Sci-Fi Movies Thursday: Avatar, The Hunger Games, Rise of the Apes, Prometheus, X-Men: First Class, The Hobbit, Tron 3 + more

In this week’s Sci-Fi Movies column, we’ve got big casting news in the form of the announcement of Henry Cavill as Superman, an update on Cameron’s plans for Avatar 2 and 3, release date updates for Rise of the Apes and Promotheus, news on Tron 3 and more, including the latest casting bites, images and videos.

GENRE MOVIE NEWS

Henry Cavill is the next Superman

We have our Man of Steel. Warner Brothers has announced that British actor Henry Cavill has been cast as Superman in the upcoming Zack Snyder-directed / Christopher Nolan-produced reboot (working title "Superman: Man of Steel"). Here’s what Snyder said about the casting:

Zack Snyder: “In the pantheon of superheroes, Superman is the most recognized and revered character of all time, and I am honored to be a part of his return to the big screen. I also join Warner Bros., Legendary and the producers in saying how excited we are about the casting of Henry. He is the perfect choice to don the cape and S shield."

Superman: Man of Steel (working title) is scheduled to hit theaters in December 2012.

James Cameron says plan is for Avatar 2 in 2014 followed by Avatar 3 in 2015 + An update on Battle Angel

James Cameron has always hinted that the wait between "Avatar" and its planned sequels would be long, and the director has now confirmed that fact. Cameron told Entertainment Weekly that the “current plan” is to shoot both films back-to-back and release them in Christmas 2014 and Christmas 2015, respectively:

“I am in the process of writing the next two Avatar films now. We are planning to shoot them together and post them together, and we will probably release them not quite back to back, but about a year apart. Christmas ’14 and ’15 is the current plan.” Of course, it’s probably best to take those release dates with a grain of salt, since the first Avatar had several release dates before its December 2009 release. Still, now fans know that they’ll have to wait at least three more years for a return to Pandora.

"Avatar" was released in December 2009, so at the moment it appears there will be a five-year gap between films. Cameron also gave an update on his Manga adaptation "Battle Angel". Cameron told Collider.com that his busy schedule had him considering handing the project off to another director, but he loves it "too much" to give it to someone else:

" It’s such a rich world. What I’m going to do is take the spine story and use elements from the first four books. So, the Motorball from books three and four, and parts of the story of one and two will all be in the movie."

Release dates: The Hunger Games, Rise of the Apes and Prometheus (plus Michael Fassbender joins cast)

Gary Ross’ adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ best-selling novel "The Hunger Games" will be released on March 23, 2012, Lionsgate has announced. In other release date news, 20th Century Fox has pushed back Rupert Wyatt’s "Rise of the Apes" to November 23, 2011 instead of June 24, 2011. There also may be some new movement on the casting front as Liam Hemsworth (Chris Hemsworth’s brother) revealed to MTV that he has read the script — calling it "super dark — and that he could soon be in talks to play Katniss’ love interest Peeta. In related release date news, Fox has slated the Ridley Scott-directed / Damon Lindelof-scripted "Alien" film "Prometheus" for June 8, 2012. "Prometheus" had been scheduled for release on March 9, 2012 but Fox was forced to move the film to June after Disney moved Andrew Stanton’s "John Carter of Mars" into its former slot (March 9). In casting news, Heat Vision | THR is reporting that Michael Fassbender will star opposite Noomi Rapace in the project. Fassbender will be playing an android.

Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci to produce Ender’s Game big-screen adaptation

Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci will be producing Gavin Hood’s ("X-Men Origins: Wolverine) big screen adaptation of Orson Scott Card’s 1985 sci-fi novel "Ender’s Game". Here’s what Orci tweeted:

"Ender’s Game! Us(K/O), Oddlot, and Gavin Hood taking his amazing script to the town! Who wants some?"

The two will only be producing the project.

Bale says he’s open to a fourth Nolan Batman film + Dark Knight Rises begins shooting in May and Joseph Gordon-Levitt joins cast

Christopher Nolan is on the record stating that "The Dark Knight Rises" will be his last Batman movie, but star Christian Bale says he would be open to doing a fourth movie if Nolan reconsidered his stance [via Empire]:

All I know is the likelihood that this will be the last one," says the star. "Well, I wouldn’t say definitely. If Chris goes, ‘Hey, I’ve got another story I think could be interesting,’ then yeah, great, I’d go do that. I always assumed it would be three, but I could be wrong. I don’t know if there’s something wrong with me, but I don’t feel any pressure.

