UPDATE: Warner Bros. and FOX have settled the lawsuit.

Time hasn’t been kind to fans of Watchmen. Although we’ve already hit the New Year, the battle between Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox has just grown nastier. So what will this mean for the March 6 premiere?

Late last month, U.S. District Court Judge Gary Feess ruled that Fox did have rights to the graphic novel adaptation. Although the studio had the opportunity to launch the film back in the late ‘80s (and had spent over a $1 million developing the project), the movie never came to fruition. Producer Larry Gordon allegedly agreed to check back with Fox first on any future plans, but later took Watchmen over to Legendary Pictures and Warner. Fox filed then filed a lawsuit back in February claiming Gordon neglected to properly acquire their interest before making the move.

In the Christmas Eve ruling, the judge stated that Fox still “owns a copyright interest consisting of, at the very least, the right to distribute the Watchmen motion picture.” He then advised the two companies to reach a settlement or prepare an appeal. Since no progress has been made in the past few weeks, the studios have now chosen to leave their fates up to the federal court. On January 20, Feess - without a jury - will determine whether Fox is entitled to a permanent injunction.

So will Warner Bros. eventually be forced to pay up…or will the eager fans be the ones paying in the end? We’re just weeks away from finding out.

Until then, you can keep your hopes alive by watching this recently released behind-the-scenes look at the film.