Warner Bros. claim that the “time is critical” over WATCHMEN.

The studio have requested for the court hearing over their dispute with 20th Century Fox to be brought forward to Monday because they need to know as soon as possible whether they will be allowed to release their $150 million adaptation of the Alan Moore graphic novel on March 6th or whether it will be delayed or lost completely to Fox.

Tuesday Jan. 20th was the initial date set for Judge Gary A. Fees, who remember has already ruled for the distribution rights to be in Fox’s favour, to make his decision on how severe the punishment will be for WB and of course, ultimately the fans. Will Fox be able to block the release, will it move into their complete creative control, or are they just due financial incentives, that’s basically the decision that needs to be made.

The Hollywood Reporter say that with WATCHMEN due for release on March 6th, less than two months away now, WB will soon be spending tens of millions of dollars on marketing and getting the word out to the public about their film. A campaign that needs to kick off ASAP but simply can’t with this court date looming over their heads.

A status conference is scheduled for Friday morning in Feess’ Los Angeles courtroom to determine when the hearing will take place and whether WB request for an earlier start than Jan 20th is possible.

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