Danish Director Nikolaj Arcel To Make FABLES Movie With A Script From Fantastic Four Reboot's Jeremy Slater

THR reports that Warner Bros. is back to making a live-action film based on the DC Comics/Vertigo comic Fables. They have a script from Jeremy Slater who was tasked to write Fox's Fantastic Four reboot and have hired Danish director Nikolaj Arcel (A Royal Affair). No word on when production is expected to begin but it sounds a little more promising than other DC based projects that are stuck in limbo (The Flash, Wonder Woman, Lobo, Sgt. Rock, Suicide Squad). Harry Potter producers David Heyman and Jeffrey Clifford of Heyday Films are also involved.

Aksel Hennie Joins Dwayne Johnson In HERCULES

THR reports the first new addition to the cast of Bret Ratner's Hercules which stars Dwayne Johnson. They say that Norwegian actor Aksel Hennie (Headhunters) will play Tydeus a fellow warrior who welds twin axes. He's also a madman who has to be chained up at night. The film based on the comic book Hercules: The Thracian Wars will be more grounded than previous Greek mythology films such as Clash of The Titans or Immortal. Hercules is aiming for an August 2014 release date with production beginning this Summer.

Concept Art From SNOWPIERCER Starring Chris Evans

Joe Carnahan To Direct Vampire Action Flick UNDYING LOVE

Deadline reports that Joe Carnahan (The Grey) has been hired by Warner Bros. to direct and write an adaptation of the graphic novel Undying Love. Originally, French horror director Alexandre Aja (High Tension) had been given the job but has since left the project. Carnahan is seemingly hedging his bets as he recently had his Daredevil pitch turned down by Fox, only to be handed Mark Millar's Nemesis instead. The project has a bit of an international flare as it's mostly set in the Hong Kong underworld. Giving slight hints it could end up being on the level of a vampire action flick like Blade.

Revolves around an ex-soldier who falls for a vampire, though in order to be with her, he must taken on her creator, who is protected by an army of mobsters in the Hong Kong underworld.

IRON SKY Directors Tackling JEREMIAH HARM Next, Plus Promo Footage

THR reports that Finnish directors Tero Kaukomaa and Timo Vuorensola (Iron Sky) will be making comic book sci-fi action flick Jeremiah Harm next. It focuses on a intergalactic bounty hunter sent to Earth to hunt down a group of space-traveling criminals and the girl they kidnapped. This sounds sort of like a mix between Lobo meets Escape From New York which could be very cool. They've even put together a cool little promo reel together. Something similar to what they did with Iron Sky in it's early stages.

Alex Proyas To Direct 'JOE GOLEM AND THE DROWNING CITY'

Deadline reports that Alex Proyas (The Crow, Dark City) will write and direct a feature adaptation of Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden's Joe Golem And The Drowning City. Mike is best known for creating the Hellboy and B.P.R.D. comic franchises. Proyas had been tapped to direct an epic feature based on Paradise Lost until Warner Bros. and Legendary axed the project over the budgetary issues.

"a supernatural-steampunk illustrated novel that follows an orphaned teenage girl, an aging magician, a lunatic scientist, a Victorian occult detective, and the stalwart sidekick, Joe Golem—a man whose strange dreams hint of a history he has forgotten–as they struggle for the fate of an alternate 1970s lower Manhattan. In this vision, lower Manhattan sank into the water during a catastrophic earthquake in 1925, leaving those unwilling or unable to abandon it to make a new life in streets turned to canals."

'X-MEN FIRST CLASS' Sequel Set For July 2014

Fox has also given the untitled X-Men First Class sequel an official release date of July 18th 2014. Visionary writer/director Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass, Layer Cake) will be returning along with writing partner Jane Goldman (Woman In Black). Currently the only know cast members that are returning include Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence and Nicholas Hoult. I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up titled X-Men: The Brotherhood as the sequel is rumored to be focused on Magneto's formation of his own team the Brotherhood of Mutants. Along with Magneto's balancing act as anti-hero/not quite villain. Xavier is also now dealing with the loss of his legs and will likely recurit new members to the X-Men. There's no word on if staple characters like Gambit, Cyclops or Jean will be joining the sequel.