Bale also expressed excitement in new castmember Tom Hardy, who was recently cast as Bane:

"[Tom Hardy] seems like he’s balls-out, doesn’t he? Like he really goes for it.He looked like a guy that was happy to go to extremes, to really push it. Looks like he could go the distance…"

Nolan, meanwhile, has confirmed that production on the project will begin in May. Nolan also again noted this will be his last Batman movie, responding to a question on why he decided to do a third film by saying "It was about finishing the story". And lastly, Deadline is reporting that Joseph Gordon-Levitt — who starred in Nolan’s 2010 hit “Inception” — has joined the cast of ‘Dark Knight Rises’. It’s unclear at the moment what role Levitt will play in the film. "The Dark Knight Rises" is scheduled to hit conventional and IMAX theaters on July 20, 2012.

No best director nod for Christopher Nolan, but Inception gets eight oscar nominations

"Inception" was tied for second-most Oscar nominations this year with eight, including one for Best Picture, but director Christopher Nolan was not nominated for Best Director. Nolan did, however, pick up a nomination for Writing (Original Screenplay). Here are the film’s six other nominations:

  • Art Direction
  • Cinematography
  • Original Score
  • Sound Editing
  • Sound Mixing
  • Visual Effects

"Inception" grossed $823.6M worldwide ($292.6M domestic / $531.0M foreign). Here’s a round-up of the other nominations for sci-fi/genre films:

  • "Black Swan"
    • Actress in a Leading Role – Natalie Portman
    • Cinematography
    • Directing (Darren Aronofsky)
    • Film Editing
    • Best Picture
  • "Toy Story 3"
    • Animated Feature Film
    • Original Song – "We Belong Together"
    • Best Picture
    • Sound Editing
    • Adapted Screenplay
  • "Alice in Wonderland"
    • Art Direction
    • Costume Design
    • Visual Effects
  • "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1"
    • Art Direction
    • Visual Effects
  • "How to Train Your Dragon"
    • Animated Feature Film
    • Music (Original Score)
  • "Iron Man 2"
    • Visual Effects
  • "Tangled"
    • Original Song – "I See the Light"
  • "Tron: Legacy"
    • Sound Editing
  • "The Wolfman"
    • Makeup

Matthew Vaughn says ‘First Class’ is "X-Men meets Bond"

When asked to describe "X-Men: First Class", director Matthew Vaughn told Entertainment Weekly it’s "X-Men meets Bond, with a little bit of Thirteen Days thrown in for good measure":

"It’s set in the ’60s, and I basically molded a young Magneto on a young Sean Connery. He’s the ultimate spy — imagine Bond, but with superpowers."

Vaughn also offered up a few plot details, including how the movie begins:

"In the beginning of the film, no one knows that mutants exist, and all the mutants don’t know that each other exist. They’re all in hiding. Kevin Bacon plays a very megalomaniac mutant [Sebastian Shaw] who decides that he can take over the world and that mutants are the future. Erik and Charles then meet each other and hook up with the CIA to try and prevent World War III. You find out everything about what went on between Erik and Charles."

Vaughn also revealed that although the film may share the name of the popular First Class comics, it’s not all that related to it, save for some nods here and there:

EW: Is the movie related at all to the First Class comics?

Vaughn: "Not really. There are a lot of nods to the X-Men world and the X-Men movies, but it’s definitely its own beast."

Check out the rest of the interview here. You can also check out an interview with star James McAvoy (Charles Xavier) over at Cinema Blend. "X-Men: First Class" is scheduled to hit theaters on June 3, 2011.

The Hobbit gets slight filming delay + Elijah Wood offers story details and Saorise Ronan joins cast

Shooting on "The Hobbit" will be slightly delayed because director Peter Jackson underwent surgery for a perforated ulcer. The director underwent surgery and is said to be resting comfortably [via Heat Vision | THR]:

Sir Peter’s surgery is not expected to impact on his directing commitment to The Hobbit beyond a slight delay to the start of filming," according to the statement.

In better news, The Irish Film & Television Network (via ComingSoon.net) is reporting that Saorise Ronan has joined the cast of "The Hobbit". It’s unknown at the moment what role the actress will be playing in the films. Ronan last worked with Jackson on "The Lovely Bones". In other news, Elijah Wood discussed his recent addition to the cast. Wood will be reprising the role of Frodo in a cameo [MTV Movies Blog]:

"The Hobbit" has a rumored release date of December 2012 for ‘Part 1’ and December 2013 for ‘Part 2’.

Summit confirms development on Red 2

Summit Entertainment has confirmed Collider’s scoop that they’ve hired Jon and Erich Hoeber to write a screenplay for a sequel to the action-comedy "Red":

A sequel to RED is on. Summit has hired brothers Erich and Jon Hoeber, who wrote the script for the hit action movie, to return to the keyboard to pen a second instalment. Although there are no confirmed deals at this stage with the original film’s stars Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, John Malkovich, Summit is pulling the trigger for a second helping of over-the-hill special ops agents shoot-’em-up.

