History Main / AshcanCopy

* ''Film/DudleyDoRight'' and ''Film/TheAdventuresOfRockyAndBullwinkle'' supposedly ended up this way, in part due to Universal wanting to get the films out of DevelopmentHell quickly so that it could keep the film rights for the ''WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle'' franchise. Both movies bombed at the box office, leaving Universal no other option but to just give up the rights - which, ironically, they would regain after acquiring Creator/DreamWorksAnimation, owners of the characters with the Creator/JayWard estate.

* Before Fox released the aforementioned 2015 version of ''Fantastic Four'', ''Film/DragonballEvolution'' was seen as their biggest example in this department -- much like the aforementioned ''[[FanNickName Fan4stic]]'', the main reason for this film's quality was due to Fox pushing it out the door just because the rights were expiring. Although many fans of [[Manga/DragonBall the source material]] who have seen the film can name off a list of inconsistencies with the source material, among critics, it's been trashed for being more akin to a drama you'd find on Creator/TheCW than an action/adventure story -- the film attempts to combine the Emperor Pilaf Saga with the King Piccolo Saga[[note]]the former is a very lighthearted affair about tracking down the titular Dragon Balls, and features a large amount of slapstick; the latter is a much more serious arc, and can be seen as a precursor to what the series would be like once Goku became an adult[[/note]], with ''disastrous'' results; Justin Chatwin's performance as Goku (an optimistic, carefree IdiotHero) is an angsty character who is mainly focused with getting the girl (for comparison's sake, Goku thought marriage was ''a type of food'' at the age he was when the events the movie is portraying happened in the manga[[note]]he ''did'' end up marrying Chi-Chi after becoming a teenager... mainly because although he had made the promise not knowing what marriage was, he did intend to keep said promise[[/note]]), and the film is overall seen as a ClicheStorm[[note]]to be fair, most of the elements it has were present in the source material; however, the source material didn't try and do all of them at once[[/note]]. Ironically, the film might end up being one of the best things to happen in the franchise in the long run, since series mangaka Creator/AkiraToriyama, who is a notoriously apathetic creator, was appalled by the film, and actively became involved in the production of ''Anime/DragonBallZBattleOfGods'' - something he likely wouldn't have done had he not seen how disastrous the end result of letting other people handle his work without involving him was[[note]]while the movie would've happened regardless, the script was a much DarkerAndEdgier version of the final product, portraying [[BigBad Beerus]] as a much more villainous character[[/note]]. His involvement eventually led to another film, ''[[Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF Resurrection 'F']]'', and a new TV series, ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' -- in other words, the film made him ''care about his work''.

** The 1994 ''Film/TheFantasticFour'' movie is the most true to the spirit of this trope for this list, being ashcan fodder extraordinaire. The German studio Constantin Film acquired the rights in 1986 and they were about to lose rights forever, so they made the film [[NoBudget cheaply]], hired famed BMovie schlock-meister Creator/RogerCorman as producer, and it never got a wide release. It exists only in bootleg copies, some of which have made their way [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eN0FoR_FlZg online]]. In 2004, Constantin teamed up with Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox and finally filmed a movie the following year.

** The 2015 movie, infamously dubbed ''[[Film/FantasticFour2015 Fant4stic]]'' didn't fare any better, as it was rushed out to prevent the property's rights from reverting to Marvel. The rushed schedule led to a TroubledProduction and director Josh Trank's CreatorBreakdown. The final result was a significant BoxOfficeBomb and one of the worst-reviewed comic book movies ever made. Ironically, in 2019 Disney bought out most of Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox's assets, including the cinematic rights to the Fantastic Four. Thus, Fox's attempts to keep the rights out of Marvel's hands were all for nothing.

** Capitol Records responded to a similar copyright crisis by continually releasing rarities compilations from Music/TheBeachBoys, including several [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes rare fan-favorites]] that [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools probably would've never seen the light of day otherwise]]
* Music/TheHumanLeague's 1981 single "Boys and Girls", which was their last song in the [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness "Mk. 1"]] dark synthpop style and [[NonIndicativeName not featuring "the girls"]] (who were in school at the time) [[CoversAlwaysLie despite them being pictured on the cover]], was desperately rushed through production to begin clearing their heavy debts to Creator/VirginRecords.

