'Hulk' Series is Still on the Table According to Del Toro

Joseph McCabe at Fear Net got a few but informative words from director Guillermo Del Toro in regards to the Hulk series he and Battlestar Galactica producer David Eick are working on for ABC.

It was learned late last year that the two had pitched an idea to bring a new Hulk series to television. Del Toro said that he and Eick have completed a rewrite on the outline that they submitted to ABC a month ago.

Del Toro says that this is not going to be a standard Hulk program: “Actually, one of the points of this project early on with Marvel, was ‘We're going to do this thing different, and here's how. Are you interested?’ And they were.”

In this age of spectacular special-effects, I have a difficult time picturing a new Hulk series because it would seem too cost-prohibitive for television. That said, I have a feeling that Del Toro and Eick have something an inventive idea to make this project work.

Now let’s get a Runaways series off the ground!

Warner Bros. Not So Bullish on 'Green Lantern' Sequel?

Okay, now this makes sense. Or dollars and cents.

After the Hollywood Reporter ran a story on Sunday indicating that Warner Bros. was considering a Green Lantern follow-up, the trade was informed by the studio that “no decision has been reached” to film a sequel.

This idea that Warners was even considering a sequel was confounding considering that the film is performing so tepidly. The trade also indicated that industry observers expect the film to net somewhere between $260 and $275 Million—not enough to cover its projected—although rumored—$400 Million price tag (this includes the film’s worldwide marketing expenses).

This really saddens me because I don’t think that the filmmakers brought the care and enthusiasm to this film that was necessary to not only kick-off a franchise, but also show the industry that DC’s second-tier characters are viable film properties.

Let’s go back to 2008, after Iron Man enjoyed an unexpectedly successful first weekend (and overwhelmingly positive reviews). On the following Monday, Marvel Studios laid out their three-year plan (which ballooned by a year) in which the company proudly announced their ambitious plans to bring Iron Man’s fellow teammates—Thor, Captain America and Ant Man—to the big-screen.

These films would culminate with an even more ambitious teaming of the heroes in The Avengers. While we continue to hear about forward movement on an Ant Man script, this summer has already seen the successful release of Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger is a few weeks away from release. That Avengers thing is already half way through its filming and is scheduled for release next year.

So yeah, I’m disappointed in what Green Lantern was as a film, but more importantly what it could have meant for harder to sell properties like Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and the Justice League. I don’t picture Warner Bros. doling out big bucks on movies like these without a proven track record.

On the bright side, we are getting Batman and Superman films next year.

Warner Bros. Possibly Eyeing 'Green Lantern' Sequel

Ryan Reynolds may wear the ring again after all.

The Hollywood Reporter reported on Sunday that Warner Bros. remains bullish on a sequel to Green Lantern. This is surprising since the film has performed lower that the expectations of the studio, which is sitting on a veritable treasure trove of DC Comics properties (Warner Bros. is the parent company of the publisher).

I cannot think of a film that has underperformed as significantly as Green Lantern and has gotten the go ahead for a sequel. I recall talk of a Godzilla (1998) sequel since its worldwide earnings were significant enough to warrant another go round for the giant lizard, but that follow-up never materialized.

Green Lantern’s worldwide total comes to $118,711 million—still a far cry from its projected $200 million budget (which is rumored to actually soar an additional $100 million when factoring in the film’s marketing). According to the trade, Green Lantern’s box-office dropped a sizeable 66 percent. I think this is even more significant because the film wasn’t vying for the same audiences as this weekend’s other two major releases: Cars 2 and Bad Teacher. However, it will be when Transformers: Dark of the Moon is released midweek.

It’s still too early to tell if Warner Bros. will indeed go through with a Green Lantern sequel, but if they do I certainly hope they pick apart the first film and figure out what worked and what didn’t.

Fox Closes Door on 'Locke & Key'

The Hollywood Reporter broke news this morning that Fox has passed on the pilot for Locke & Key, the television adaptation of Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez’s hit comic book series.