TRON 3 teaser trailer to be included on TRON: Legacy Blu-ray/DVD?

"Tron: Legacy" is closing in on $350M in worldwide box office (it’s currently at $345M), and as has been previously reported, Disney is likely close to greenlighting a sequel. But we may be getting a look at said sequel sooner than expected. AICN has details from a source close to production of the upcoming DVD / Blu-ray "Tron: Legacy" release that a teaser trailer made up of three scenes will appear on the home video release. Here are descriptions of the three scenes, courtesy AICN:

One includes Bruce Boxleitner (as Alan) and Dan Shor (as Ram). Turns out that “Ram” was apparently running the FLYNN LIVES campaign and he’s frantically destroying all of that data and files, as Alan confronts him. Dan apparently utters the line, “Why did Kevin give you the cool name” – which means to my way of thinking that after Flynn came out of the Grid, he sought out the human soul of Ram and befriended him and started calling him RAM – you know – some geek that wrote that Actuarial Program that helped people plan for the future. I sorta love that. And love that the kindness Flynn showed this lowly geek, apparently created a gung ho champion for the life and memory of Kevin Flynn.

Another has Quora showing up to ENCOM and getting acousted by the press because she’s riding Sam’s Ducati – and states that she just spoke with Kevin Flynn, yesterday!

The last scene that was shot in this mini-shoot involved text screens where you see the Father & Son… The Dillingers stating that everything is going as planned.

Captain America title to be shortened overseas?

"Captain America: The First Avenger" will go by a shortened title in some overseas territories. Marvel Studios has shortened the film’s name to just ‘The First Avenger’ in Russia, South Korea and the Ukraine. According to Hero Complex | LA Times, Marvel insiders say the change in title only needed to be applied to a few markets and that there was a "pleasant surprise" they didn’t have to shorten the name in other international markets:

In private, Marvel insiders said that early on in the project’s planning there was talk that the title might need to be changed in numerous international markets but that there was a "pleasant surprise"—the brand recognition of the comic-book superhero was so strong that it overrode those considerations in many places. That was not the case in Russia, South Korea and the Ukraine.

In other news, Dominic Cooper spoke to Vulture about his role in playing Howard Stark in the film. Here are a few excerpts from the interview:

"We learn the whole idea of where Stark Industries comes from, which is out of pure curiosity and creative juices and excitement towards thinking of the future and developing things for good. He’s a Howard Hughes. He’s a guy that loves inventing, that’s extremely intelligent, and that loves his lifestyle as well."

"He’s important because he’s part of the machinery that helps Captain America manipulate his body."

"Captain America: The First Avenger" is scheduled to hit conventional and 3D theaters on July 22, 2011.


PREVIEW Videos & Images

The Avengers

Interview with Chris Hemsworth (Thor) [MTV]

Battle: Los Angeles

Behind the scenes images (including a first look at the invading aliens) [Famous Monsters–more via Bloody Disgusting]

Movie posters [IGN & ShockYa]

I Am Number Four

Promotional stills [more at HeyUGuys]

Lazy Teenage Superheroes

13-minute short film [Lazy Teenage Superhero / YouTube via Topless Robot]

Dredd

First look at suit and bike [2000 AD via io9]

Drive Angry 3D

TV spot [Summit Entertainment / YouTube]

Watch two more TV spots here and here

Dylan Dog: Day of Night

Promotional stills [more at Every Eye via Shock Till You Drop]

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Promotional still [Occlumencia via CBM]

I Am Number Four

TV spot: "Graphic/Hunted" [YouTube via BeyondHollywood]

Watch another TV spot here

John Carter of Mars

Interview with director Andrew Stanton [MTV]

Kung Fu Panda 2

Super Bowl spot [Yahoo!]

Paul

Promotional stills [more at HeyUGuys]

Rango

Listen to the theme song from Los Lobos [via Pop & Hiss | LA Times]

Rio

Watch the first two minutes []

http://www.slashfilm.com/watch-minutes-rio/

Scream 4

Promotional stills [Cinema Blend]

Poster [Yahoo! Movies]

Movie trailer [Cinema Blend]

Spider-Man (2012)

Set images [more at The Daily Blam]

Set video [YouTube via Shockya]

Source Code

Movie poster [Yahoo! Movies]

Sucker Punch

Movie posters [more at Parallel Universe | MSN Movies]

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Chevrolet Camaro (Bumblebee) Super Bowl XLV TV spot [via TFW2005]

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1

Logo [Movies.SpoilerTV.com]

X-Men: First Class

Set images [Comic Book Movies]

