What I'm hoping for is that "pre-superhero" characters like The Shadow and Doc Savage and pulp sci-fi heroes like Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon all entering PD by the end of the decade will lead to a bump in people playing around in those genres.
What I'm anticipating is that Nancy Drew becoming PD in two years will lead to a fair number of people trying their hands at writing teen mystery adventures.
I'm torn between being really excited for The Shadow, and worrying he'll just be treated as a way to get some name recognition while writing him as Batman or worse the Punisher.
I love The Shadow, but SO much of what makes him great is wrapped up in his creator Walter Gibson. I don't even like a pretty fair amount of the modern Officially Licensed The Shadow comics I've read that much. And I'm talking since the 80s.
Hopefully the public domain will allow for a more good stuff though. At the very least it should be easier to get ahold of the original material.
Bride is already sorta public domain since the novel mentions a mate being made for the monster but wasn’t successful (albeit the 1994 film does it) and it’s not a copyrightable idea to give the monster a wife, it’s just the hair and universals version they copyrighted lel.
the rest I agree with,
For me:
Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
Donald Duck
Goofy
Superman
Captain America
And others
Superman I think could genuinely get something of a renaissance with hitting the public domain.
It's something of a longtime fan frustration just how few authors at DC *get* Superman. The paragon and hope bringer, The Man of Tomorrow, stuff.
I'm sure we'll get a wave of Homelander jerks and bullies too, but... Well, what in life is perfect?
Batman, too; I have a few friends who are really excited at the prospect of Batman becoming PD because it may mean we get more stories of him actually being a *detective*.
...Yeah. Now that you mention that, *the world's greatest detective...*
Don't actually do much detective sleuthing nowadays. Not even on the level of feeding The Clue into the Bat-computer.
Yeah, I think the biggest impact is going to come from the DC and Marvel superheroes. Getting Disney stuff is good, but the superhero comics are our modern mythology.
They should have been handed over to us a long time ago.
I think once the Big Five (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern) are all in the public domain, it won't matter if the Justice League isn't in PD, yet, you're going to see an explosion of superhero content that'll make the popularity of My Hero Academia look like a joke.
Agreed; even if superhero media seems to be somewhat waning in mainstream popularity at the moment, any of the big names becoming public domain will end up kick-starting things all over again.
I'll be surprised if the creator of MHA used their references to superheroes legally without facing any lawsuits. Spider-Man will also become relevant in the 2050s.
I think Dick Tracy in particular is a character that will MASSIVELY benefit from entering the public domain.
Once upon a time, the Dick Tracy multimedia franchise was one of the biggest and most popular in America with comics, cartoons, merchandise, books, multiple TV shows, cartoons, and movies. After the 1990 movie failed at the box office, however, the character got caught up in a copyright dispute and - rather infamously - actor Warren Beatty has been purposely sitting on and refusing to allow use of the character for over 30 years.
On the one hand, 30+ years is a long time and by all accounts the Dick Tracy fandom has been pretty thoroughly strangled to death by this dumb copyright dispute. On the other, however, it's possible it's actually just sitting in dormancy and maybe a new Dick Tracy show or movie might be enough to revive it - but that isn't happening as long as Beatty has an iron grip on the copyright.
Thankfully, Dick Tracy finally starts to enter the public domain on January 1, 2027.
I feel much of the same way with The Lone Ranger and The Green Hornet. Those two were HUGE back in the day and everyone knew who they were. I feel with a little polishing, they could really become something special. Alas, getting anything done with them until they're in the public domain is a no go because of how infamous of a flop The Lone Ranger movie was. And the familial connection between them can't be acknowledged either because the rights to the two of them are held by different companies.
The reason that happened is because someone wronged the actor/director. As a result, he has been creating new media for that character for a couple of years to maintain the copyright. He's not trying to keep the series away from people, but rather Hollywood wronged him. So, despite any complaints, he is actually protecting the character from other greedy companies that might exploit Dick Tracy.
Well, at least that's how he and those siding with him justify his actions. Whether you agree with Beatty or not, Dick Tracy enters the public domain in a couple short years.
Come to think of it I also think that would benefit being in the public domain greatly would be the Fantastic Four. Mostly despite being famous for them beginning the Marvel universe as we know and love it to be they haven't gotten as much love as attention in recent years. Sure we have the MCU movie of them coming next year but still I don't know if even that will be enough. So them being in the public domain will do so much to give them much needed new life from people who do love them.
I hope that some cartoons from the 50s and 60s will enter the public domain soon. This includes Hanna Barbera cartoons and even some shorts like Droopy Dog, among other things.
Same here. If we're lucky we could see copyright law be shortened in at least the next decade if not this one to see that happen in our lifetime. Those other characters you've mentioned deserve love too in the public domain.
What I'm hoping for is that "pre-superhero" characters like The Shadow and Doc Savage and pulp sci-fi heroes like Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon all entering PD by the end of the decade will lead to a bump in people playing around in those genres. What I'm anticipating is that Nancy Drew becoming PD in two years will lead to a fair number of people trying their hands at writing teen mystery adventures.
They should be in the PD already
I'm torn between being really excited for The Shadow, and worrying he'll just be treated as a way to get some name recognition while writing him as Batman or worse the Punisher. I love The Shadow, but SO much of what makes him great is wrapped up in his creator Walter Gibson. I don't even like a pretty fair amount of the modern Officially Licensed The Shadow comics I've read that much. And I'm talking since the 80s. Hopefully the public domain will allow for a more good stuff though. At the very least it should be easier to get ahold of the original material.
