise. In that high-profile case, original screenwriter Victor Miller successfully reclaimed the domestic rights to the script of the original 1980 film. That ruling created a complex rights split that effectively froze Jason Voorhees in legal limbo for years, preventing new movies from being made until the parties could come to a separate agreement.
Now that the termination notice has been filed, two distinct scenarios are likely to unfold regarding the future of Andy Dufresne. The first is that Warner Bros. could attempt to quickly remake or reboot The Shawshank Redemption to be petty and hold onto those rights all over again. This “use it or lose it” strategy is a common defensive tactic in Hollywood when termination notices arrive. A prime example occurred recently with another King property, Pet Sematary. When King filed for copyright termination on that novel, Paramount Pictures fast-tracked the 2019 remake to get a film into production before the rights fully reverted to the author. By releasing a new movie within the notice period, the studio secured a fresh copyright on the new film and its specific derivative elements. This allowed them to maintain a foothold in the franchise even as the underlying novel rights shifted. Warner Bros. could adopt this exact playbook to ensure it retains a piece of the Shawshank pie.
The second possibility is that Warner Bros. decides to play ball with King rather than rushing a production that could tarnish the legacy of the original. If the studio chooses not to pursue a reboot, they could try to negotiate a more lucrative deal to keep the rights, effectively paying King to withdraw the termination notice. However, if no deal is reached and the rights revert to King, he would have the total freedom to shop the property around. Other studios or streamers would likely bid aggressively for the chance to produce a high-budget miniseries adaptation or a modern feature film retelling. Alternatively, King could simply choose to retire the rights entirely. Given the author’s protective nature over his works and the near-mythic status of the 1994 film, King might decide that The Shawshank Redemption is best left alone.
The Shawshank Redemption is available to rent and purchase in VOD and physical media.
Do you think Hollywood should attempt a remake of The Shawshank Redemption? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
Image courtesy of Netflix -
Image Courtesy of Netflix -
Image Courtesy of Devolver Digital -
Image Courtesy of Madhouse/WIT Studio
