'Cars 2' Update: New Poster, Lawsuit, Image And Character

Save for the disappointingly childish trailers, I'd say Pixar and Disney are doing a great job marketing Cars 2. Most of the video has left me stone faced and uninterested, but the more cool characters and cars that are slowly revealed, the more my interest starts to percolate. That balance of good and bad continues with this latest Cars 2 news. While they're revealed a brand new (and probably final) poster image, new character based on NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon and more, the studio also been slapped with a lawsuit saying the idea for the whole franchise was stolen. See all the new images and read about the lawsuit after the jump.

Let's start with the bad news. The Hollywood Reporter says that U.K screenwriter Jake Mandeville-Anthony has filed a lawsuit saying the idea for Cars and Cars 2 were stolen from a pitch he sent around Hollywood in the 1990s and he doesn't want the new film to be released. Mandeville-Anthony apparently sent out two racing themed pitches in the early 1990s, one of which was called Cars and included several specific character designs, sketches, a treatment and marketing ideas. Apparently, many of those characters and ideas in his original pitch made it into the final films. It sounds very suspect even though the idea of "Cars" isn't exactly original. Disney refused to comment but this isn't the first time Mandeville-Anthony has filed a lawsuit against Disney and Pixar. The other case, however, has not been made public. For more information, head over to The Hollywood Reporter.

Back to the good news. Moviefone was the first to reveal this brand new poster for the film, which isn't particularly exciting, but will certainly do the job.

Next, the Pixar Blog ran across a preview video for Jeff Gorvette, based on NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon. Check that out below.

And finally, the Pixar official website updated with a new image from the film which highlights one of Lightning McQueen's international races. It might be my favorite image from the film so far. Thanks to PixarPlanet.

What are your thoughts on how Disney and Pixar have been marketing Cars 2 and do you think there's a chance they stole the idea from Jake Mandeville-Anthony?

Cars 2 races to regular, 3D and IMAX 3D screens on June 24.