Author: Shawn Madden

Comic enthusiast. Lover of Mexican food. Movie watcher. Destroyer of worlds. Or...something like that.

Gerard Butler Will Not Be Returning For ‘300: Battle Of Artemisia’

by Shawn Madden

For quite some time this movie was on the “is it really even happening?” list. That was up until Warner Bros. announced that 300: Battle Of Artemisia would be hitting theaters on August 2, 2013. During the early development for Warner Bros.’ upcoming follow-up there was an interest in bringing back Gerard Butler’s King Leonidas for a cameo appearance. And now with production underway for the film, many have been wondering if Butler was still making an appearance. If you were one of the fans that was hoping that he would I have some bad news for you. During a recent interview with MTV, Butler stated:

“Oh, yeah, I’m not doing it. They’re filming [the ‘300’ sequel] right now. I wish them the best, but it didn’t [work out]. It wasn’t really my thing.”

While it would havebeen cool to see him come back in the film, I doubt that it will any difference as far as ticket sales are concerned. Let’s see if this film can live up to the first one. The story, based on Frank Miller’s Xerxes graphic novel, follows the Persian king’s struggle to become a god, as well as his battles with Greek warlord Themistocles.

300: Battle Of Artemisia makes its way into theaters August 2nd, 2013.

 

Geekscape Comics: A First Look At Superman’s New Love Interest!

by Shawn Madden

Well, Entertainment Weekly has just posted the first look at Justice League #12, and it features the good ol’ Man Of Steel kissing someone who definitely isn’t Lois Lane. Who is it?

Well, it appears that Superman will be engaging in a romantic relationship with none other than Wonder Woman herself. One of the things that happened when DC launched the New 52 was the ending of Supermans marriage to Lois Lane. This may cause quite a bit of controversy from the people who were hoping to see them get back together. And Geoff Johns assures us that this is definitely no one-issue sales stunt right here.

“This is the new status quo.”

He also states that the relationship will have a seismic impact on all the heroes and villains in the DC universe. So, what’re your thoughts on this one?

Geekscape Comics: First Look At The Variant Covers For ‘Justice League #0’!

by Shawn Madden

This September DC Comics will be giving all of their New 52 titles “zero issues”. In Justice League #0 we will see the new Shazam’s origin story, as well as the origin of Pandora! And we should know by now that these issues will definitely be getting some variants. Take a first look at the variant covers for the upcoming issue by Ivan Reis and Joe Prado!

Source: DC

Sam Raimi Tells Us The ‘Evil Dead’ Remake Will Definitely Be R-Rated

by Shawn Madden

Both Sam Raimi (who will be producing) and Bruce Campbell (who will be making a cameo appearance), who are on board with the upcoming remake of The Evil Dead, are giving the film their thumbs up. The remake of the 1981 classic, will focus on “five twenty-something friends become holed up in a remote cabin where they discover a Book Of The Dead and unwittingly summon up dormant demons living in the nearby woods, which possess the youngsters in succession until only one is left intact to fight for survival.” A plot that doesn’t differ too much from the original but replaces some of the characters with new ones. Raimi recently discussed the upcoming remake with Collider. During this interview he revealed that the film is really bloody and really “goes for it” and that we should definitely expect an R rating on it.

When asked if this movie will be  just as bloody as the original or it they’ve toned it down for a PG-13 release:

It’s really bloody.  It’s so bloody, it will make your head spin.  I’ve seen almost all the dailies and they’re really going for it.  It’s gonna be grisly and intense and non-stop.

Regarding the rating of the movie:

Definitely R.  Maybe worse.

On his level of involvement and what fans can look forward to:

Well, I always thought that Evil Dead was a little campfire story that you tell at a camp to kids to scare them at night.  But, I don’t think anybody thought it was a beautifully produced, theatrical experience.  It was shot in 16mm, all the effects were done for a quarter, and I always thought it could be done in a big screen movie type way that was really high quality with photographic effects.  It could still be just as gritty, but it could be done in stereo and not just mono, and it could be done in 35mm versus 16mm.  There were a lot of ways to improve it.  There could be much better writing than I was capable of, at the time, as an 18-year-old kid writing that screenplay.  And honestly, the directing could be a lot better, and the characterizations could be better.  I was very happy with it, but it was something that was crudely done and I thought deserved re-exploration.  I thought it would be fun and, in fact, it has turned out to be a tremendous amount of fun because it’s like an old melody that you write and you’ve brought in this really great, cool, young, hip jazz musician, and he’s riffing on it and showing you places it could go that you never dreamed.  It’s very exciting for me.

