Japanese manga publisher Futabasha is suing Korean film production house Show East over the rights to turn OLD BOY into a feature film in the U.S., reports ANIME NEWS NETWORK.
Show East produced a popular 2003 Korean version directed by Chan-wook Park. The suit was filed on Monday.
Futabasha is suing to confirm the lack of a binding contract between the two parties, due to an alleged breach. They allege that Show East violated the agreement, nullifying it, when Show East got Universal Pictures to sign on for a remake.
Show East and Futabasha signed their contract over the film rights in September 2002, with an amendment a year later to cover other materials.
Steven Spielberg and Will Smith were in talks to collaborate on the new film. Smith said last year though that Spielberg's team wanted to turn the original manga into a film, not remake Park's film.
Dark Horse Comics published OLD BOY in North America from 2006 to 2007.