MOVIE BITES

  • Filming has wrapped on the Mark Neveldine/Brian Taylor-directed sequel "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance". The film, which returns Nicolas Cage in the lead role of Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider, is scheduled to hit conventional and 3D theaters on February 17, 2012. [Today’s Zaman via CBM]
  • Warner Premiere has officially anounced development on a live-action digital series based on the online short "Mortal Kombat: Rebirth", which itself was based on the popular video game franchise. Shooting will take place in early February for online release this spring. Casting will be announced in the coming weeks. No word if "Star Trek: Voyager" star Jery Ryan, who played Sonya Blade in the short, will reprise her role. [Warner Premiere via YourEntNow]
  • Johnny Depp says he thought ‘Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3’ were too confusing but thinks they’ll do a better job with the fourth film in the series, ‘On Stranger Tides’: "Pirates 2 and 3 became quite … sub-plotty. The mathematics of it. All of these people went to see them two or three times just to figure out what was happening. This one is a little closer in tone to the first: more character driven, more subject driven. It has a freshness. Less mathematics." [Empire]
  • The mayor of Bucharest, Romania has confirmed that city will serve as a shooting locale for Christopher Nolan’s "The Dark Knight Rises". There are also some plot rumors at the CBM link. [Brusimm via CBM]
  • There’s some conjecture that the Spider-Man outfit seen via the set of Marc Webb’s 3D "Spider-Man" reboot could just be his wrestling outfit and not the final outfit that Sony has officially showcased. [CBM]
  • Sam Rockwell revealed some details about his character in the Jon Favreau-directed / Roberto Orci/Alex Kurtzman/Damon Lindelof-scripted "Cowboys & Aliens": "My wife gets taken by the aliens, and so I go on a journey with the rest of the cowboys to find her, and get involved in the big final battle. I ride a horse too, a pretty smooth one called Fred." [Empire]
  • Mandalay has tapped Nick Pustay to adapt Sophie Jordan’s young-adult fantasy novel "Firelight" to for the big-screen. [THR]
  • Mark Heyman will write a sci-fi project called "Age of Rage" with Marc Webb ("Spider-Man (2012)") attached to direct. [Heat Vision | THR]
  • Don Cheadle, who played James "Rhodey" Rhodes in "Iron Man 2", says that Marvel has begun developing a "War Machine" movie: "They’re developing [a War Machine film] now, they’re working on that. … I think they’ve hired a writer, so we’ll see how it goes. It would be a lot of fun." Watch the interview clip below. [MTV Splash Page]

  • There’s no truth to the rumor that the Wachowski’s are working on a two-film treatment for "Matrix 4" and "Matrix 5". [The Daily Blam]
  • "Wrath of the Titans" director Joe Liebesman shared his thoughts on the sequel: "I think the cornerstones of modern storytelling stem from these myths, so we’ve got some brilliant source material to work with. That said, I want to ground the myth in reality, find the truth of these huge stories and make sure that every detail serves the driving narrative of the film. Clash II is going to be an action-packed, visceral epic told on a grand scale — but it’s all about grounding the truth, the character and the story and staying true to that in order to elevate it from the previous movie." [Earth’s Mightiest]
  • "Cloverfield" director Matt Reeves says the proposed sequel may not happen: "Unfortunately, I don’t have any [news]…[W]e haven’t really had a chance to talk about it. I mean, J.J. [Abrams] is eding [sic] ‘Super 8’ right now, he’s got a very, very intense schedule right now that he’s working on. And Drew [Goddard] is writing Steven Spielberg’s next movie, I think, after the Abraham Lincoln film. He’s doing ‘Robopocalypse’. So everybody’s very, very busy. But I’m sure we’ll get together one of these days and sort of bounce it around until we come up with something that we get excited about. And if we don’t, then we won’t make it.". [Bloody Disgusting]
  • David O. Russell revealed that budget was one of the reasons he decided not to direct "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies": "I thought at $40 to $50 million was a bargain price to make a “Sherlock Holmes”-style period action romance that happened to have zombies in it…The studio budgeted it as a genre zombie movie and gave me $25 to $28 million. I was like, that’s not cool. We have crazy big action sequences in it. It’s very commercial; we have a major romance. It’s a period film…It made no sense to me. That I found was frustrating.". [Speakeasy | WSJ]
  • Duncan Jones revealed that he spoke with Christopher Nolan about directing "Superman: Man of Steel", and shared his thoughts about making the short list: "I think, maybe, I’m not quite ready for that scale of project and that scale of expectation from an audience that is already existing and is waiting to see the next generation of Superman film…Superman was so big that I think I was a little intimidated by it and sort of backed out." [ComingSoon.net]
  • 20th Century Fox will air a TV spot for their upcoming animated feature film "Rio" during the fourth quarter of this year’s Super Bowl. The ad will also feature a frame with a code that fans will have to spot and then enter online to unlock a special level of "Angry Birds". Playing that level will in turn take players to a "Rio" sweepstakes with the winner attending the world premiere of the film in Rio de Janeiro on March 22. [THR]