So, with both Raimi and Campbell being excited for this movie…are you?

Evil Dead hits theaters April 12th, 2013.

Disney Is Planning To Reboot ‘The Rocketeer’

by Shawn Madden

Sources over at Vulture have learned that the first project that Disney has on their agenda under new studio chief Alan Horn will be a new version of the classic from 1991, The Rocketeer. The original movie was directed by Joe Johnston (Captain America: The First Avenger)  and dealt with a racing pilot named Cliff Secord (Billy Campbell) who discovers a rocket-pack prototype in his stunt plane, and becomes a metal-mask wearing hero.

The Rocketeer was based off the comic published in 1982 by the now defuncy, Pacific Comics, and was conceived by artist Dave Stevens as an homage to the serial action heroes of the 1930’s. The Rocketeer was also somewhat of a failure at the box office, but was definitely loved by comic book fans. So, will the second time around be a charm or will we see another John Carter incident? The studio will soon be meeting with various writers to come up with a take.

The Huntress Has Been Cast In CW’s ‘Arrow’!

by Shawn Madden

Entertainment Weekly has revealed that actress Jessica De Gouw (Tricky Business) will be appearing as  ‘The Huntress’ in the upcoming CW series, Arrow. We will see the character appear for a multi-episode arc starting with the sixth episode. The site has stated that the show will feature the modern-era version whose alias is Helena Bertinelli, the daughter of a mafia boss who vows revenge after her family is murdered.

The sites offical description of the character is that “Helena is a potential love interest for Oliver Queen; a fellow vigilante, set on destroying her father’s organized crime empire. But Helena’s blind pursuit of revenge will put her on a collision course with the Arrow.” It really appears that DC is going to be using quite a few of their characters in this series and we’ve yet to see any with superpowers. Perhaps they’re doing their best to ground the show in reality in hopes to distance it from Smallville?

Arrow premieres October 10th on The CW.

John Travolta Is The First Actor Attached To ‘The Toxic Avenger’ Reboot

by Shawn Madden

So, by now it is more than likely that someone’s head has exploded over this news. But let’s take a second to take a breath before we panic guys. According to the industry tracking website It’s On The Grid, John Travolta is the first name attached to the Steve Pink (Hot Tub Time Machine) reboot of Llyod Kaufman’s The Toxic Avenger. While he could be playing the main character it’s completely possible he could be playing a villain. Let’s remember that Travolta does play a great villain in movies. The website does not actually specify the actors role in the movie but I am guessing that most internet goes are assuming he will be playing ol’ Toxie himself.

Director Steve Pink has been attached to the project since 2010, but we haven’t heard much about it up until today. The original and now cult classic The Toxic Avenger was a 1984 low budget flick released by Troma Studios that centered on a mop-wielding radioactive superhero who deals out violent justice to a bunch of polluters in Jersey. However, it is going to be quite some time until we actually see this movie being that Steve Pink has a few other projects on his plate already. We’ll be sure to keep you updated as more news breaks.

Source: It’s On Grid via TwitchFilm

Lindy Booth In Talks To Join Cast Of ‘KICK-ASS 2’

by Shawn Madden

According to The Hollywood Reporter, actress Lindy Booth (Dawn Of The Dead) is set to join the cast of KICK-ASS 2. She is talks to take on the role of ‘Night Bitch’, a character who does not have a large role in the comic series, but is one of the characters inspired by Kick-Ass to be come hero. The character claims that the main drive behind what she does was the murder of her sister, who was found in a dumpster. Oh, those comic book bad guys do love dumping bodies in the dumpsters and alleys. That one is for sure.

The actress previously has worked with Jeff Wadlow on the thriller, Cry Wolf.  You know…the one that had Bon Jovi in it. Wait, you haven’t seen that? It’s okay I wouldn’t have expected you to. She definitely looks the part and wouldn’t be a bad addition to the already pretty damn impressive cast. But as per usual…sound off with your thoughts below.