Josh Trank Directing 'SHADOW OF THE COLOSSUS' For Sony

Deadline reports that Chronicle director Josh Trank has signed on to helm an adaptation of Shadow of The Colossus for Sony Pictures. The project is based on the Sony video game which Trank had been a fan of. Josh is also currently attached to the Spider-Man spin-off Venom, The Red Star (based on a graphic novel) and a reboot of Fantastic Four. Fox's Tom Rothman recently confirmed Trank's early involvement with new Fantastic Four film. I assume Fox will be eager to move into production on the heels of Avengers.

"A young man who thinks his lover has died. Desperate to bring her back, he heads into a forbidden land, and summons a demon who can wake the dead. The price for bringing back his girl: slay 16 colossi that dominate this mystical place. These are skyscraper-sized giants that rise from the ground, fly through the air and come from the water. As the young man works through his quest on horseback, he begins to wonder if he is on a noble pursuit to bring back his lover, or perhaps has made a deal with the devil and is being used."

'DREDD' Reboot Gets An R-Rating

Judge Dredd fans should be pleased that the new film Dredd has earned a R-rating for strong bloody violence, language, drug use and some sexual content. It's not surprising considering the gory stills that appeared online a few months back. Yet, it screams faithful compared to the Sly Stallone film from the 90's. The film has a September 21st 2012 release date so a trailer should be around the corner.

Jorma Taccone To Direct Comic Book Film 'THE GREAT UNKNOWN'

It's looks like Jorma Taccone (MacGruber) is getting another directing gig as HeatVision reports he'll direct The Great Unknown for New Line Cinema. The film is based on the comic from Image Comics and will be produced by Mark Gordon (Source Code, Saving Private Ryan, Speed).

"The comic centers on a slacker with delusions of grandeur who believes his so-called great ideas are popping up elsewhere. After failing to convince his friends and family that his mind is being pilfered, he goes on a quest to solve the mystery behind the idea thefts."

Jorma is 1/3 of the comedy trio The Lonely Island who are the guys behind SNL's impressively funny Digital Shorts. He's also had supporting roles in films like Hot Rod and The Land of The Lost. It's interesting to see Jorma getting another shot at a rather large film after his first film MacGruber didn't make a giant splash at the box office. The action comedy based on the SNL skit seemed humorous enough but didn't connect with audiences. The disastrous casting of non-comedians like Val Kilmer and Ryan Phillippe didn't help matters.

S.H.i.E.L.D. To Play Large Role In Captain America 2

While speaking with SuperHeroHype Marvel's Kevin Feige confirmed that SHIELD will have a presence in Captain America 2. It's only the second tidbit of information about the sequel besides the inclusion of the flashbacks to WWII adventures. Kevin didn't elaborate what that SHIELD lineup would look like but I'm sure Fury will be involved. It's unknown if Hawkeye and Widow will be on Cap's new team or if Marvel will decide to add new heroes like Sharon Carter, Falcon and Union Jack. Currently the film is without a director and release date, so check back here for updates on that development.

"Frankly, I think S.H.I.E.L.D. would be most relevant in a Cap sequel, because Thor has nine worlds to traverse and many, many supporting players and Iron Man has his supporting cast and many villains and plotlines to go through and Steve in the modern world sorta doesn't have an anchor and the anchor we're establishing in this one is S.H.I.E.L.D.. It's early days on "Cap 2," nobody's counting those chickens yet, but maybe there's some connection there."

Sony Making Bloodshot Without Matthew Vaughn?

We haven't heard much in the development of the Bloodshot film since it was announced that Matthew Vaughn and writing partner Jane Goldman (Woman In Black) were going to put together a live-action film based on the comic book. It looks like the two have left the project as HeatVision reports Sony and producer Neal H. Mortiz have bought a pitch from writer Jeff Wadlow. A director isn't named but since Wadlow has directed a few films I wouldn't count him out.


Bloodshot entered the Valiant universe as mob killer Angelo Mortalli, who enters a witness protection program and then becomes part of a secret experiment to create the ultimate killing machine. His memories are erased and he is injected with microscopic computers called nanites. As he tries to rediscover who he was, he battles both the mob and the police.