CASTING BITES

  • Javier Bardem has been offered the lead role in director Ron Howard’s proposed trilogy/TV series adaptation of Stephen King’s 7-novel series "The Dark Tower". [Deadline]
  • Lake Bell wants to put her name out there as a potential actress to play "Wonder Woman": "I’ll be honest, I think I’d make a great Wonder Woman. So if anyone out there is listening …". [E! Online]
  • Viggo Mortensen is in negotiations to star in Universal’s "Snow White and the Huntsman". Charlize Theron is in talks to play the evil queen and the studio is currently screen-testing for the role of Snow White. Emily Brunning and Kristen Stewart are both rumored to be in the mix for that role. [Heat Vision | THR & Deadline]
  • Chris Pine has been cast in the lead voice role of Jack Frost in DreamWorks Animation’s "Rise of the Guardians". Alec Baldwin, Hugh Jackman, Isla Fisher and Jude Law round out the voice cast. "Rise of the Guardians" is scheduled to hit theaters on November 21, 2012. [DreamWorks Animation via ComingSoon.net]
  • J.K. Simmons, who played J. Jonah Jameson in "Spider-Man 1-3" would have reprised the role in Sam Raimi’s "Spider-Man 4" had Sony not decided to reboot the franchise, and Simmons is still disappointed it won’t be happening: "There wasn’t a script-script yet, but I had seen Sam a few weeks before that and we talked about story ideas, because on those movies, we always started on the script and we expanded on it…There was a lot of either us coming up with stuff in the room or doing it literally on set — a lot of improv-y stuff with the whole cast in those office scenes". [MTV]
  • Benjamin Walker has been cast as Abraham Lincoln in Timur Bekmambetov’s adaptation of the Seth Grahame-Smith novel "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter"… [Variety]
  • … In related news, Joaquin Phoenix is in talks to join the project as the mentor who teaches President Lincoln how to kill vampires. [Deadline]
  • There’s a rumor that Robin Williams may be playing Hugo Strange in Christopher Nolan’s "The Dark Knight Rises". [Batman-News via CBM]
  • Brandon Molale revealed on his Twitter page that he auditioned to play the Hulk (via motion capture) in Joss Whedon’s "The Avengers". This might mean that Mark Ruffalo will only be playing Bruce Banner, and not also the Hulk as previously expected. [Brandon Molale | Twitter via CBM]
  • A leaked "Thor" script, since removed at the request of Paramount, confirmed the following cameos in the film: Hawkeye, Ant Man (referenced as Dr. Pym), Bruce Banner (mentioned as "a pioneer in gamma radiation"). [CBM via Movies.SpoilerTV.com]
  • Kristen Stewart is in negotiations to star as Snow White in Universal’s Snow White and the Huntsman. Stewart would star alongside previously cast Viggo Mortenson and Charlize Theron. [Heat Vision | THR]
  • Eva Green will play the lead female role opposite Johnny Depp in Tim Burton’s big screen adaptation of the 60s supernatural TV series “Dark Shadows”. Depp will play Barnabas Collins in the series. In related news, both Jackie Earle Haley and Bella Heathcoate are said to be in negotiations for lead roles in the film.. [Deadline]
  • James Cameron has revealed that Tom Cruise still wants to star in “At the Mountains of Madness” and says that although they don’t have a deal in place for him yet, they’re hoping “to get that closed soon”. Cameron, who is producing the project for director Guillermo del Toro, also revealed that del Toro is “madly working on a new draft of the script” and that they hope to shoot “by June or July.”. [MTV]


You can follow Russ on his website at Your Entertainment Now and on Twitter at Twitter.com/YourEntNow.

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The worst part is hat the long absenses aren’t even being addressed.

I know, it’s getting bad. My guess is that the site is in the process of being sold.

Finally! Let the games begin!!

Is this site still around?

So Tom Welling gets the superman role shaft again.

His consolation prize should be a spinoff of Smallville where he plays the man of steel. At least give him the small-screen Superman role. Come on.

Come on guys! New News! Comment on the stories in this post. Thanks Rosario!

As for the new Superman, I have no opinion on the guy. I don’t care that he’s English, and since I’ve never seen him in anything, so I’m willing to wait and see. I trust Zack Snyder, even though I really didn’t like 300. I thought Watchmen was incredibly well done. They took a giant story and very skillfully put it into three hours. Snyder’s dense and dark imagery will be great for a re-imagined Superman.

