Hi everybody. What legalities do I face if I write a sequel to a movie that already exists? The sequel I am considering is Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Screenwriting : Sequels by Matthew Faye Terry
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You don't have the rights, so you can't do anything with the script. Copyright is generally 70 years after the death of the author - Steven Spielberg is still alive.
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Automatic pass.
The smart plan is to write your own original script that wins Peers over. Then when you’re at a real meeting with a Big Boss and the pitch is tanking, that’s when you say “I have an idea for a Close Encounters sequel.” If big Boss leans forward, you got it!
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None. You can write what you want. But the moment you try and sell it, you’re dead in the water.
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There was another writer a few months ago that was convinced that he had the ultimate Batman story that was dead set on trying to sell it to Warner Brothers. Reality finally smacked him in the face when it was pointed out that WB says on their website that it does not accept unsolicited materials. WB has its own in-house writing staff. DC and WB own the copyright to the character and intellectual property. And both have a boat load of lawyers ready to enforce any infringement. The best he could do is write it as fan-fiction and possibly use it as a writing sample knowing that no one would ever buy it. He eventually gave up. I advised him to come up with his own superheros and write the screenplays for them. At least he couldn't get sued.
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To answer your question, though, you don't face any legalities just by writing it. It's like writing fan fiction. You'd only face legalities if you tried to pass it off as your own IP or sell it.
Even though the sequel would be based on a character with no dialogue? The character is onscreen under five seconds.
Looks there's nothing wrong with writing based off existing IP. If it's a story you feel you need to write, then write it. The odds are just not in your favor. Then again, who knows, you might get work off of it. There's the writer who did the Die Hard prequel and took out a full page ad in the paper. Or the guy who wrote Fast Nein and was hired to Robot Chicken. I'm also buddies with the guy who wrote the 9/11 Seinfeld spec, he got hired for Family Guy from that. It's absolutely a longshot, but if your idea is so good that it goes viral, people might find you.