Vaughn and Goldman seem to have passed on the project with this news. I assume for more creative and higher paying gigs. Mainly their own ventures and a sequel to X-Men First Class which Fox is quickly fast-tracking. Matthew currently has two other possible directorial projects in development which include The Secret Service and Superior both films based on Mark Millar comics. This said, there isn't confirmation that Vaughn has entirely left the movie entirely. The biggest red-flag in my opinion is that Vaughn isn't mentioned in the article and isn't named as a writer or producer.

Mortiz is gathering a very large resume of genre focused productions with films like Total Recall, I Am Legend, 21 Jump Street, Jack The Giant Killer, Fast Five, R.I.P.D. and the Highlander reboot. I feel like he very well could put some interesting talent behind this project it could end up being at the very least a fun popcorn film.

Marc Forster Will Direct Cowboy Ninja Viking For Universal

Deadline reports that Universal has hired Marc Forster (Quantum of Solace, Machine Gun Preacher) to direct Cowboy Ninja Viking. Forster is currently wrapping up the Brad Pitt zombie action film World War Z. This relatively unknown comic book film got some heat when Zombieland/Deadpool writers Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese signed on to write the film's script when it was originally setup at Disney. The studio ended up passing on the film as it was too edgy for the family friendly Disney. Universal would eventually take on the project and it's finally moving forward.

Dwayne Johnson Could Join Hercules: The Thracian Wars

Hot of the heels of a looming release of Greek mythology blockbuster Wrath of The Titans. Variety reports that MGM and director Brett Ratner are in talks with Dwayne Johnson to lead an adaptation of Steve Moore's comic Hercules: The Thracian Wars. It's expected even with Ratner attached it could end up a gritty battle focused film that hopefully turns out a mix of Conan meets Troy.

It's yet another high profile project for Johnson who has G.I. Joe: Retaliation this summer, Fast Six and Michael Bay's Pain And Gain coming out in the future. Johnson is no stranger to the swords and sandals genre with previously playing the Scorpion King in The Mummy Returns and the prequel The Scorpion King. This also the second comic book character Johnson has played with aspirations to play Luke Cage for Marvel Studios. While I'm on the fence with the involvement of Ratner he's a step up from Peter Berg (Battleship, Hancock). I'm also betting that the charismatic Johnson will at least rangle this into a fun popcorn flick.

RED 2 Has A Director

Variety reports that the sequel to the action comedy hit RED could finally have it's director. Dean Parisot is in final talks to helm RED 2 with the production expected to start up after Willis wraps Die Hard 5. Currently a script is in place written by Erich and Jon Hoeber who originally adapted the comic book for the first movie. Willis is a given but it's unknown if Mary-Louise Parker, Helen Mirren, John Malkovich, Brian Cox, Karl Urban and Morgan Freeman will be signing on to reprise their roles.

The inclusion of Parisot gives me the impression we could end up seeing a Die Hard reunion of sorts. The Galaxy Quest director has previously worked with Alan Rickman who played villain Hans Gruber in the original Die Hard. I wouldn't be shocked to see Rickman take a role in the sequel as previous supporting roles have been filled by seasoned dramatic actors. Alan might be known for serious characters but has a history of amazing dry comedic performances which would suit the sequel. Of course this is only my opinion.

Jonathan Liebesman Could Direct New Ninja Turtles Film

Looks like Paramount is really hedging their bets when it comes to their genre films. We've already heard news that they're planning a reboot of sorts with the next Transformers film. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is one project the studio seems to want to make sooner rather than later. It was previously reported that Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol writers Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec were working on a script. Now, Variety reports that director Jonathan Liebesman (Wrath of The Titans) is in talks to helm the live-action reboot.


Michael Bay's production company Platinum Dunes is involved which is known for horror remakes such as Friday The 13th, Nightmare On Elm Street and Texas Chainsaw Masacre. One of the good things about Dunes is that their movies are highly artistic visually and somewhat faithful to the original source material. It's unknown how graphic the project will be considering how violent the comic book was compared to the Saturday morning cartoon series from the 80's. I would assume that Paramount wants a PG-13 rating.