I hope lightning can strike three times with Batman. The first two were very good. Not the Batman movies I would have made, but still close enough for me to enjoy. It’s impossible to top Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker. That could be a major problem. But I think Anne Hathaway is a good choice for Catwoman and hopefully they can really give the story an edge. I have no idea how they’re going to transform the fairly slight Tom Hardy into Bane. That’ll be interesting. And Hopefully Christian Bale can do some acting this time. He really was overshadowed by Ledger. Must have been why he spoke so gruffly in this one – he was pissed most of the time.

I’m annoyed at the long absences too. I wish someone would SAY SOMETHING as to what is going on, and alleviate the concerns that Trekmovie is dying! BTW, great article, I always look forward to the movie and tv articles!

Lots of news. Can’t wait for “The Dark Knight Rises”. Interesting that Robin Williams is considered for the role of Hugo Strange. Robin Williams wanted the part of the Riddler in “Batman Forever” but they went with Jim Carrey instead. And I thought Chris Nolan ruled out Hugo Strange? Hmm….we’ll have to wait and see. Hopefully Mr. Nolan will come back for a fourth.

As for “Prometheus”, is it still an “Alien” film or something different altogether?

Can’t wait for “Superman: The Man Of Steel”. I still think they should have brought back Brandon Routh. On the positive side, at least Kate Bosworth is nowhere to be found. Of course, that still leaves the possibility of Erica Durance……nah, let’s try to think positively! :>)

Interesting that “Red” was part of the thread. I wouldn’t qualify it as Sci Fi, though I guess it was included since a Trek castmember, Karl Urban was in the first and presumably will return. “Red” was a fun movie. Similar to “The Losers” in some ways, but better.

Christopher Nolan being excluded from Best Director for the Oscars isn’t really surprising anymore. I think he’s the new Martin Scorsese. Like Scorsese, Nolan will keep putting out great movies and continue being snubbed until he’s in his sixties when he’ll finally win the award as a sort of lifetime achievement nod.

It’s going to be a long wait for “Avatar 2 and 3”. No reason to worry though.
“Terminator 2: Judgement Day” came out seven years after the original. “T2” is considered the best of the series, and one of the greatest films of all time.

And I am grateful and thankful for Rosario for posting yet another great article. Well worth the wait.

By the way, rumors are that Anne Hathaway will only play Selena Kyle, and not dress up as Catwoman. If rumors are to be believed, which I doubt very much, she’ll get her own movie like Halle Berry did.

Also, I hope the Wachowskis don’t do another “Matrix”. Hopefully the rumors are wrong. But I’ve got a bad feeling about this…..since the Wachowskis haven’t done anything good since the original “Matrix” and might want to recapture lightening in a bottle.

As for the people bitching about the lack of new articles, Rosario just put this one up. I’d think everyone would be grateful. I know I am.

Oh my God! A new thread!

10- Red Dead – Hadn’t heard the Selena Kyle rumor. That would be disappointing to see her in the film, and not have her as Catwoman. Hell, they could still give her her own film. And personally, I’m very weary of Robin Williams, and have been for quite a while. Still, I trust Nolan, and based the previous films, I have to give him the benefit of doubt, but I have to admit to being a little worried.

Each Matrix movie was crummier than the previous, in my opinion. Keanu was really showing his lack of acting ability by the third film, and Laurence Fishburne seemed pretty bored with it all. I really hope they don’t do any more.

A side note about Keanu – he’s the reason I didn’t see the Day the Earth Stood Still remake. And even though I’m a huge Anthony Hopkins fan, I can’t own Bram Stoker’s Dracula because of Keanu. I don’t know who coached him on his accent, but it must have been the same guy who helped Kevin Costner in Robin Hood. If only they’d called him Robin of Kansas, it might have worked…

2,

Don’t even start trying with the conjecture. This site is done completely on people’s free time. And much like us all, they have lives outside of Star Trek news.

There hasn’t been much Trek news in the last year since the movie closed in theaters. The second that there is any, I guarantee you that Anthony and crew will be on it like a Klingon on gagh.

Oh my God. Trek is back up and running. Anthony. Please warn us next time. We missed you. 5 years between Avatar movies. Seems almost as long as Trek Movies Time off. Looking forward to seeing Battle L.A and the Avengers is looking good. Already new about the new Superman as i’m sure everyone else did. I would be good for a 4th Dark night movie. Also. Any news on a new Termanator movie.

#5. You are right. Tom Welling should have gotten the Role of Superman. He was the 2nd best choice next to Brandon Roth. I hope that they give us another series with Tom Welling as Superman.

I bet 10 Bars of Gold Pressed Latnuim that we will get at least 400 Post on this Thred. any Takers.

