Sometimes you write a headline, and you read it back to yourself, and you ask, “How did I get here?“

Well, we all know that THE ANGRY BIRDS MOVIE– based on the popular mobile phone app game- came out and did some decent numbers recently. Some of you may also know that Sony is developing a movie called…THE EMOJI MOVIE. Yes, those colorful little emotive icons in your smart phone’s keyboard will be front and center in their own film soon. That’s a thing.

Know what else is a thing? A possible lawsuit over said EMOJI MOVIE.

According to Marco Husges, a former video game executive, he owns the rights to over 3,000 emoji, and has all kinds of licensing agreements to make merchandise and entertainment based on them. “I am curious how Sony would want to produce a movie under that name and do accompanying merchandising, especially given the fact our brand has already been successfully established with license partners and retailers all over the world,” Husges told The Hollywood Reporter. “Sony’s trademark application in the U.S. has been rejected, while ours are all registered and actively in use.“

Husges, along with producers Adrian Askarieh and Roy Lee, claims his plan all along was to expand the property. “This was always the logical step,” Husges says. “First get into the marketplace and then TV series, web episodes and movies.” Lee, who worked on THE LEGO MOVIE, says that Emojis are ripe for adaptation. “Emojis are such an iconic brand worldwide that if we develop a great story to support it, I believe whatever we create has as much potential as other movies based on well-known properties, such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Minions and, of course, Lego,” Lee adds.

As for Sony’s story, and the film it hopes to make, Sony Pictures Animation president Kristine Belson gave a brief description of what their approach will be when they announced the movie back in October. “Inside your phone, there’s a secret world … Emoji Valley, where the industrious Emoji live and work,” Belson said.

Belson mentioned “Emoji Valley,” and it should be noted that Husges and his The Emoji Co. also own the terms “Emojiplanet” and “Emojitown.”

This is all a thing.

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SOURCE: THR