The 1991 movie is one of two projects Disney ever made with the character. Soon they might not be able to do any more.
Boardwalk Times, a Disney media news site, is reporting that the estate of the comic’s creator is getting ready to call back the rights.
In a major legal development, The Rocketeer Trust, represented by trustee Jennifer Bawcum (sister of the late The Rocketeer creator Dave Stevens), has moved to reclaim the underlying copyright rights to the iconic jetpack-wearing hero from Walt Disney Pictures, potentially putting an end to Disney’s era with the franchise.
Under federal copyright law, original creators or their statutory heirs have the right to terminate past licensing agreements and reclaim their intellectual property after a 35-year window. According to the filing, the Trust served the notice via tracked, high-priority international mail on June 11, 2026—striking almost the exact moment the 35-year eligibility window opened from Dave Stevens’ original 1991 deal with Disney (The Rocketeer was released in theaters on June 21, 1991). The document lists six specific foundational copyright registrations under The Rocketeer title that will revert fully to the estate. The effective date of this termination is set for June 12, 2028.
That means Disney has two years to do anything meaningful with the franchise, and so far they’ve failed to do that. Outside of the movie, which failed at the box office but has developed a small fan following, and a Disney Junior cartoon that just barely acknowledged the hero of the franchise, there have been a few failed attempts at doing another production with The Rocketeer, a character inspired by the old “rocket men” movie serials. With so little movement, the estate wants to farm the rights out to other studios…and given what Disney has and had planned to do, it’s probably a good move.
James Gunn’s DC Universe Gets More Confusing
Being happy the Snyderverse is over doesn’t mean being happy with its replacement.
James Gunn took over the DC movies and shows along with Peter Safran, but Gunn is the face and possibly vision driver behind what DC Studios puts out, hence why his stuff is the Gunnverse. Even if he’s not working on it himself, it’s done with his blessing and his vision…or it would be if his vision made a lick of sense, and it doesn’t.
Comic Book Movie recently reported on yet another argument that James Gunn has had with a DC superhero fan who doesn’t care for his direction, or possibly can’t make sense of it. Actually, going to his actual Threads post he was responding to someone else’s response to the original post.
Reading the post both Gunn and the replier he’s replying to has a fair point, but it misses the larger problem with the current crop of DC Studios projects. No, you don’t have to build up to something, but we have to understand if it’s doing that or not. There needs to be a clear vision, and right now that is something that is clearly lacking because what we see is a pile of contradictions.
Continue reading →
Tell others about the Spotlight:
Posted by ShadowWing Tronix on October 27, 2026 in Animation Spotlight, DC Spotlight, Movie Spotlight, Streaming Spotlight and tagged commentary, Creature Commandos, DC Entertainment, DC Gunnverse, DC Studios, James Gunn, James Gunn's Superman, Lanterns (HBO Max), Matt Reeves, Peacemaker (HBO Max), Supergirl (2026 movie), The Batman, Warner Brothers.
Leave a comment