Rob Liefeld’s ‘Bloodstrike’ Is Coming To The Big Screen

by Shawn Madden

For quite some time now we have been hearing about many of Rob Liefeld projects being adapated for the big screen. Roughly around a year ago word broke that Youngblood would be getting a movie but since then there has been no updates. Well, now Variety is reporting that we will indeed be seeing one of Liefeld’s properties turned into a movie but it’s not the one that we expected. Image Comics Bloodstrike is being brought to the big screen from Adi Shankar’s 1984 Private Defense Contractors, the company behind The Grey, Machine Gun Preacher and that upcoming female version of The Expendables. He will be producing the film alongside Rob Liefeld and Brooklyn Weaver (The Number 23).

Bloodstrike is among the just recently relaunched Image Comic titles to “come back from the dead” after the series final issue in 1995. With the aim of launching a franchise, the site describes the project as focusing on, “a Bloodstrike unit consisting of a team of super-soldiers who have secretly been imbued with vampire blood — making them an elite strike force feared by all enemies.”

Media Rights Capital Stepping In To Save ‘The Dark Tower’?

by Shawn Madden

Yesterday it seemed pretty unlikely that we would see the adaptation of Steven King’s The Dark Tower after Warner Bros. decided to pass on the ambitious project. This made Warner Bros. the second major studio to pass on the project. But it seems now that there is yet again hope for this adaptation. Deadline is reporting that Media Rights Capital is now in talks to take on The Dark Tower. Media Rights Capital is the company behind the funding of this summer’s Ted and the upcoming Elysium. Media Rights Capital’s co-founder, Mordecai Wiczyk, is said to have a strong affinity for novel series, and after Seth MacFarlane’s Ted was such a huge hit this summer the company is doing pretty well in the cash department. MRC has a distribution arrangement with Universal, who originally passed on it, but it’s unclear whether that studio would release the film or not. The main reason behind this film struggling for back is due to its plan to have three feature films as well as two limited television series. It’s a pretty unusual game plan but they do have Ron Howard set to direct and produce. Expect news to come soon after the deal goes down.

Geekscape Comics: First Look At ‘America’s Got Powers #3’!

by Shawn Madden

From zero to unlikely hero, Tommy Watts is the new face of America’s Got Powers, the most-watched TV show on the planet! Behind the girls, glamour and glory though, there are hard personal truths to face and when he does face them, Tommy might just break the world.

AMERICAS GOT POWERS # 3
Written by Jonathan Ross
Pencils by Bryan Hitch

MaMa Wants The Judges Dead In This New Clip From ‘Dredd’

by Shawn Madden

We’ve got about a month to go until the release of Dredd into theaters and I honestly can’t wait for this one. The more footage that gets out for it the better it looks. Check out the latest clip below!

The future America is an irradiated wasteland. On its East Coast, running from Boston to Washington DC, lies Mega City One- a vast, violent metropolis where criminals rule the chaotic streets. The only force of order lies with the urban cops called “Judges” who possess the combined powers of judge, jury and instant executioner. Known and feared throughout the city, Dredd (Karl Urban) is the ultimate Judge, challenged with ridding the city of its latest scourge – a dangerous drug epidemic that has users of “Slo-Mo” experiencing reality at a fraction of its normal speed.

During a routine day on the job, Dredd is assigned to train and evaluate Cassandra Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), a rookie with powerful psychic abilities thanks to a genetic mutation. A heinous crime calls them to a neighborhood where fellow Judges rarely dare to venture- a 200 story vertical slum controlled by prostitute turned drug lord Ma-Ma (Lena Headey) and her ruthless clan. When they capture one of the clan’s inner circle, Ma-Ma overtakes the compound’s control center and wages a dirty, vicious war against the Judges that proves she will stop at nothing to protect her empire. With the body count climbing and no way out, Dredd and Anderson must confront the odds and engage in the relentless battle for their survival.

Dredd is the law September 21st.