Denzel Washington Could Join Mark Wahlberg In 2 Guns

Deadline reports that Denzel Washington could be joining Mark Wahlberg in the action film based on the graphic novel 2 Guns. The Safe House actor is in talks to take a lead role opposite Wahlberg in the Universal Pictures film. A DEA agent and an undercover naval intelligence officer unwittingly investigate each other as they steal mob money which turns out to be property of the CIA. The film will be directed by Baltasar Kormakur who recently worked with Mark on Contraband and a script from Blake Masters (Brotherhood).

Crow Remake Gets New Writer And Director

It was reported this week that the rights to The Crow remake has been settled between the Weinstein Company/Miramax and Relativity Media (Immortals). Now with that issue behind them they can pursue a new director and cast. Previously names like Mark Wahlberg and Bradley Cooper were loosely attached to play Eric Draven. Deadline reports that Jesse Wigutow (The Osterman Weekend) has been hired to write the remake's script. It sounds like the studio is eager to get this made quickly as ShowBlitz reports F. Javier Gutierrez (Before The Fall) will be the new director.

The original Crow (1994) stands as one of my favorite comic book films. It set the tone for more dark and serious comic book films like Blade and The X-Men. The cult hit proved to studios that they could make non-campy comic book films and it would be successful. The notorious tragic death of star Brandon Lee after live rounds were used in a shootout scene became a wake up call to safety measures in the industry. Lee's death during the production makes this even more special to fans like myself. If not highly protective of it and negativity to any idea of trying to remake it. I'll wait until casting announcements and a trailer before I rush to judge the intentions of Relativity.

Is There 8 Minutes Of R-Rated Test Footage For Deadpool?

There hasn't been much development concerning Fox's reboot of the character Wade Wilson better known as Deadpool. BleedingCool picked up creator Rob Liefelf stating he may have seen some R-rated test footage Fox could have shot. If this is indeed true it could mean that the studio could be finally figuring out when/how they will shoot. Fox seemed to have been mulling over what to do with the Merc-With-A-Mouth as the script written by the dynamic duo of Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (Zombieland, G.I. Joe 2) is clearly for an R-rated movie. There seemed to be some hesitation to pursue that type of rating considering all five X-Men universe films have been PG-13 money makers. X-Men franchise producer Lauren Shulder Donner recently spoke on the subject and even sounded like she was championing decision to go with an R rating. If this does happen this will be Fox's first R-rated Marvel film.

While rating isn't everything these days since Christopher Nolan was able to give us a down and dirty Batman film with the Dark Knight even if it was PG-13. Some might say the censors turned a blind-eye to a few scenes. However, when it comes to Deadpool the mercenary character needs to live in a hostile environment which he contributes to with a massive body count. He's also mentally unstable and unpredictable so explicit language is necessity. Here's hoping Fox comes to their senses and moves forward with this film soon. At one point it looked like Ryan Reynolds was going to walk from the project. Luckily, Green Lantern bombed and it doesn't look like that sequel will sweep him away.

"They’ve got a great director on the movie, they’ve got a great script. I may or may have not seen some sort of test of footage that would blow your mind if you saw it and go holy crap and that’s Deadpool in costume. Katana swords, guns, shooting people’s faces off and making me laugh. And I may or may not have seen something that looks just like that. And you’ve got what would amount to the first R Rated X-Men movie. Because that script is R Rated. 


 They may or may not have wanted to shoot eight minutes to see how it would play. And all I can tell you, it’s close. It’s closer that it’s even been to going, or going Naaah, that’s too scary a proposition to make a R Rated Deadpool movie.”

Marcus Nispel Will Direct Hack/Slash

HeatVision reports that the horror comic book film Hack/Slash is finally moving out of limbo as Marcus Nispel (Pathfinder, Conan The Barbarian) has been hired to direct. The comic focuses on Cassie a girl who instead of being the cliched female survivor of a horror film, goes around hunting and killing slashers.

Nispel is an excellent choice as he's already taken on remakes of iconic horror classics including Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Friday The 13th. I personally really enjoyed Friday The 13th, as it was the best experience watching an American horror film in years. It will be interesting to see who will ultimately end up cast in the role of Cassie. At the time of it's original announcement Megan Fox had been rumored. I'm just hoping they end up hiring Derek Mears (Friday The 13th, Predators) for the role of hulking Vlad.