While the chances that Ghost Rider gets to ride again at the movies are slim, the character is still making waves in the courts. Two years after Marvel won a legal victory over the character’s creator Gary Friedrich, that decision has been overturned and the case could head to trial.
As we reported back in December 2011, Friedrich claimed that he still owned the rights to the character and was due royalties from the original 2007 movie with Nicolas Cage. Friedrich said that he gave Marvel the rights to continue featuring the character in books, but he retained film and other rights. A U.S. District court judge disagreed with him and ruled in Marvel’s favor, dismissing the suit.
However, the suit is still alive thanks to a Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruling on Tuesday, reports The Hollywood Reporter. The court vacated the ruling, noting that Friedrich’s contracts back in the 1970s were “ambiguous” and that a trial is needed for further investigation.
Ghost Rider was introduced in 1972’s Marvel Spotlight #5. The 2007 film grossed $115 million, but the 2012 sequel only made $51 million domestically. The films were produced by Sony.
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