“Captain America: The First Avenger” will go by a shortened title in some overseas territories. Marvel Studios has shortened the film’s name to just ‘The First Avenger’ in Russia, South Korea and the Ukraine. According to Hero Complex | LA Times, Marvel insiders say the change in title only needed to be applied to a few markets and that there was a “pleasant surprise” they didn’t have to shorten the name in other international markets.”

What kind of a bunch of lame losers are running Marvel? I may boycott the movie completely now.

I can’t agree with Welling or Routh as Superman. Welling just doesn’t have the gravitas for me, nor the acting ability. Routh was likeable, but they are obviously going for a very different look to Superman. It wouldn’t make sense to keep the same actor. Unfortunately he has the stigma of Superman Returns, which was not a very good movie at all. In my opinion. I think they did the right thing to cast a new guy. It’s a whole new beginning. Like Star Trek.

This being said, I haven’t seen the new guy act. Maybe I won’t like him.

Maybe Marvel should just completely sell out to the international market and call it “Captain U.N.”

This is worse than them changing G.I. Joe to not being a G.I. anymore. Give me a break.

Rosario great story! Thank you for keeping this site alive! Its been hit or miss lately. I hope things get back to normal soon.

Am I the only person who does not want to see a “super dark” remake of The Planet of the Apes?

Hi Rosario, might there be a possibility that you could take over the website? We need someone who is fully committed to it on a daily basis. Thanks!

Before people go overboard with the “First Avenger” movie being stabbed in the back by foreign anti-American sentiment… consider for a moment these people probably don’t know who Captain America is. Why would they be excited to see a movie with some other country’s title in the name? They would probably think it’s just some military history movie.

First off, as said before, thank God for a new post. Still wondering what happened to Anthony, just mainly hope everything’s ok. Hopefully he’s just on a nice vacation or something. But as far as the news goes, I’ve never been a huge Superman fan, but with the combination of Snyder and Noland behind this next one I’ll have to check it out. I also seriously hope Dark Knight Rising isn’t the last Nolan Batman. That has to be one of the top three best reboots of a franchise in history, up there with Star Trek and Galactica.

Well…all i can say is its about time another article was posted. Can you PLEASE tell Anthony to at least put some sort of article or something to acknowledge what he is doing and how long it will take and when he will be gone so we can be prepared? And when he is gone, could someone take his place for the time he is absent?

Wow. I think we’ve got a pulse.

I’ll keep that cardiac massager handy just in case Trekmovie.com needs it.

Nice round-up again Rosario.

I’d like to link to this awesome in-depth interview with Guillermo del Toro again though, for anyone that missed it. It covers some really neat stuff. Go here, then click on ‘the new yorker’ link – http://www.darkhorizons.com/news/19300/del-toro-on-mountains-frankenstein-design

But I’ve now noticed that Tom Cruise seems to be in the running for ‘At The Mountains Of Madness’… I hope this doesn’t pan out, as he completely took me out of Spielberg’s ‘War Of The Worlds’ remake!

And no ‘visual effects’ nod for ‘Tron:Legacy’?… Ridiculous!!

But what about gay characters in Avatar?… Oh, no, wait, that’s the other thread… I guess I’m not used to there being another thread to comment on.

Seriously, though, I do think Avatar is ripe for a sequel or two. This is good news.

Wow, talk about being demanding!!
I doubt this website is Anthony’s whole life the way it is for some others. Maybe the guy has some personal issue to attend to, something a little more important than providing us with reading material.
Obviously, he’s a devoted Trek fan. He’s gone out of his way to interview various Trek people, and he’s done a fine job of making this site something special. Why ruin it for him by making these demands, as if he owes us anything in the first place?
I say just give him some space to do whatever it is he’s doing, and show some patience. Some of you sound like my beagle, who whines constantly whenever he’s not getting what he wants…

That Spiderman clip on the set looked very impressive, and no CGI’s!

Any word on Jame’s Avatar novel? He was going to have it ready for the first of 2011 if I remember correctly.

@31
Were we looking at the same images? The Spiderman costume looks incredibly bad compared to what Sam Raimi and his team put together previously. And what is it with the silver slip-ons he is wearing.

I don’t like the look of this at all.

As for the casting of Henry Cavill as Superman, that could work. Hopefully he will be able to pull off a good American accent. He is 27 years old, 6’1″ and has blue eyes. So a good start there. I assume he will have no problem with working out.
Perhaps he will now be able to shrug off the unofficial title of “Unluckiest actor in Hollywood” As he lost out to Christian Bale for Batman, Daniel Craig for Bond and Brandon Routh for Superman.

Good luck Henry, make us proud and give us a Superman film worthy of the first Christopher Reeve one.

Sweet, a new article! Good Stuff!

28. 4 8 15 16 23 42 – February 4, 2011
But what about gay characters in Avatar?… Oh, no, wait, that’s the other thread… I guess I’m not used to there being another thread to comment on.