* In a non-Western example, UsefulNotes/{{Japan}} had a law prohibiting arcade cabinets from being distributed without games. Manufacturers obliged by providing very simple games good for little else but testing the monitors and controls. Creator/{{Sega}}'s ''VideoGame/DottoriKun'' and Creator/{{Taito}}'s [[VideoGame/SpaceInvaders ''Minivader'']] are typical examples, featuring primitive black-and-white graphics and no sound. Konami's ''[[WhackAMonster Mogura Desse]]'' is a slightly more sophisticated example; it has color and sound to go with its highly simplistic gameplay.

* Marvel has pulled the same stealth claim trick more than once: after DC sued Fawcett regarding how close [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]] was to their own Franchise/{{Superman}}, Marvel noticed that the superhero's name was legally up for grabs and created their own [[ComicBook/CaptainMarVell Captain Marvel]] (given the company name, they couldn't be blamed). Then DC bought Fawcett and incorporated the now rebranded ''ComicBook/{{Shazam}}'' into their universe. In order to avoid the trademark falling into disuse and thus becoming available to their biggest competitors, Marvel has had to publish at least one ''Captain Marvel'' title every year or two since, leading to a number of ongoing series, limited series and one-shots featuring a range of characters using the Captain Marvel alias (the original Mar-Vell, many of his sons and clones, and the current incarnation who used to go by ComicBook/MsMarvel).

* ''Film/HellraiserRevelations'' was quickly whipped together, the filming taking place over a mere 11 days and the post-production going on for about three weeks, specifically so the Creator/TheWeinsteinCompany could hold onto the rights to the ''Franchise/{{Hellraiser}}'' franchise long enough to get a planned remake off the ground. The result is widely regarded as the worst film in a franchise that has seen its fair share of bad sequels, to the point where Creator/CliveBarker (who wrote and directed the original film) [[https://twitter.com/RealCliveBarker/status/105189711416524800 publicly]] [[DisownedAdaptation disowned it]] and Creator/DougBradley (who played Pinhead in every film prior) refused to have any part in it.
** ''Film/ChildrenOfTheCornGenesis'' was also quickly rushed together by the Creator/TheWeinsteinCompany for the same reasons as the aforementioned ''Hellraiser: Revelations''.

[[quoteright:250:[[ComicStrip/DanDare https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/5_cent.png]]]]

* The licensed ''Series/StreetHawk'' game would have been even more obscure than the series itself if not for becoming an example of this trope. Ocean Software had sold a gaming magazine the right to bundle the game with a particular issue, but development stalled and they were in danger of missing the dealine and having to give the mag their money back, so an ''entirely different game'' was hastily thrown together to meet the letter of the contract. It was almost universally panned as pure {{shovelware}}, and the proper ''Street Hawk'' game didn't fare much better with reviewers when it came out a year and a half later.

* Saban Brands dubbed ''Smile Pretty Cure!'' and later ''Doki Doki!'' as ''Anime/GlitterForce'' for this reason, as it was in the same package that gave the company the rights to ''Anime/DigimonFusion''.

* The 1966 adaptation of ''Literature/TheHobbit''. Producer Bill Snyder bought the film rights from Creator/JRRTolkien on the cheap, and just before they were set to expire the popularity of Tolkien's ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' books skyrocketed. Realizing he could make a tidy return on his investment, Snyder set out to get the rights extended long enough to negotiate a resale. However, a film had to be made and released in order for that to happen. With the contract set to expire in one month, he got Creator/GeneDeitch to hastily produce a 12-minute film using still drawings, which was then screened in a single Manhattan theater on the day the contract was set to expire. With its conditions fulfilled in the narrowest possible sense, the contract was duly extended and Snyder sold the rights for $100,000 (in 1960s money). In 2012 the film finally resurfaced when Snyder's son [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBnVL1Y2src uploaded it on YouTube]].
* The main reason for the release of ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerryWillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory'' was that Warner Bros.' license would have run out if they didn't release a new movie adaptation of ''Literature/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory''. It ended up backfiring'' spectacularly''; the Creator/RoaldDahl estate was so dissatisfied with the cartoon they revoked the license from Warner Bros. and gave it to Creator/{{Netflix}}. Oops. (Though Warner was still able to greenlight a prequel to the story titled ''Wonka'', set to release in 2023 as WB managed to acquire live-action film rights of the character just months prior to the animated film's release).