While I wasn’t sure how this book would translate to a series on network television, I got the feeling that the show was in good hands since Hill would also responsible for some of the eventual scripting. The pilot was directed by Mark Romanek (One Hour Photo) and written by Josh Friedman (War of the Worlds) with Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci (Star Trek). The pilot featured Nick Stahl (Duncan Locke), Jesse McCartney (Tyler), Miranda Otto (Nina), Sarah Bolger (Kinsey), Skylar Gaertner (Bode), and Mark Pellegrino (Rendell).

Locke & Key is the story of the Locke family, which is torn apart after the devastating murder of the family’s patriarch Rendell. Nina moves her children to Lovecraft, Massachusetts, to live with their uncle Duncan in Keyhouse—the mysterious childhood home of Rendell Locke. Before you know it, things grow darker as the mysteries of Keyhouse are learned and the live of the Locke family grow more and more complex.

Well, start crossing your fingers that Locke & Key gets picked up elsewhere because the pilot has a strong pedigree guiding it.

'Avengers' Script Available to the Highest (and Most Naive) Bidder

Nick Fury would have never let this happen.

According to Obsessed with Film someone claiming to have a hard copy of Samuel L. Jackson’s Avengers script is putting it up for sale to the highest bidder. Which begs the question, how dumb would you have to be to attempt to publicly sell property that does not belong to you? Add this to the equation—the property belongs to Disney.

Consider that a few months ago, when the site Comic Book Movie put up a review of the Thor script, Paramount lawyers convinced the site to take down review within an hour of its posting. Remember the guy who posted the rough cut of X-Men Origins: Wolverine to a file sharing program? He was sued for $250,000.00 and faced up to three years in prison.

Matt Holmes at OWF noted in his post:

“If I were to do a review of the new shooting script for The Avengers and it was exclusive to OWF, the boost in traffic would probably kill our server on that particular day but then what happens after that? Disney, one of the biggest corporations in the world will send me a cease and desist letter within 24 hours, the article will then be removed and we will be left with The Avengers script we paid several thousands of pounds for (I’m presuming that’s how much someone will pay but in reality I have no idea) that we can’t talk about.”

Holmes is right about cease and desist letter—but it would probably be received within 24 minutes. I can’t imagine what kind of money the script “owner” thinks he could rake in that would outweigh the ringer Disney’s lawyers could put him through. I say, just read it, sit on it and keep it as a prized momento on your book shelf.

And if you’re a little curious about the script, OFM did take a picture of one of the authentic looking pages that features Captain America, Iron Man, Black Widow and Bruce Banner. It’s a brief scene, but it got me excited for what we’re going to get from Joss Whedon’s big superhero pic.

'The Avengers' Began Filming Today! Wait. Who's the Villain Anyway?

The cast of The Avengers at 2010's San Diego Comic-Con.

The day Joss Whedon has anticipated—and feared—has finally arrived: the first day of shooting on The Avengers.

Jerry and I had one of our diversions on the podcast this week and my co-host said something that struck me—there seems to be a veil of secrecy when it comes to next summer’s big, ambitious summer adventure. Until this point we have only heard rumors and conjecture as to who the villain is.

'Wonder Woman' Pilot Gets Rejiggered with Action

I am really hopeful that Wonder Woman is a fresh, funny, exciting take on the Amazon Princess that captures a solid audience upon its premiere.

Not only because I want to see a superhero property succeed on television—one where the protagonist wears a costume while performing acts of derring-do. I want Wonder Woman to succeed because the series from David E. Kelly has been so unabashedly maligned after the release of a script review of a draft of the pilot and the release of a series of viciously criticized still photos of lead actress Adrianne Palicki in costume.

To add fuel to the fire, io9 reported yesterday that the script has been rewritten to include action more befitting a series called Wonder Woman. This makes sense. Kelley has himself previously admitted that the source material was not in his comfort zone. I would expect the Wonder Woman critics to take this as a tactic to fix what they believe to be a train wreck.

