'Mortal Kombat' to "Finish Him" in the Courtroom

The latest legal wrangling around film rights and intellectual property has to do with the Mortal Kombat franchise.

Threshold Entertainment has filed a new breach of contract lawsuit against Warner Bros., according to THR, Esq., the Hollywood Reporter law blog, Threshold is contending that Warners "has avoided communicating with Threshold and has in bad faith prevented Threshold from utilizing the interest they have" in the franchise.

THR, Esq. states that Warners bought the property as part of its acquisition of Midway Games, which is now bankrupt. Threshold contends that because they had developed the characters and mythology, it received a "significant" portion of the rights, including a third picture. One suit had already been resolved over the rights, before news got out about Oren Uziel being attached as a screenwriter without involving Threshold.

The folks at Threshold are irked enough to seek punitive damages, specifically "an amount which, considering Warner's enormous worldwide wealth and income, is sufficient to punish Warner, to set an example and to deter further such wrongful behavior."

While Warners isn't commenting, it seems like Threshold is ready for some legal Mortal Kombat.