It's looking bad for the Watchmen movie, now that a judge is allowing a lawsuit by Fox over the film rights to the famous graphic novel to go forward. It's even worse when you realize that the same judge ruled against Warner Bros. in a case involving the rights to a Dukes Of Hazzard movie two years ago. But the reality is, the Dukes got their movie, and so will the Minutemen.

Fox is seeking an injunction to stop the March release of Warners' Watchmen movie, and they've managed to find the most sympathetic judge in L.A., Lawrence Feess. In a nutshell, Fox argues that Warners obtained movie rights from producer Lawrence Gordon, but Fox already owned the rights to distribute any movie made by Gordon. In a similar case involving the Dukes movie, Judge Feess granted a preliminary injunction preventing Warners from releasing the film.

But in the Hazzard case, Warner Bros. agreed to pay the plaintiffs at least $17.5 million to settle their claims, and the movie came out as planned. (In retrospect, Warners may regret that settlement, considering how badly Dukes did.) It seems likely that Fox is simply lining up for a payout, and Watchmen will come out on time — but it'll simply be even more expensive than Warner Bros. already bargained on. Watchmen Babies image from Time.com. [New York Times]

Send an email to Charlie Jane Anders, the author of this post, at charliejane@io9.com.