While I was never entirely enthusiastic about Kelley taking on this material, the guy has produced enough incredible television that he deserves more of a chance than he has gotten to date.

io9 is also reporting that the series will see Steve Trevor (Justin Bruening) crash landing on Themiscyra and being saved by Diana in the form of a flashback. This was refreshing news for me. For some reason I got the feeling that Diana’s roots would be alluded to in the series with little more than brief mentions of Paradise Island and Amazons.

I think the only thing that will quiet the fervent fanboys and fangirls is a trailer for the new Fall series. I wouldn’t be surprised if NBC premiered the pilot at Comic-Con this year in an attempt to generate some Heroes-style buzz.

Stay tuned and stay nice.

What's Next After 2012's Big 'Avengers' Film? Go Bigger.

Where does Marvel Studios plan to go after releasing next summer’s Avengers pic?

They plan to go bigger, naturally. IGN got their hands on an interview with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige that is going to be published in Disney’s magazine D23.

Feige hints at what is next on the horizon for Marvel after The Avengers. He says that the film will be a re-launching point for the established characters that inhabit the film, namely Captain America, Iron Man and Thor. It will be interesting to see what is thrown at the team in their first outing, because if it really is the Skrulls or Loki (as has been rumored), the world these characters inhabit would become steeped significantly more in the mystical and sci-fi.

Marion Cotillard to Play Miranda Tate in 'Dark Knight Rises' and Not Talia al Ghul (wink-wink)

Okay guys (wink). It looks like Marion Cotillard (wink) had officially been cast in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises (wink). Cotillard (wink) will play Miranda Tate (wink) a member of the board of directors at Wayne Enterprises (wink) and not (wink-wink) Talia al Ghul as has often been rumored (winkity-wink-wink).

Okay, I jest. But for anyone who has been following the casting of this film can spot this act of subterfuge. I would guess that Nolan wants to bring mystery to his final Batman story, but if the revelation of Talia as a mole within Wayne Enterprises is being set up as one of the film’s big reveals—the director may need to go back to formula (as Dr. Stromm once so famously advised).

There are too many factors to indicate that Talia is going to be the film’s featured villain. First, we know that this is the final film of a trilogy that is supposed to tie the series up. Well, if we’re completing a story here, Talia—the daughter of Ra’s al Ghul—is the only character that makes sense. Also, late last year Nolan was casting for two female leads, a romantic lead and a villain. Anne Hathaway has been cast as Selina Kyle/Catwoman; while I believe Hathaway could play a villain, I think it’s clear that Hathaway is the love interest. Now guessing movie plot points is not my strong suit, but this all seems pretty clear to me.

The addition of Cotillard and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (as Detective John Blake) were announced today by Warner Bros. after a few months of rumors that the two were connected to the film.

The Dark Knight Rises is scheduled for release on July 20^th, 2012.

Michael Clark Duncan in Negotiations to Voice Kilowog in 'Green Lantern'

Heat Vision is reporting that Michael Clarke Duncan is in negotiations to voice Kilowog in this summer’s big screen adaptation Green Lantern. The filmmakers are going after, in my estimation, some excellent and expressive talent for their alien characters. Geoffrey Rush was recently announced as the voice of Tomar Re.

Fans of the Green Lantern books know that Kilowog is OA’s drill instructor, as big in stature as he is in heart. Now let’s see if he calls anyone a poozer!

Green Lantern hits theaters on June 17^th.

Michael Shannon Cast as General Zod

So I guess this means we’re going to get some fisticuffs in this one.

Warner Bros. announced that Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road) has been cast as General Zod in Zack Snyder’s Superman reboot. Movie audiences will recall that Zod was introduced in the original 1978 Superman film and brought a whole heap of trouble for the Man of Steel in Superman II.

Snyder said the following in the official announcement from Warner Bros.: “Zod is not only one of Superman’s most formidable enemies, but one of the most significant because he has insights into Superman that others don’t. Michael is a powerful actor who can project both the intelligence and the malice of the character, making him perfect for the role.”

Terrence Stamp memorably played the villain in the original, in which he was aided by Phantom Zone escapees Ursa (Sarah Douglas) and Non (Jack O’Halloran). Now Zod is usually not alone when he makes an appearance, so this news begs the question: will Superman face off against more Kryptonian criminals? Only time will tell.