Set Pictures And Concept Art From ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’

by Shawn Madden

Set photos and some concept art from the upcoming Mad Max: Fury Road have made their way online. Filming on the upcoming reboot started last month in Africa. In the upcoming reboot of 1979’s Mad Max we will see the road warrior, played by Tom Hardy this time around, caught up with a group of people fleeing across the Wasteland in a War Rig driven by the Imperator Furiosa played by Charlize Theron. The film also stars Nicholas Hoult and Zoe Kravityz(X-Men: First Class), Rosie Huntington-Whiteley (Transformers: Dark Of The Moon), Nathan Jones (Fearless) and Riley Keough (Magic Mike). Check out the photos full of post-apocalyptic goodness from the set below!

Source: CineCommunity

Lights Out For Steven King’s ‘The Dark Tower’ At Warner Bros.

by Shawn Madden

The big-screen adaptation of Steven King’s The Dark Tower has hit yet another setback, as Warner Bros. have chosen to pass on the project. Not too long ago news broke that the studio had commissioned a new script, and even had Russell Crowe expressing an interest in the lead role of Roland ‘The Gunslinger’ Deschain. There was a decision expected in the next few weeks and it appears that decision has been made and the dark tower isn’t going to be seeing the light of day at Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. are the second major studio to pass on the adaptation of King’s series of novels. Originally Universal were planning on taking the project on with Ron Howard set to direct. Imagine Entertainment is apparently still determined to find a studio, but it’s definitely not looking too great for this project right now. When Universal first let go of the film, most insiders around town believed Warner Bros. was its best chance of getting made.

Source: Showblitz

Jim Carrey In Talks To Join Cast Of ‘KICK-ASS 2’!

by Shawn Madden

This is definitely not the news I expected to be reporting today but I am glad that I am. Deadline reports that Jim Carrey is in talks with Universal to join the cast of Jeff Wadlow’s Kick-Ass 2. They have apparently offered the actor the role of ‘The Colonel’.

The character is called The Colonel, and he helps galvanize the team of misfit super heroes assembled to fight evil.

If you haven’t read the comic series I will let you know that it’s safe to assume that they are referring to ‘Colonel Stars’. This character is an ex-Mafia member turned vigilante who forms “Justice Forever”  with his brother ‘Lieutenant Stripes’. I am kind of wondering if we will get the scene where The Colonel allows his dog to eat the gentials of a bad guy or they’ll cut that one out. While no deal has been made yet I think I should point out that Carrey was a huge fan of Vaughn’s original KICK-ASS film and even appeared on Conan O’Brien in a Kick-Ass costume. I think this would be a great addition to an already pretty damn impressively funny cast. So, fingers crossed that he takes the deal here.

Ken Watanabe To Star In Japanese Remake Of ‘Unforgiven’

by Shawn Madden

Warner Japan is plotting a remake of  the Clint Eastwood western Unforgiven, and they’ve got Ken Watanabe (Inception) set to star in it. Variety  is reporting that in this remake director Lee Sang-Il will keep the 1880’s setting and the same general plot of the original but with Watanabe playing a samurai with a violent past. The location has been changed to the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido at a time when Japanese settlers were displacing the native Ainu people.

This is one of the few times we see a Japanese remake of an American film. It’s usually the other way around as seen in the past with such as films as The Ring (Ringu), Dark Water (Ju-On) and many others. Yurusarezaru mono which if it isn’t apparent means “unforgiven” in Japanese is scheduled for release next fall in Japan. Koichi Sato has been cast in the Gene Hackman role and Akira Emoto is set to play the Morgan Freeman part. You most likely can expect to see this hit the States sooner or later given what a high-profile remake this one is.

Bruce Campbell Has Seen The ‘Evil Dead’ Remake And Says It’s “Fabulous”

by Shawn Madden

A remake of Evil Dead is coming whether some fans like it or not. Trust me, there are plenty of fans outraged by this film happening. However, I am not one of them due to the fact that both Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi are on board with this so at the moment I have faith in it. The legendary Bruce Campbell who we all know as ‘Ash’ from Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead recently discussed the upcoming remake with Digital Spy. He reveals some interesting new info, such as the fact that we will see none of the original characters from the original film and that this will be an entirely fresh new take on the franchise. So, fans that were worried that this would just be the same movie shot by shot can take one sigh of relief.

