Watchmen movie gets the go-ahead

Superhero movie Watchmen will be released as planned on 6 March after two Hollywood studios resolved a legal dispute over copyright.

20th Century Fox blocked the $130m (£87m) Warner Bros movie claiming it had held the film rights since 1986.

But Warner Bros argued Fox had lost the rights to the celebrated graphic novel and was owed nothing more than a right of first refusal.

The studios settled after a judge ruled Fox did have an interest.

Set in an alternative 1985 and with the world perched on the brink of nuclear war, the story follows a group of costumed crime fighters trying to solve the murder of one of their own.

The studios released a joint statement which said: "Warner Bros. and Fox, like all Watchmen fans, look forward with great anticipation to this film's 6 March release in theatres."

The novel, written by British author Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons, has had a tortured course to the big screen and numerous attempts have been made to adapt the material.

The book is still considered "un-filmable" by some devoted fans .

Watchmen's director, Zack Snyder, turned another graphic novel, Frank Miller's 300, into a blockbuster in 2007.