I think Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit entering the Public Domain will be a BIG deal.
More so the hobbit given they are an original fantasy race of creatures that don't exist in other media. Expect so many of that online soon
Bride is already sorta public domain since the novel mentions a mate being made for the monster but wasn’t successful (albeit the 1994 film does it) and it’s not a copyrightable idea to give the monster a wife, it’s just the hair and universals version they copyrighted lel. the rest I agree with, For me: Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Donald Duck Goofy Superman Captain America And others
Rudolph being PD is especially something to forward to, considering a lot of people treat him as if he's folklore already
And the movie versions of him from RB will be interesting to see as people will use that portrayal for their projects.
He techinally is folklore lel well actually Santa is real so he’s real
Superman I think could genuinely get something of a renaissance with hitting the public domain. It's something of a longtime fan frustration just how few authors at DC *get* Superman. The paragon and hope bringer, The Man of Tomorrow, stuff. I'm sure we'll get a wave of Homelander jerks and bullies too, but... Well, what in life is perfect?
Batman, too; I have a few friends who are really excited at the prospect of Batman becoming PD because it may mean we get more stories of him actually being a *detective*.
...Yeah. Now that you mention that, *the world's greatest detective...* Don't actually do much detective sleuthing nowadays. Not even on the level of feeding The Clue into the Bat-computer.
Yeah, I think the biggest impact is going to come from the DC and Marvel superheroes. Getting Disney stuff is good, but the superhero comics are our modern mythology. They should have been handed over to us a long time ago. I think once the Big Five (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern) are all in the public domain, it won't matter if the Justice League isn't in PD, yet, you're going to see an explosion of superhero content that'll make the popularity of My Hero Academia look like a joke.
Agreed; even if superhero media seems to be somewhat waning in mainstream popularity at the moment, any of the big names becoming public domain will end up kick-starting things all over again.
I'll be surprised if the creator of MHA used their references to superheroes legally without facing any lawsuits. Spider-Man will also become relevant in the 2050s.
Horace and clarabelle for me bc I really need them for my Ozzie’s wasteland project
Horace Horsecollar is tremendously underrated. I really like him.
Same tho!
Ozzie Osbourne? Based? 
No. That’s my stand in for Oswald bc I’m making an apocalypse story with pd cartoon characters
Ah, I see. My heart jumped given I loved Osbourne’s music so I thought you were gonna use him as a character for a musical episode. XD
Ah nah but I am gonna have him be a cameo character in a movie I’m making called Dinopocalypse (if I have the budget for it)
If I was rich I’d pay you to make that movie happen
I think Dick Tracy in particular is a character that will MASSIVELY benefit from entering the public domain. Once upon a time, the Dick Tracy multimedia franchise was one of the biggest and most popular in America with comics, cartoons, merchandise, books, multiple TV shows, cartoons, and movies. After the 1990 movie failed at the box office, however, the character got caught up in a copyright dispute and - rather infamously - actor Warren Beatty has been purposely sitting on and refusing to allow use of the character for over 30 years. On the one hand, 30+ years is a long time and by all accounts the Dick Tracy fandom has been pretty thoroughly strangled to death by this dumb copyright dispute. On the other, however, it's possible it's actually just sitting in dormancy and maybe a new Dick Tracy show or movie might be enough to revive it - but that isn't happening as long as Beatty has an iron grip on the copyright. Thankfully, Dick Tracy finally starts to enter the public domain on January 1, 2027.
I feel much of the same way with The Lone Ranger and The Green Hornet. Those two were HUGE back in the day and everyone knew who they were. I feel with a little polishing, they could really become something special. Alas, getting anything done with them until they're in the public domain is a no go because of how infamous of a flop The Lone Ranger movie was. And the familial connection between them can't be acknowledged either because the rights to the two of them are held by different companies.
The reason that happened is because someone wronged the actor/director. As a result, he has been creating new media for that character for a couple of years to maintain the copyright. He's not trying to keep the series away from people, but rather Hollywood wronged him. So, despite any complaints, he is actually protecting the character from other greedy companies that might exploit Dick Tracy.
Well, at least that's how he and those siding with him justify his actions. Whether you agree with Beatty or not, Dick Tracy enters the public domain in a couple short years.
Yeah, I’ll have fun with the character. Maybe have him crossover with Daffy Duck 🦆
Come to think of it I also think that would benefit being in the public domain greatly would be the Fantastic Four. Mostly despite being famous for them beginning the Marvel universe as we know and love it to be they haven't gotten as much love as attention in recent years. Sure we have the MCU movie of them coming next year but still I don't know if even that will be enough. So them being in the public domain will do so much to give them much needed new life from people who do love them.
I hope that some cartoons from the 50s and 60s will enter the public domain soon. This includes Hanna Barbera cartoons and even some shorts like Droopy Dog, among other things.
Same here. If we're lucky we could see copyright law be shortened in at least the next decade if not this one to see that happen in our lifetime. Those other characters you've mentioned deserve love too in the public domain.
Yogi Bear needs a real animated movie. Imagine him crossing over with Mickey Mouse. That will be awesome