Snyder’s Superman reboot is scheduled for release during the 2012 holiday season.

Rush to Play Tomar Re in 'Green Lantern'

Tomar Re officially has a voice—and what a voice it is. Hero Complex is reporting that Oscar-winner Geoffrey Rush has been cast as Tomar Re—the completely CGI Green Lantern Corps member in this summer’s Green Lantern.

Rush is a wonderful actor, who understands the power of restraint as much as he much as he knows when to take it over the top.  Rush’s distinguishable voice and acting chops will add the necessary gravitas to keep this fantastic world (which might be somewhat silly to the uninitiated) grounded.

This week seems to be the week where we are beginning to see and hear more from that little Green Lantern movie everyone was talking about a few months ago. We’re just about a month away from Thor—which will feature the all new Green Lantern trailer. This one is supposed to dazzle after the last one disappointed fans (who I still believe are a bit daffy because I thought the trailer rocked).

Green Lantern soars into theaters on June 17^th.

Amy Adams is Lois Lane in Superman Reboot

Hero Complex is reporting today that we have a new Lois Lane for our Superman reboot:

Amy Adams!

As a longtime fan of Adams I could not be more happy with this casting! Adams is one of the most charming actresses working today and finds that perfect chemistry with her leading men. You have to believe that the Man of Steel is going to fall in love with Lois Lane, and Adams has an incredibly personable quality that will make their relationship relatable and believable.

We’ve been hearing a lot from Snyder this week, during his Sucker Punch interviews, about the more realistic tone of his 2012 Superman film. He told Geoff Boucher of Hero Complex, “It goes back to what I’ve said about Superman and making him really understandable for today. What’s important to us is making him relevant and real and making him empathetic to today’s audience so that we understand the decisions he makes.  That applies to Lois as well.”

More to come!

New Aquaman Series To Be Penned by Geoff Johns

Last night during the DC Comics panel at MegaCon it was announced that Geoff Johns will be taking on the King of the Sea.

Later on his Twitter account John's wrote, “Announced at Megacon: After Brightest Day I’ll be moving over to a new book — Aquaman #1 coming later this year!!”

No word get on the artist...and the only information given by Johns is that Aquaman should be treated and written as a A list DC superhero...he should be kicking as much as a Green Lantern and Batman.

The new title is expected to his shelves later this year.

Superman couldn't be reached for comment as he is being treated for a massive leg cramp...somewhere.

Wonder Woman Has Her Steve Trevor

Back in the 80’s when Wonder Woman got her post-Crisis reboot, Steve Trevor was in his 40’s while Diana was young and virile. Their relationship has long since disappeared from the pages of Wonder Woman, but the two will always remain linked in the memories of mainstream audiences.

It looks like David E. Kelley has decided to skew young (and sexy) with Steve Trevor, who is not a colonel in this version—instead he works for the Justice Department and is an Army veteran. Comic Book Movie is reporting that Justin Bruening (Knight Rider) will be Diana’s main squeeze in the new series. Breuning joins Adrianne Palicki as Wonder Woman, Elizabeth Hurley, Cary Elwes, Tracie Thoms and Pedro Pascal on the NBC series.

Snyder Considers Less Stylized Take on Superman Film

Can I say something?

I was a little afraid of Zack Snyder’s direction of the next Superman film because I am not really a fan of his overly-stylized filmmaking. I don’t think it’s a good fit for a Superman film—unless they set it in the late ‘30s and went for something akin to the look of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.

Comic Book Movie posted an interview with Zack Snyder today in which the director admits to leaning towards a less stylized vision for the Man of Steel. I’m fine with the look of Watchmen, but I was never really crazy about 300 and have also not enjoyed the frenetic trailers for Sucker Punch.

Snyder said, “Because Superman takes place in a more realistic world, I think it will be a slight departure for me just visually because I think you're going to go to a more real world.” This seems the right way to go. I think a less chaotic style will also appeal to a wider audience in the end.

