LOS ANGELES — Former Marvel Comics boss Stan Lee is suing the producers of the new “Conan the Barbarian” movie, claiming he is entitled to all of the film’s profits because the rights to the character were allegedly stolen from his company, TMZ reported Monday.
In the lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles, Lee — creator of “Spider-Man,” “X-Men” and “Iron Man” — says Stan Lee Media, the company he founded in 1998, purchased the rights to the Conan character in 2000.
The suit says Stan Lee Media went bankrupt in 2001, which should have prevented another company from obtaining the rights to the character, but a former attorney for Lee allegedly made an illegal deal to grant the rights to Nu Image/Millennium Films, which produced the new 3D “Conan the Barbarian” film.
Lee is suing to be declared the owner of the rights to Conan and entitled to 100 percent of the movie’s profits.
The new “Conan the Barbarian” had a disappointing box office take in its opening weekend, earning just $10 million. The film had a production budget of $90 million, according to the Los Angeles Times.