* Saban Brands dubbed ''Smile Pretty Cure!'' as ''Anime/GlitterForce'' for this reason, as it was in the same package that gave the company the rights to ''Anime/DigimonFusion''.

* The main reason for the release of ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerryWillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory'' was that Warner Bros.' license would have run out if they didn't release a new movie adaptation of ''Literature/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory''. It ended up backfiring'' spectacularly''; the Creator/RoaldDahl estate was so dissatisfied with the cartoon they revoked the license from Warner Bros. and gave it to Creator/{{Netflix}}. Oops. (Though Warner was still able to greenlight a prequel to the story titled ''Wonka'', set to release in 2023.)

** A fourth movie in the ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'' was in the works, but once pre-production woes hit the project - Sam Raimi stated he could not meet the scheduled release date and retain creative integrity - Creator/SonyPictures decided in 2010 to just reboot the series to keep Spidey away from Marvel Studios (who were about to release ''Film/IronMan2'' and had many others in production). ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan'' hit theaters in 2012 and was mostly received well, but [[Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2 its less-beloved sequel]] ultimately killed Sony's plans to make a rival cinematic universe based on just the Spider-Man side of Marvel, making them instead let Marvel Studios use the character in films starting with ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'', and with both studios collaborating in his solo movies (although Sony is [[Film/SonysUniverseOfMarvelCharacters making movies based on Spidey's villains]]).

** The 1994 ''Film/TheFantasticFour'' movie is the most true to the spirit of this trope for this list, being ashcan fodder extraordinaire. The German studio Constantin Film acquired the rights in 1986 and they were about to lose rights forever, so they made the film [[NoBudget cheaply]], hired famed BMovie schlock-meister Creator/RogerCorman as producer, and it never got a wide release. It exists only in bootleg copies, some of which have made their way [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QW5rLyzFWJM online]]. In 2004, Constantin teamed up with Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox and finally filmed a movie the following year.

* The main reason for the release of ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerryWillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory'' was that Warner Bros.' license would have run out if they didn't release a new movie adaptation of ''Literature/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory''. It ended up backfiring'' spectacularly''; the Creator/RoaldDahl estate was so dissatisfied with the cartoon they revoked the license from Warner Bros. and gave it to Creator/{{Netflix}}. Oops.

* ComicBook/SheHulk and ComicBook/SpiderWoman were born from this trope. After witnessing the success that Creator/{{ABC}} had with ''Series/BionicWoman'', a spinoff of ''Series/TheSixMillionDollarMan'' that starred a DistaffCounterpart to Steve Austin, Marvel took a look at its contract on the upcoming ''[[Series/TheIncredibleHulk1977 Incredible Hulk]]'' TV series and realized that there was nothing stopping Creator/{{CBS}} from creating a female version of ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk that they would own the rights to. Even though Creator/StanLee normally opposed such spinoff characters, he made an exception for She-Hulk in order to lock down the rights to such a character for Marvel. Spider-Woman was likewise created to preempt Creator/{{Filmation}} when they attempted to create a Spider-Woman character for ''The Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour'', forcing them to rename the character Web-Woman.

* The main reason for the release of ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerryWillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory'' was that Warner Bros.' license would have run out if they didn't release a new movie adaptation of ''Literature/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory''. It ended up backfiring'' spectacularly''. Not only did it end up being a FranchiseKiller to the ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerryDirectToVideoFilmSeries'', but the Creator/RoaldDahl estate was so dissatisfied with the cartoon they revoked the license from Warner Bros. and gave it to Creator/{{Netflix}}. Oops.