On just how different this one is to the previous movies:

There’s none of the original characters. We didn’t want to compare apples with apples. It’s a contemporary movie – just like Evil Dead was contemporary in 1979, this is contemporary for young adults now. It’s basically five new kids who are going to have a really bad night with a brand new director – Fede Alvarez, who was handpicked by Sam Raimi. I’ve seen it already; I think it’s definitely fabulous.

Does he think fans will embrace this remake:

We’re really excited and really behind it, [but] it’s going to take a bit to get the Evil Dead fans behind it. We know we’ve pissed a lot of them off. We appreciate that and we appreciate their anger and their zeal, but the only thing we want to impress upon them is that we didn’t screw it up. This is going to be just as memorable as [the original] Evil Dead without being the same movie.

You don’t want to remake something shot-for-shot. I can’t believe they remade Psycho – what the hell kind of a waste of celluloid is that? It’s a creative medium.

The nice thing is the film looks beautiful. The effects are 10 times better than we ever had access to and the actors are all better than we were in 1979. Though granted Sam Raimi is a mad genius, so we got a crazy result like Evil Dead out of this amateur enthusiasm sort of thing.

On the subject of whether or not he will make a cameo and if he would ever be willing to play Ash again in the future:

I’m not at liberty to discuss that. But the thing is we want it to be a standalone movie. You’re going to have some references [to the original] in there and there’s going to be things the fans will enjoy as far as familiar aspects, but it’s a whole new ball game.

I’ll be honest with you, I don’t know if I could – the last one was 1991. I was a virile young man; I’m 54 years old now so I’m not sure 54-year-old guys need to be doing that s**t anymore. But if Sam wants to lace the boots back on and do something that makes sense, that’s fine. We may need to do the movie one day, if our careers fly off the tracks and we crash and burn, we might look at each other and go ‘Let’s make an Evil Dead movie’!

His thoughts on the current trend of remakes and reboots:

Well I’ll be honest with you… I’m not a fan of them. So I’m talking out of both sides of my mouth. Here I am remaking a movie at one end… but here’s my spirited defense – it’s our movie. Myself and Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert, we own that movie, it’s our movie. We’re not looking into some file drawer of some property that’s owned by a studio that’s 30 years old, that we can get for cheap and [saying] ‘Let’s remake that’.

Our only obligation to the viewer is that we don’t give them a piece of s**t. It’s going to wind up being a very handmade movie, Fede Alvarez is so far from being a hack – we didn’t get some 18-year-old director who just wants to make his movie look cool. We got a guy who is an adult.

I think people will be pleasantly surprised that it’s not something that was cranked out, where no-one gives a crap. We were involved in casting, we were involved in everything. We’re all over that movie like a cheap suit, so if it blows it’s our responsibility.

Evil Dead hits theaters April 12th, 2013.

Geekscape Comics: Aquaman Getting A Special Robot Chicken Variant For Issue #12

by Shawn Madden

Adult Swim’s Robot Chicken DC Comics Special airs Sunday, Sept. 9th. If somehow you haven’t seen the trailer for this by now check it out here. In celebration of this DC has issued a special variant cover for Aquaman #12! However don’t go into this issue thinking that their will be any kind of Robot Chicken content on the inside.

Geoff Johns on the cover:

“This is the last thing I ever thought we’d put on an Aquaman cover because it’s such a bizarre collision of worlds but I think it’s one of the best covers we’ve ever done…I just love the look on Superman’s face! Aquaman will play a pretty big role in the show. In fact, the title could just as easily be How Aquaman Got His Groove Back!”

Source: TV Guide

Watch A Deleted Scene From Marvel’s ‘The Avengers’!

by Shawn Madden

Marvel’s The Avengers is coming to Blu-ray and DVD next month and Entertainment Weekly has debuted a deleted scene from the superhero epic! This scene features an extended interaction between Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner, post going Hulk mode on the helicarrier, and Harry Dean Stanton’s Security Guard. Even though Harry Dean Stanton’s cameo in the film was very quick it seems that more footage was shot but left on the cutting room floor. Check it out below.