Nobody would be upset by gay sex after seeing where the pony tails go in avatar sex. :D
That scene was seriously unnecessary.

#6 Rosario

Thanks for the update! I hope all is well with Anthony for sure.

I don’t think it is a big deal with Henry Cavil playing Superman since Superman is a alien that just looks human anyway.

Cloverfield should be left alone anyway, go make a new story. Why does everything need a sequel or reboot? A new Godzilla movie is supposed to be made soon anyway which will hopefully kick butt.

34,
First of all, as a troll myself, I know that link so I can tell you that it is completely unnecessary.

My point was that this site is not the entire life of all those who run it. I’ve been on this site pretty much since its inception. Yes I am aware there have been talks about the site being sold, but last I checked that wasn’t happening.

It is illogical to start inferring things just because news has been a bit slow lately.

People have lives. I mean, the girl who does Science Fridays is currently in Antarctica.

Meant to say that I was really looking forward to the ‘Judge Dredd’ reboot, especially as his helmet would remain ON during most of the movie this time.

However, it’s disappointing to see that Dredd’s ‘lawmaster’ cycle is a complete monstrosity compared to the far superior design seen in the Stallone original.

Looks like they’ve either cheaped-out on the production design side for this, or that they’ve completely ignored the look of the wonderful source material! Drokk!

Robin Williams? Man, the Coen brothers balk at how much Nolan reuses actors.

And I’m surprised it took to a second thread (or maybe I missed it in the first) to notice that the casting notice specifically said Selina Kyle (rather than both). Nolan strikes me as too much of a tightass for it to be a coincidence.

Should’ve edited myself. 39 should say “Robin Williams? Joseph Gordon-Leavitt?”

I feel bad for Brandon Routh…he was good as Superman…..I would have liked to have seen him return…with a different Lois though

Henry Cavill as Superman? Give me a break! Why can’t WB realize that Tom Welling IS THE RIGHT CHOICE to play the MAN OF STEEL!!!!!!!!!!!!! What’s he been doing for the past TEN YEARS, guest starring in soap operas? NO, HE’S BEEN PLAYING CLARK KENT ON SMALLVILLE FOR 10 YEARS NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As an audience we’ve seen him go from a teenager into an adult. Now that Smallville is in it’s final year and ” Clark ” is finally coming of age to fullfill his destiny as the MAN OF STEEL , it makes sense for Tom to take the next step and wear the cape and sheild on the big screen. TOM WELLING DESERVES TO WEAR THE CAPE AND SHIELD, HE’S BEEN WORKING HARD FOR IT FOR 10 YEARS IN FRONT OF AND BEHIND THE CAMERA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WB owes it to the fans of Smallville to have Tom in the cape and shield in this movie.
I will not watch this new movie, the casting director is a bumbling ape and a fool, and doesn’t know what they are doing.

#5 & #15

Big Tom Welling fan myself and I think Smallville is great but I also think that if you cast him as Superman, you essentially make Smallville: The Movie as opposed to a great Superman film.

This is all really great stuff, excellent article, Trekmovie.com is always the best source for this, I just hope it keeps it up.

Thanks, Rosario.

Always like to see new Apes projects. They’ve never equalled Chuck Heston battling wits with Maurice Evans.

Always like NOT to see new Nicholas Cage movies. Enough already.

I’ll try to keep an open mind on whether Avatar will thrive or wallow in biggerized sequelosity. Kind expect it to expose the first one’s thinness of plot. Anyway, it’ll be good eye candy.

Okay! … Wow!

And I also liked Brandon Routh as Superman … But cool, Henry Cavill! … let’s see if it works!

Oscar nominations – “Unstoppable” – sound editing … because someone needs to remember this! :-) :-)

@ #5

I agree. Welling should be Superman and the next flick should be a spinoff of Smallville. The audience is already loyal. Plus this would give Harry Ballz a 4 story view of Erica Durance.

So we are now living in an era where we witness all our superheroes get re-cast with British actors (Professor Xavier – Patrick Stewart, Superman – Henry Cavill, Batman – Christian Bale, Wolverine – Hugh Jackman (ok Australian).

and as an added Bonus, we get to witness the Will/Jada Pinkett Smith machine on their quest to re-cast all Hollywood franchises with African-American actors of their own family (Wild, Wild West, The Karate Kid, Annie, Hancock (Superman), I Am Legend)

I went to the Hobbit Village a few weeks back just before they closed it down, It looks amazing.

I have to say that even though i have never heard of Henry Cavill the guy looks like superman from the comics.

I like Tom Welling but i also implicitly trust Christopher Nolan right now and that welling would have been cast had he been the best fit for Nolan’s vision.