* Before Fox released the aforementioned 2015 version of ''Fantastic Four'', ''Film/DragonballEvolution'' was seen as their biggest example in this department -- much like the aforementioned ''[[FanNickName Fan4stic]]'', the main reason for this film's quality was due to Fox pushing it out the door just because the rights were expiring. Although many fans of [[Manga/DragonBall the source material]] who have seen the film can name off a list of inconsistencies with the source material, among critics, it's been trashed for being more akin to a drama you'd find on Creator/TheCW than an action/adventure story -- the film attempts to combine the Emperor Pilaf Saga with the King Piccolo Saga[[note]]the former is a very lighthearted affair about tracking down the titular Dragon Balls, and features a large amount of slapstick; the latter is a much more serious arc, and can be seen as a precursor to what the series would be like once Goku became an adult[[/note]], with ''disastrous'' results; Justin Chatwin's performance as Goku (an optimistic, carefree IdiotHero) is an angsty character who is mainly focused with getting the girl (for comparison's sake, Goku thought marriage was ''a type of food'' at the age he was when the events the movie is portraying happened in the manga[[note]]he ''did'' end up marrying Chi-Chi after becoming a teenager... mainly because although he had made the promise not knowing what marriage was, he did intend to keep said promise[[/note]]), and the film is overall seen as a ClicheStorm[[note]]to be fair, most of the elements it has were present in the source material; however, the source material didn't try and do all of them at once[[/note]]. Ironically, the film might end up being one of the best things to happen in the franchise in the long run, since series mangaka Creator/AkiraToriyama, who is a notoriously apathetic creator, was appalled by the film, and actively became involved in the production of ''Anime/DragonBallZBattleOfGods'' - something he likely wouldn't have done had he not seen how disastrous the end result of letting other people handle his work without involving him was[[note]]while the movie would've happened regardless, the script was a much DarkerAndEdgier version of the final product, portraying [[BigBad Beerus]] as a much more villainous character[[/note]]. His involvement eventually led to another film, ''[[Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF Resurrection 'F']]'', and a new TV series, ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' -- in other words, the film made him ''care about his work''. While fans don't have to like the movie, maybe they should be a little grateful to the film.

* Red Eagle Entertainment rushed out an adaptation of ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' in the form of a 22-minute "pilot" called ''Winter Dragon'', which follows the prologue of ''Eye of the World'', but with a twist ending. Starring Billy Zane as a surprisingly decent [[AffablyEvil Mephistophelian]] Ishamael and Max Ryan as a soft homey Lews Therin, who looks nothing like the leader of the free world. They keep talking and name-dropping, LT keeps calling his wife, then Ishy cures his insanity, shows that LT's home palace really is dark and run-down, that all his family is murdered, then offers a [[DealWithTheDevil deal with Shai'tan]]. Instead of killing himself by creating a volcano like in the book, LT saves on special effects and switches his insanity back on to stay with his family. [[https://twitter.com/Sedavision According to the director,]] [[ChristmasRushed filming began on January 20th and post-production was completed on February 4th]]. It aired less than a week later at 1:30 AM on the [[Creator/{{Fox}} FXX]] channel. The TV rights to the ''Wheel of Time'' series were set to revert from Red Eagle Entertainment (who has held them since the mid-2000s) to the Bandersnatch Group (which is owned by the Robert Jordan estate) on February 11th. Needless to say, [[http://www.tor.com/blogs/2015/02/wheel-of-time-pilot-harriet-statement Jordan's widow was not pleased.]] Threats of lawsuits against Red Eagle were made and when the dust finally settled Harriet was able to get the rights back and turn to Creator/AmazonPrime who are producing an actual series based on the novels. ''Winter Dragon'' is available on [=YouTube=], both the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUQE0-G_GeU original version]] and fan-edited [[Dusty Wheel Cut https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lyWn9soBU8]] recut down to below 10 minutes.

* Red Eagle Entertainment rushed out an adaptation of ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' in the form of a 22-minute "pilot" called ''Winter Dragon'', which follows the prologue of ''Eye of the World'', but with a twist ending. Starring Billy Zane as a surprisingly decent [[AffablyEvil Mephistophelian]] Ishamael and Max Ryan as a soft homey Lews Therin, who looks nothing like the leader of the free world. They keep talking and name-dropping, LT keeps calling his wife, then Ishy cures his insanity, shows that LT's home palace really is dark and run-down, that all his family is murdered, then offers a [[DealWithTheDevil deal with Shai'tan]]. Instead of killing himself by creating a volcano like in the book, LT saves on special effects and switches his insanity back on to stay with his family. [[https://twitter.com/Sedavision According to the director,]] [[ChristmasRushed filming began on January 20th and post-production was completed on February 4th]]. It aired less than a week later at 1:30 AM on the [[Creator/{{Fox}} FXX]] channel. The TV rights to the ''Wheel of Time'' series were set to revert from Red Eagle Entertainment (who has held them since the mid-2000s) to the Bandersnatch Group (which is owned by the Robert Jordan estate) on February 11th. Needless to say, [[http://www.tor.com/blogs/2015/02/wheel-of-time-pilot-harriet-statement Jordan's widow was not pleased.]] Threats of lawsuits against Red Eagle were made and when the dust finally settled Harriet was able to get the rights back and turn to Creator/AmazonPrime who are producing an actual series based on the novels. ''Winter Dragon'' is available on [=YouTube=], both the original version and fan-edited, cut down to below 10 minutes.