Geekscape Comics: Geoff Johns & Ivan Reis Leaving ‘Aquaman’

by Shawn Madden

Not too long ago word hit that Ivan Reis would be leaving Aquaman. Now it seems Bleeding Cool is reporting that Geoff Johns will also be leaving the title along with Reis. This news is sure to be disappointing to many due to the title is currently a fan favorite. Johns is currently writing Justice League, Green Lantern, and Aquaman as well as maintaining his responsibilities as DC’s Chief Creative Officer which definitely puts quite a bit on his plate. Reis last issue of Aquaman will be issue 16 but it is currently unknown if that will Johns last issue as well. There is also another rumor floating around that the two are not done working together quite yet and that we may see Reis taking over on Justice League after Jim Lee leaves the title.

DC is looking to reshuffle their creators once again around January of next year and with this reshuffle we may see the cancellation of more titles. This would also mean the introduction of new titles such as the rumor we may see WildCAT’s join the New 52. One can only hope right?

Benedict Cumberbatch Talks About Smaug’s First Appearance In ‘The Hobbit’

by Shawn Madden

In a recent interview with actor Benedict Cumberbatch, who will be voicing the dragon Smaug in The Hobbit films, a small sliver of information was revealed, that information reveals just how much of Smaug you’ll be getting in the first film. Cumberbatch stated:

“I think my eye might open at the end of the first film and then you’ll get the rest of me in the second.”

So, this information was definitely shared prior to the decision to transform The Hobbit into a trilogy. Peter Jackson may have decided to move some of the footage around and if the footage is indeed changed, it would likely mean that the first appearance of Smaug may have been moved to the second film rather than the first. But there is definitely a chance you may still catch him at the end of the first film. It’s only a few months away!

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is theaters on December 14th.

Source: CumberbatchWeb via Bleeding Cool

We Say Goodbye To Director/Producer Tony Scott

by Shawn Madden

We have very sad news to report. Legendary film director & producer Tony Scott, brother of Ridley Scott, was found dead earlier today after jumping off the highest point of the Vincent Thomas Bridge at approximately 12:30 pm on Sunday August 19, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. The LA Times reports that investigators discovered a note in Scott’s car which was parked on the bridge. The note listed contact information and a suicide note was later found in his office.

Scott directed many classics such as Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop II, The Last Boy Scout, True Romance, Enemy Of The State, Days Of Thunder, and Man On Fire among many others. If you’re a fan of action movies…there is no way that one of those isn’t a favorite of yours. Just hours prior to learning about this today I posted news of the upcoming sequel to Top Gun that he was set to direct. I can honestly say that this was one sequel to an 80’s movie that I wanted to see. There is no question that we lost a great today.

RIP Tony Scott. (1944 – 2012)

Tom Cruise Doing Prep Work For ‘Top Gun’ Sequel In Nevada!

by Shawn Madden

So, who’s ready to bust our their aviator shades and crank up some “Danger Zone”? Get ready to debate which one of you guys gets to be Ice Man. Reports are coming in that Tom Cruise was in Fallon, Nevada on Friday for some preliminary research work on the Top Gun sequel that we’ve been hearing about for quite some time now. It looks like the sequel really is happening and we could be seeing it sooner than expected. The actor was seen talking to Navy officials and doing some other unspecified prep work at the Naval Air Station in Fallon. Officials did confirm that indeed Cruise was in town doing prep work for the movie but could not confirm if the movie will be shot at that location. Maybe Cruise really wants to fly the jets this time around?

There’s not much known about the plot to this upcoming sequel, but what is known that the script will “reflect the advances in aviation technology since the ’80s, in particular that of the Navy’s killer robot drones that are now utilized throughout the world”. Jerry Bruckheimer will be producing the sequel with Tony Scott directing and of course we will see Cruise back as the hot-shot pilot Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell who “is said to be one of the last ‘old school’ pilots, captaining the last manned fighter aircraft, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter”. But, what about the rest of the cast?

Val Kilmer has reportedly expressed interest and it seems that just recently Rick Rossovich has gotten back in the acting game. But, I think out of the two we only really care about Kilmer coming back. It’s quite possible that we could get cameos from Meg Ryan and Tom Skerritt as well. We will have to wait and see what develops as far as casting goes though. So, who’s ready to fly back into the danger zone?

