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According to The Hollywood Reporter Lionsgate has hired screenwriters Dirk Blackman and Howard McCain to pen a second script for a new Conan movie, which the trade paper describes as “a $100 million R-rated origin film.”  Blackman and McCain co-wrote the science fiction/Viking movie Outlander, which will be released by The Weinstein Company, and have also penned an “Amazon” epic about the ancient female warriors, which will star a sword-wielding Scarlett Johansson, and which will also be distributed by Lionsgate.

According to The Reporter Malmberg and Lionsgate are attempting to “reboot” the Conan franchise, much like Warner Bros. has done with Batman Begins, and they feel the way to accomplish this is by going back to the original Robert E. Howard stories for inspiration, because as Malmberg put it “Fans expect these types of movies to be true to the source material.” 

Lionsgate, which is producing a number of comic book-based movies including Frank Miller’s adaptation of The Spirit, is in a full-blown aggressive growth mode as it attempts to move up the ranks from a mid-major studio to the big leagues.  Establishing a successful Conan franchise that could produce a new film every 2-3 years would definitely help Lionsgate reach its goal—and, given the amount of  available Conan merchandise ranging from comic books to RPGs and board games, it wouldn’t be bad for pop culture retailers either.

Federal Judge Gary Allen Feess ruled against Warner Bros. on Monday in a lawsuit brought by Fox to stop the release of Warner’s Watchmen film, due out next March.  Feess refused to dismiss the case, and ordered the parties to proceed with discovery and prepare for trial on an expedited schedule.  The tangled case goes back to the late 80s, when Fox obtained an option to produce a film based on the graphic novel. 

Warner Bros. issued a statement commenting on the ruling.  “The court’s ruling simply means that the parties will engage in discovery and proceed with the litigation,” the statement said.  “The judge did not opine at all on the merits, other than to conclude that Fox satisfied the pleading requirements.  We respectfully disagree with Fox’s position and do not believe they have any rights in and to this project.”

Fox also released a statement, specifying its goals.  “We will be asking the Court to enforce Fox’s copyright interests in The Watchmen (sic) and enjoin the release of the Warner Brothers film….”

Some are comparing the case to a dispute over Dukes of Hazzard involving Warner Bros., heard by the same judge, in which Warner ended up paying a major amount of money (variously described as tens of millions of dollars or $17.5 million) in conjunction with the settlement of the rights dispute.