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A lot of classic American characters, or at least early versions of them, such as Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh are all entering public domain, and studios have already begun taking advantage of the fact that they are now free to use these characters in their own IPs.
Popeye has also joined these characters, with ITN Studios deciding to turn the character into a horror icon, as it has done with the likes of Mickey Mouse and Winnie The Pooh. However, the Sailor Man would not be part of the company’s Twisted Childhood Universe.
Popeye will be haunting a group of councilors in the new horror film
According to the official synopsis of the film, it seems that Popeye will be taking a page from classic horror settings, deciding to go after a bunch of camp councilors.The official synopsisrevealed:
The legend of Popeye haunts a group of councilors as they intend to open a summer camp.
The film is set to feature Steven Murphy, and will be a ‘raunchy and gory slasher’. Reimaging Popeye would have had it’s own set of issues, but imaging the character as an unstoppable slasher in the same vein as Jason and Ghostface could be an inspired choice. Given that the character is known for his insane durability, putting him in a horror setting is sure to create an atmosphere where anyone up against the character would feel utterly helpless.
Popeye, however, is still not in the public domain quite yet
Copyright laws can be pretty dicey, especially when it comes to moneymaking characters like Winnie the Pooh. While there initial appearances could be entering the public domain, things about them that became more iconic in later years might still not be.
Given that the film will be releasing in 2025, it must be noted that Popeye does not enter the public domain until 1st January, 2025. While in countries like Europe, the copyright is based on when the creator created it and when they died, there are different rules in the ‘birth country’ of the character, i.e. The United States of America.
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In the USA, there are different laws for how copyrights function when the creator is independent, working under a pseudonym, or even work for hire. Given that Elzie Crisler Segar made the character under the employ of King Feature Syndicate, the work is classified as the creator being ‘for hire’. This means that the copyright of the character would be held by the company for a little longer, January 2025 to be precise, as opposed to hitting the public domain in 2009 (like in Europe) or 1989 (like in Canada).
Anuraag Chatterjee
Content Writer
Articles Published :1633
Anuraag Chatterjee, Web Content WriterWith a passion for writing fiction and non fiction content, Anuraag is a Media Science graduate with 2 year’s experience with Marketing and Content, with 3 published poetry anthologies. Anuraag holds a Bacherlor’s degree in Arts with a focus on Communication and Media Studies.
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