Warren Beatty Gets ‘Tracy’ Rights Back- What Does it Mean and Should We Care?

There was some nice ambition for 1990’s ‘Dick Tracy’ film, which Warren Beatty directed and starred in. But despite great production design and makeup effects, the film was a modest success. In any case, any plans for a sequel never happened- and Tribune wanted the film rights back from Beatty, but Beatty held onto them. Beatty did, however revisit the Tracy character in a cable special that celebrated the Dick Tracy serials. That may have been his ace in the hole, according to The LA Times:

The legal fight between actor Warren Beatty and Tribune Co. over the film and television rights to comic-strip detective Dick Tracy has been resolved.

Beatty filed suit in 2008 against the company, claiming that he’d done everything, including creating a television special with critic Leonard Maltin, to retain the rights to the character. Tribune countered that Beatty did not satisfy contractual obligations. Now the matter’s been settled in U.S. District Court, with Judge Dean Pregerson ruling in favor of the “Bulworth” star.

The matter has been going on and off ever since Beatty made the 1990 film. It was one of the reasons why a sequel never happened. [and all this time I thought it was because they killed off nearly all of the rogue’s gallery including Flattop, and in spite of ambition, it was a dull film that was overhyped but what do I know?] But now speculation has arose. Wih the film rights now fully back in Beatty’s hands, will we see a sequel, reboot/remake or what, exactly? If there is a new Tracy film, it won’t be under Disney- who did not want a sequel to the 1990 film. There is also talk of a ‘director’s cut’ of the 1990 film for DVD/Blu Ray.

And I take the news all in, suck it up and say…I did like the look of the 1990 film. I did like the rogue’s gallery -especially William Forsythe’s Flattop and Henry Silva’s Influence. Dick Tracy had the essence of the characters, nice to look at, but it never worked for me. I think a new version could work…but I’m not really on board with it.

Are you?