Disney Set To Lose Rights To Beloved 1990s Film Franchise

Published Oct 24, 2026, 12:20 PM EDT Nicolas Ayala is a Senior Writer for the Comics team at ScreenRant, with over five years of experience writing about Superhero media, action movies, and TV shows. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Within two years, Disney could lose the rights to one of the company's most underrated properties. The Walt Disney Company derives the vast majority of its financial output through a handful of intellectual properties. The Marvel Cinematic Universe and Star Wars are Disney's undeniable crown jewels, while Pixar, Walt Disney Animation, and Pirates of the Caribbean generate billions across theatrical box offices, theme park attractions, video game licensing, and merchandise. While not as profitable, Disney's library also includes overlooked properties that have left an indelible mark on entertainment. Cult animated features like Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Treasure Planet, and The Emperor's New Groove led Disney's modern 2D-animation ventures in the 2000s. Live-action classics and genre gems like TRON, The Black Hole, Return to Oz, Willow, Cool Runnings, and Flight of the Navigator captured the imaginations of whole generations, and nineties television treasures like Gargoyles, Darkwing Duck, and A Goofy Movie cultivated fanatical followings that endure decades later. While Disney has empired its empire with the acquisition of behemoths like Marvel Studios, Lucasfilms, and Twentieth Century Fox, the company still has to actively defend its hold on older, leased properties. Disney Risks Losing The Rights To The Rocketeer Disney Could Lose The Ability To Produce The Rocketeer Projects Soon The Walt Disney Company faces the potential loss of its pulp hero The Rocketeer, as reported by Boardwalk Times. Legal notices filed by The Rocketeer Trust aim to reclaim the property by exercising a federal copyright provision that would allow creators and heirs to recover the rights licensed thirty-five years prior. Served on June 11, 2026, the termination notice targets multiple Disney subsidiaries alongside six copyright registrations, with an official reversion date for June 12, 2028. In the case Disney loses the rights, any future The Rocketeer projects produced by Disney will require new licensing agreements with the trust. Created by Dave Stevens in 1982 as a nostalgic homage to 1930s pulp serial heroes, Cliff Secord made his debut in 1982 in the pages of Pacific Comics' Starslayer. Creator Dave Stevens drew heavy inspiration from 1930s matinee serials like King of the Rocket Men as a tribute to pulp adventure. Publisher instability and a trademark lawsuit from Marvel Comics resulted in a fragmented publishing history spread across Pacific, Eclipse, Comico, and Dark Horse. Following the lukewarm reception to Joe Johnston's 1991 live-action movie and Stevens' passing in 2008, IDW Publishing revitalized The Rocketeer's comics with new creative teams and produced acclaimed series like The Rocketeer Adventures.