Netflix Is Being Sued Over Zack Snyder’s Sci-fi Epic
Streaming giant Netflix has found itself in the middle of a lawsuit over Zack Snyder’s sci-fi epic, Rebel Moon, says The Hollywood Reporter. Due to be released in December 2023, the film features a Star Wars-esque story about interplanetary battles and a lone warrior who intends to lead the rebellion against forces threatening their survival.
Netflix is being sued by Evil Genius Games, a tabletop board game developer, alleging breach of contract over the licensing agreement for a Rebel Moon game.
The lawsuit was brought forth by Evil Genius Games. The game makers were contracted by Netflix to create a role-playing board game highlighting various elements of the movie. However, several issues arose as the development of the game unfolded.
Officially, Evil Genius Games filed a lawsuit in the California federal court on Thursday, claiming that Netflix terminated a licensing agreement for the Rebel Moon game without any legitimate basis.
The game maker claims that Netflix terminated the contract in a “bad faith attempt” to steal their intellectual property by illegally claiming ownership over various parts of the game, using those parts in the movie, and then potentially planning to release the game independently in order to avoid paying out on shared profits.
In March of this year, a licensing deal was struck between Evil Genius Games and Netflix to create a Rebel Moon table-top game. Under said deal, Netflix stood to receive a share of the game profits upon release and an extra $25,000 payment for the rights to use the subject matter of their movie.
Evil Genius Games claims Netflix failed to provide complete background information, from character information to the origin of the Rebel Moon universe, making it impossible to develop a board game using the setting.
However, Netflix failed to (or just couldn’t) provide the game maker with the key background information needed to move forward with the development of the board game. They had no names for various alien races.
The lineage of royal characters was missing, and there was no clear storyline for how the universe featured in Rebel Moon was created. The streaming giant didn’t even give Evil Genius Games access to any official Rebel Moon trademarks or logos for the development of the game.
In response to the information deficit, the game makers created a story and filled in the blanks themselves, creating a sort of “World Bible” for the movie. Where you would find a role labeled as “Alien 1” in the script, Evil Genius game makers created a name, age, and origin for the character.
Evil Genius Games created a story and a “World Bible” for Rebel Moon, which, allegedly, Netflix executives loved, before claiming the board game maker breached confidentiality.
After delivering this information to Netflix, executives loved the 228-page “World Bible” created for Rebel Moon so much that they immediately stated that parts of it would be integrated into the film. Evil Genius finished the board game in May of this year.
Once the game was complete, Netflix “flipped the script” on Evil Genius Games, claiming that the company breached confidentiality provisions. They say that Evil Genius released Rebel Moon artwork and other movie content at a trade show for retailers.
Evil Genius claims that the disclosure of said information was agreed upon a month before the licensing deal for the game was even finalized. The gaming company’s actions are also common practice prior to the release of a new game.
Netflix took the issue one step further a month later, claiming that they have exclusive ownership over the Rebel Moon “World Bible.” They offered up a $50,000 payment to Evil Genius to leave it be and go away. Of course, this tactic didn’t go over well, and thus, the lawsuit.
