Warner Bros. Slaps Back at Fox, Preps For ‘Watchmen’ Trial

Now that Fox and Warner Bros. no longer have SAG to engage in their quest for mutually assured destruction, they’ve officially entered the saber-rattling stage of their own legal wrangle over the rights to Watchmen.

The latest reports suggest that neither studio is keen to settle over Fox’s claim to the film, which was affirmed last week in a decision handed down by a judge in Los Angeles. A Warners attorney tells the AP this afternoon that its release plans stand despite Fox’s continuing quest for an injunction, adding that “a trial is necessary and a settlement unlikely.”

No rush, though: That trial would take place starting Jan. 20, only 45 days before Watchmen’s scheduled March 6 opening. (Paramount is handling the international release starting March 4.) We hope this isn’t the same attorney whose due diligence — or lack thereof — was what drove the Christmas Eve judgment in the first place, but in any case, his posturing skills are first-rate.

• Fox says it will try to stop ‘Watchmen’ [AP]