* Creator/WarnerBros produced a TV pilot called ''Black Bart'' based on ''Film/BlazingSaddles'' just to retain the sequel rights to that film. Creator/MelBrooks explained that he opposed the studio's desire for sequels and included a clause in his contract that all sequel and spin-off rights would revert to him unless Warner Bros. made a movie or TV show based on the film within six months of theatrical release. Brooks knew that the studio couldn't produce a second movie in that time frame, and that network TV would never be able to get a TV show based on ''Blazing Saddles'' past the broadcast censors. However, Warner Bros. realized that there was a loophole in the contract: to retain the rights, they only had to ''make'' a spin-off -- there was no requirement to actually ''air'' it. So the studio secretly produced a pilot with CBS (a 24-minute synopsis of the movie with Louis Gossett Jr. as Bart and language that the network would never allow on air) and aired it once, late at night, to qualify it as a TV production. They went on to produce ''four'' seasons, albeit short ones, in secret and locked them away in a vault for safekeeping. Several years later, they asked Brooks to make a sequel, and when he refused on the grounds that they no longer held the rights, the execs brought Brooks onto the CBS lot and screened some episodes for him to prove their point -- although the sequel project died on its merits some time later (leading to the series being "cancelled"). The ''Black Bart'' pilot only ever saw the light of day as a bonus feature on the ''Blazing Saddles'' DVD release.

* Marvel has pulled the same stealth claim trick more than once: after DC sued Fawcett regarding how close [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]] was to their own Franchise/{{Superman}}, Marvel noticed that the superhero's name was legally up for grabs and created their own [[ComicBook/CaptainMarVell Captain Marvel]] (given the company name, they couldn't be blamed). Then DC bought Fawcett and incorporated the now rebranded ''ComicBook/{{Shazam}}'' into their universe. In order to avoid the trademark falling into disuse and thus becoming available to their biggest competitors, Marvel has had to publish at least one ''Captain Marvel'' title every year or two since, leading to a number of ongoing series, limited series and one-shots featuring a range of characters using the Captain Marvel alias (the original Mar-Vell, many of his sons and clones, and the current incarnation who used to go by Comicbook/MsMarvel).

* The 1966 adaptation of ''WesternAnimation/TheHobbit''. Producer Bill Snyder bought the film rights from J.R.R. Tolkien on the cheap, and just before they were set to expire the popularity of Tolkien's ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' books skyrocketed. Realizing he could make a tidy return on his investment, Snyder set out to get the rights extended long enough to negotiate a resale. However, a film had to be made and released in order for that to happen. With the contract set to expire in one month, he got Creator/GeneDeitch to hastily produce a 12-minute film using still drawings, which was then screened in a single Manhattan theater on the day the contract was set to expire. With its conditions fulfilled in the narrowest possible sense, the contract was duly extended and Snyder sold the rights for $100,000 (in 1960s money). In 2012 the film finally resurfaced when Snyder's son [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBnVL1Y2src uploaded it on YouTube]].

