Do You Want Two "Road House" Universes?

Which film franchise is the most frustrating because it has two different universes happening within? Is it the 'Star Wars' films with the TV series against the pre-Disney books? 'Star Trek' Prime timeline and Kelvin timeline? DC with both DCU and Elseworlds like 'Joker' and 'The Batman'? Or is it Marvel's MCU and 'Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.'?

Mike Fleming Jr. of Deadline is reporting that Doug Liman (Edge of Tomorrow) is looking to go to war with Amazon over his frustration that his film "Road House', which starred Jake Gyllenhaal, went straight to streaming, which took away Liman's bonuses for box office gross. Sadly, it was no 'Death Blow' or 'Sack Lunch'.

The 'Road House' sequel with Gyllenhaal returning is currently filming, directed by Ilya Naishuler (Nobody) and co-starring Dave Bautista (Guardians Of The Galaxy), Aldis Hodge (Cross), and Leila George (Animal Kingdom). No word on if Conor McGregor will be returning, but he might need more money for the Blarney Blow.

But now Liman is planning on making his own sequel, which may take place in Patrick Swayze's universe. Liman has brought on the original's writer, R. Lance Hill, who wrote a sequel called 'Road House: Dylan'. Hill has been in a legal fight with Amazon over ownership rights.

This is an excerpt from the Deadline article that explains it more clearly: "There is a federal lawsuit being waged over the franchise’s ownership, filed by attorney Marc Toberoff for Hill. The issue is this: They maintain that Hill wrote the 1986 original as a spec script, and that, under Section 203 of the U.S. Copyright Act, Hill lawfully recaptured rights to his screenplay on November 11, 2023 — 35 years after selling it to United Artists. Section 203 allows authors to reclaim copyrights to original works after that period, unless the work was created as a “work for hire.”

"Hill maintains Road House was not a work for hire: He wrote it independently, was paid only after selling it at auction and had no studio supervision. He alleges that Amazon’s 2024 remake infringed those re-acquired rights. Amazon and MGM counter that his termination notice is invalid because the script was sold through his loan-out corporation, Lady Amos Inc., and therefore qualifies as a work for hire. Their false-ownership counterclaim — accusing Hill of misrepresenting authorship in copyright filings — survived an anti-SLAPP motion to strike in September 2024; Hill has appealed that ruling to the Ninth Circuit."

I enjoyed the Gyllenhaal version enough to recommend it. The film was popcorn candy that went down fast and easy, and as I am a big champion for the movie theater experience, I will always push for people to see movies first on the big screen. 'Road House' is the type of film you need to see with a big group of friends. I was disappointed after I watched the new 'Naked Gun' movie with Liam Neeson, because I didn't see it with a raucous crowd. Maybe if there was a scene where Jake tore out Conor's throat with his bare hands and fed it to the alligator, it would have warranted Amazon putting it on the big screen.

Do you prefer Patrick Swayze's version or Jake Gyllenhaal's? Comment below with your thoughts.

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Source: Deadline

Photo Credit: Amazon/MGM/Getty