The writers of the classic 1987 sci-fi action movie Predator are suing Disney over its rights. Jim and John Thomas claim that Disney's hold on the series is about to lapse, but the studio is unwilling to relinquish the rights.

US copyright law allows for authors to cancel the ownership of their work by previous rights holders and reclaim the copyright after a 35-year period. According The Hollywood Reporter, the Thomas brothers state that their original Predator script--titled Hunters--reverts back to them on April 17 this year.

In addition, Thomas brothers state that they served Disney notice that they planned to take back the rights in 2016, but heard nothing from the studio until January this year. The brothers have sued, with copyright lawyer Marc Toberoff representing.