* Red Eagle Entertainment rushed out an adaptation of ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' in the form of a 22-minute "pilot" called ''Winter Dragon'', which follows the prologue of ''Eye of the World'', but with a twist ending. Starring Billy Zane as a surprisingly decent [[AffablyEvil Mephistophelian]] Ishamael and Max Ryan as a soft homey Lews Therin, who looks nothing like the leader of the free world. They keep talking and name-dropping, LT keeps calling his wife, then Ishy cures his insanity, shows that LT's home palace really is dark and run-down, that all his family is murdered, then offers a [[DealWithTheDevil deal with Shai'tan]]. Instead of killing himself by creating a volcano like in the book, LT saves on special effects and switches his insanity back on to stay with his family. [[https://twitter.com/Sedavision According to the director]], [[ChristmasRushed filming began on January 20th and post-production was completed on February 4th]]. It aired less than a week later at 1:30 AM on the [[Creator/{{Fox}} FXX]] channel. The TV rights to the ''Wheel of Time'' series were set to revert from Red Eagle Entertainment (who has held them since the mid-2000s) to the Bandersnatch Group (which is owned by the Robert Jordan estate) on February 11th. Needless to say, [[http://www.tor.com/blogs/2015/02/wheel-of-time-pilot-harriet-statement Jordan's widow was not pleased]]. Threats of lawsuits against Red Eagle were made and when the dust finally settled Harriet was able to get the rights back and turn to Creator/AmazonPrime who are producing an actual series based on the novels. ''Winter Dragon'' is available on [=YouTube=], both the original version and fan-edited, cut down to below 10 minutes.

* In 2007, Creator/{{Atari}} commissioned a simple flash game produced in just four days in order to maintain trademark on ''VideoGame/StarControl''.

* This trope is the first point on ''Website/{{Cracked}}'' writer David Christopher Bell's list of [[http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-reasons-why-every-damn-movie-sequel-nowadays/ "6 Brilliant Explanations for Why Modern Movies Are So Stupid"]], describing it as "a juggling act of rushed sequels". He mentions several movies made solely to retain franchise rights, including the ''Fantastic Four'', ''Dick Tracy'', ''Bourne Legacy'', and ''Hellraiser: Revelations'' examples listed above.

* Red Eagle Entertainment rushed out an adaptation of ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' in the form of a 22-minute "pilot" called ''Winter Dragon'', which follows the prologue of ''Eye of the World'', but with a twist ending. Starring Billy Zane as a surprisingly decent [[AffablyEvil Mephistophelian]] Ishmael and Max Ryan as a soft homey Lews Terin, who looks nothing like the leader of the free world. They keep talking and name-dropping, LT keeps calling his wife, then Ishy cures his insanity, shows that LT's home palace really is dark and run-down, that all his family is murdered, then offers a [[DealWithTheDevil deal with Shai'tan]]. Instead of killing himself by creating a volcano like in the book, LT saves on special effects and switches his insanity back on to stay with his family. [[https://twitter.com/Sedavision According to the director]], [[ChristmasRushed filming began on January 20th and post-production was completed on February 4th]]. It aired less than a week later at 1:30 AM on the [[Creator/{{Fox}} FXX]] channel. The TV rights to the ''Wheel of Time'' series were set to revert from Red Eagle Entertainment (who has held them since the mid-2000s) to the Bandersnatch Group (which is owned by the Robert Jordan estate) on February 11th. Needless to say, [[http://www.tor.com/blogs/2015/02/wheel-of-time-pilot-harriet-statement Jordan's widow was not pleased]]. Threats of lawsuits against Red Eagle were made and when the dust finally settled Harriet was able to get the rights back and turn to Creator/AmazonPrime who are producing an actual series based on the novels. ''Winter Dragon'' is available on [=YouTube=], both the original version and fan-edited, cut down to below 10 minutes.

* Red Eagle Entertainment rushed out an adaptation of ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' in the form of a 22-minute "pilot" called ''Winter Dragon''. Starring Billy Zane, the short loosely incorporates some of the backstory of the series. [[https://twitter.com/Sedavision According to the director]], [[ChristmasRushed filming began on January 20th and post-production was completed on February 4th]]. It aired less than a week later at 1:30 AM on the [[Creator/{{Fox}} FXX]] channel. The TV rights to the ''Wheel of Time'' series were set to revert from Red Eagle Entertainment (who has held them since the mid-2000s) to the Bandersnatch Group (which is owned by the Robert Jordan estate) on February 11th. Needless to say, [[http://www.tor.com/blogs/2015/02/wheel-of-time-pilot-harriet-statement Jordan's widow was not pleased]]. Threats of lawsuits against Red Eagle were made and when the dust finally settled Harriet was able to get the rights back and turn to Creator/AmazonPrime who are producing an actual series based on the novels.