 

 

Anna Kendrick, Imogen Poots & Felicity Jones Front Runners For Female Lead In ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’

by Shawn Madden

Marvel Studios is currently searching for a female lead in the upcoming sequel to Captain America: The First Avenger. The New York Daily News is reporting that Marvel is looking at Anna Kendrick (50/50), Imogen Poots (Fright Night) and Felicity Jones (Like Crazy) for the female lead in the upcoming Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

So, what role will they filling? That is currently unknown but many are speculating that it could be S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Sharon Carter, the niece of Peggy Carter, who we saw played by Hayley Atwell in the first movie. Take this with a grain of salt though right now because as stated it is just speculation at the moment. All three are great choices but I have to lean towards either Anna Kendrick or Felicity Jones myself with Jones being my top choice after seeing her performance in Like Crazy. So, who would you want to see?

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is set to hit theaters April 4th, 2014.

Joe Carnahan WILL Be Directing Mark Millar’s ‘Nemesis’!

by Shawn Madden

Well, while it looks like Joe Carnahan’s ideas for a Daredevil movie have gone up in smoke he still is getting his at bat at a violent comic book adaptation with Nemesis. This project has been in development for quite some time now with Carnahan rumored to direct. However, sometime back in January, Carnahan tweeted that the project wasn’t happening. But then it seemed the project was happening again later that month when Carnahan and Liam Neeson did an interview for The Grey and the movie came up. Also during this interview Carnahan expressed an interest in casting Liam Neeson in the role of Blake Morrow, the Chief Inspector who Nemesis sets his sights on. Rumors also spread around that Michael Fassbender may be in talks to play as the title character but nothing was ever confirmed. But since then there has not been much word on the project. Well, that is until now. This morning Mark Millar made a post on the Millarworld forums offering a bit of an update on the project that confirms that Carnahan will indeed direct and that the project definitely is not dead.

Shot straight from a wedding in Manchester last week to the City of Angels and plunged straight into some studio biz on the Nemesis movie. Mighty Joe Carnahan is directing (from a script by he and his brother Matthew), but this much you already know. Fox wanted us to get in the same room for the first time and really hash this out, which was exciting. Joe has a really brilliant take on this and Matt and he are going to take things from here so I’m really happy. Absolutely no casting has been done formally although you can google the MTV interview from last January where he and Sir Liam Neeson are chatting about it. More news as it happens

I, for one, definitely loved this mini-series and cannot wait for the second one to come. If you’ve never read it at all I am not going to try and explain it to you but instead post a quote from Mark Millar himself explaining the story.

Marvel President Dan Buckley sort of paid me a compliment, saying, “This is such a stupidly simple and obvious idea. I can’t believe nobody’s ever come up with it before. You are the master of the stupidly simple idea.” Which I suppose is kind of flattering because everyone said that about “Kick-Ass” too. It’s almost too simple.

But, yeah. “Nemesis” is a reversal of the Bruce Wayne or Tony Stark archetype. What if this genius billionaire was just this total ****, and the only thing that stood between him and a city was the cops? It’s Batman versus Commissioner Gordon, in a weird way. Or maybe a super-villain version of “Se7en.” A billionaire anarchist up against ordinary people. The Joker’s the best thing in the Batman movies, so this guy is a bit of an amalgamation of all the stuff we like.

After seeing Carnahan’s sizzle reels for Daredevil I can’t help but get pretty excited for this film and hope it really does happen. We’ll be sure to keep you updated as more news develops on Nemesis. The project has been rumored to go into production sometime next year but for now in the meantime you should go out pick up and read the comic…just sayin’.

James Gunn Is Marvels Top Choice To Direct ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’!

by Shawn Madden

Not only has The Hollywood Reporter learned who Marvel Studios desires to direct the highly-anticipated Guardians Of The Galaxy, but they have also found out some other names that they are considering for the film just in case their top choice doesn’t quite work out. It appears that James Gunn (Super) has beat out Peyton Reed, and the directing team of Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden as Marvel Studios top choice to direct the upcoming “space-epic” Guardians Of The Galaxy.

After a lengthy search, sources say that Marvel executives now are talking exclusively with Gunn, whose previous credits include the genre films Slither and Super. The studio is said not to have ruled out others in the running —  Peyton Reed (Bring It On, Yes Man) and Half Nelson helming team Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden were in the mix, according to sources — in case talks with Gunn’s reps do not lead to a deal.