I guess this means no Mr. Mxyzptlk.

Superman is scheduled for release during the Christmas season 2012.

Vanderbilt Readying to Pen 'Spider-Man' Reboot Sequel

Is there any greater show of confidence in a film than to hire a writer to pen a sequel for a movie whose release is more than a year away? Heat Vision is reporting that James Vanderbilt, co-writer of the The Amazing Spider-Man, has begun writing the film’s sequel.

My first assumption is that Sony has no interest in waiting three years between films as it did with the first series of Sam Raimi-helmed productions. And why would they want to? If the movie connects, why not follow the James Bond and Transformers models of getting the movies out while audiences are hungry for another go round?

According to the article, The Amazing Spider-Man wraps production next month to enjoy what could be a luxurious post-production since the film won’t hit theaters for some time to come. No word yet on whether or not director Marc Webb is also prepared for another go round behind the lens.

The Amazing Spider-Man swings into theaters on July 3, 2012.

Showtime to Bring 'Chew' to Television

Since late last year, we’ve been hearing rumors about Chew possibly being adapted for television. Deadline is reporting today that Showtime has purchased the script for the adaptation of John Layman and Rob Guillory’s Eisner-award winning comic book series.

In Image's Chew, Detective Tony Chu is a cibopath who is able to detect psychic readings from anything he eats.  If he bites an apple, he can see the orchard from where it was picked, taste the pesticide used to keep worms away from its core, and a number of other disturbing images from the life of said apple.  In a world ravaged by bird flu, Chu follows cases involving the sale and transport of illegal chicken, a black market delicacy in this world.  And if this sounds preposterous, it only becomes more so as the story unfolds.  And it works, and works, and keeps working.

The book is being produced by Circle of Confusion, who is also responsible for adapting AMC’s mega-hit The Walking Dead as well as FX’s upcoming Powers series. It looks as though guys at Circle of Confusion know their stuff. Rather than look for properties that are simply commercially popular, they seem to be acquiring the rights to some of the most critically beloved books of the last decade.

It will be interesting to see how closely Showtime’s series will stay to the comic book, which is almost a third of the way through the planned sixty-issue run. The Walking Dead stayed reasonably close to the source material, focusing more on the book’s plight and tone than slavishly recreating the stories. Chew is telling a more specific and finite story, however, so I would expect less divergences from the plot.

C2E2: Is a Small Screen Adaptation of 'Runaways' in the Cards?

During yesterday’s Cup ‘o Joe panel at C2E2 yesterday, Jeph Loeb, Marvel Entertainment’s Head of Television, posed a question to the audience: would they like to see a Runaways television series?

Very interesting. Until now, Runaways has been a production slated for the big screen. You may remember that Marvel Entertainment slowed production of a big screen adaptation to resume next year with a possible 2013 release date after determining that they had several projects slated for release in2012. It sounds as if the possibility is open to adapting Brian K. Vaughn’s fantastic comic book into an ongoing television series.

Runaways, originally published in 2003 and conceived by Vaughn and Adrian Alphona, is the story of six kids who learn their parents are supervillains.  The book was dark but its protagonists kept things light as they continued to stay one step ahead of their maniacal parents.

Cross your fingers that this property comes to television because a long form story format is what Runaways deserves. The book has too big a cast and story to fit into a two-hour (at most) film and still retain the charm that readers enjoyed.

More to come!

Source: Newsarama’s live-blog.

C2E2: Is Paul Cornell Staying on 'Action'?

An interesting thing occurred towards the end of yesterday’s DC Nation’s Q&A session at C2E2.

According to Newsarama’s Live blogging, a fan asked if Paul Cornell was going to stay on Action Comics past the “Reign of Doomday” storyline. The writer answered “I don’t know.”

I certainly hope DC has big plans for the writer and Superman since his refreshing run on the Action has been so widely enjoyed by fans who probably didn’t expect a year-long Lex-centric book to be so good. Cornell brings Superman back to the title for issue #900 to wrap-up the “Black Ring” storyline—I’m crossing my fingers the writer stays on well beyond this.

More to come!