It is also being said that James Gunn was chosen for his “sensibility and his ability to mix comedy elements with action and horror” which is something that he definitely shares with fellow director Joss Whedon. And we all know how well that one turned out. But if you’re unfamiliar with the director his credits include Dawn Of The Dead, Tromeo & Juliet, Slither, and Super.  Back in February of last year, James Gunn had expressed an interest in directing a superhero film involving superheroes that aren’t as he stated “the most popular in the world” and that he wanted to work on something with a bigger budget. Gunn even went on to reveal that he had been discussing a project with Marvel Studios. So, this definitely would fit what Gunn was looking to do. With a recent plot surfacing online you should probably expect some form of official announcement coming up soon. So, what do you think of this one? As usual sound of with your thoughts in the box below.

Samuel L. Jackson Joins The Cast Of Spike Lee’s ‘Oldboy’!

by Shawn Madden

Samuel Jackson (The Avengers) has joined the cast of Spike Lee’s remake of the Chan-wook Park revenge film, Oldboy. The LA Times has learned that Jackson has come on board to play a small but pivotal role in the film. The actor will play the man who is being tortured by the hero, played by Josh Brolin (MIB3) in a key revenge scene.

If you remember the original movie you may remember this one as one of the most disturbing scenes in the film. In it we saw the protagonist take vengeance on the man that guarded him by removing his teeth with the claw on a hammer. Sounds like a pretty messed up scene right? Well, it looks like we won’t be seeing that happening in this one but instead another extreme form of torture that the Times wouldn’t reveal but did say was “pretty painful”. This movie definitely won’t be for the faint of heart folks.

Oh yeah, and also Bruce Hornsby (Red Hook Summer) has hopped on board the film too and will be composing the score.

Winona Ryder In Talks To Join Statham And Franco In ‘Homefront’!

by Shawn Madden

It appears that Winona Ryder (Girl Interrupted), is in negotiations to join the cast of Homefront, an action flick written by Sylvester Stallone. Sly is just all over the place these days isn’t he? Ryder would be starring along Jason Statham (The Expendables 2) and James Franco (Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes) in the movie based off of Chuck Logan’s book of the same name. So, what’s this one about?

The project, based on a book by Chuck Logan, centers on a an ex-DEA agent (Statham) who moves to a small town in the hope of a quiet life but runs afoul of a villainous meth kingpin named Gator (Franco).

It appears that Ryder and Franco will be playing the role of villains this time around. It’s reported that Ryder will be playing the role of a former biker chick that is teamed up with Gator (Franco). Homefront will be directed by Gary Fleder (Kiss The Girls) and start production September 24th.

Source: THR

An All-Female Version Of ‘The Expendables’ Is On Its Way

by Shawn Madden

Yes, you read that correctly. What has been fan-cast on many sites this week and been joked about is happening. An all-female version of the hit franchise The Expendables is in the works. The film will officially be backed by The Grey producer Adi Shankar who has tapped Dutch Southern to write the script and it also seems that the company is already in talks with several actresses to fill the roles. Who the actresses are? No one knows currently but you can probably expect names such as Gina Carano (Haywire) and Michelle Rodriguez (Resident Evil) among many others. I’m actually placing my bets that Carano will definitely be in this film right now. We will be sure to keep you updated as more details leak out. But in the meantime…who would YOU want to see in this?

Source: Variety

Red Band Trailer For ‘The Man With The Iron Fists’!

by Shawn Madden

So, not too long ago we brought you the first trailer for RZA and Eli Roth’s The Man With The Iron Fists. Oh, did we also mention that this is produced by Quentin Tarantino? Now thanks to Yahoo Movies we have the red-band trailer for the upcoming martial arts flick. The movie stars RZA (who you probably know best as a member of Wu-Tang Clan) and also co-stars Russell Crowe, David Bautista, Byron Mann, Jamie Chung, Lucy Liu, and Pam Grier. Blending some pretty damn astonishing martial-arts sequences with his unique vision, RZA embarks upon on what is quite possibly his most ambitious, stylized and damn thrilling project yet. The movie definitely has a Kill Bill with a hip-hop twist feel to it.

The Man With The Iron Fists is in theaters November 2, 2012.