RUMOR: Italian Actress Monica Bellucci In The Mix For BOND 24

On Thursday, we'll finally have the official casting announcements concerning Sam Mendes' Bond 24. This hasn't stopped a couple more casting stories coming out of the woodwork before the final reveal. Deadline is reporting that Italian born actress Monica Bellucci (Tears of The Sun, Dracula, Matrix Reloaded, Matrix Revolutions, Brothers Grimm, Shoot 'Em Up, Dobermann, Brotherhood of The Wolf, Passion of The Christ) might have a role in the film.

Monica would be an age appropriate actress for both Daniel Craig and rumored actor Christoph Waltz (said to be playing villain). Similar to Waltz, Bellucci speaks multiple languages which includes Italian, French, English and Persian. The film has been confirmed to shoot in Rome, but oddly hasn't had any Italian actors linked for roles. Bellucci would be an excellent addition to the world of Bond, so here's hoping this turns out to be true.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

DRACULA: YEAR ZERO Retitled DRACULA UNTOLD And Lands Female Leads As Production Begins

Universal reveals that actresses Samantha Barks (Les Misberables) and Sarah Gadon (Amazing Spider-Man 2) have joined Universal's reboot of the Dracula franchise which is now titled Dracula Untold. The rest of the cast includes Luke Evans, Dominic Cooper, Zach McGowan, Thor Kristjansson and Art Parkinson. The horror flick is the first co-production between Universal and Legendary Pictures which is slated for release on October 3rd, 2014.

Luke Evans Will Be Our Eric Draven In THE CROW Remake

Deadline reports that British actor Luke Evans is looking like the final name being attached to The Crow remake. A steady stream of others had been linked previously which included Bradley Cooper, Mark Wahlberg, James McAvoy and Tom Hiddleston. Evans' profile will be raised this year as the villain in Fast And Furious 6 and Bard The Bowman in the second Hobbit installment.

SPECULATION: Sam Raimi A Prime Candidate To Direct DOCTOR STRANGE?

Sam Raimi has recently confirmed that he has no plans to come back to direct the sequel to Oz, The Great And Powerful. Giving the impression he might only end up producing it, if that. This might allow him to consider other budding projects that could use from of the Raimi magic. One big project without a director is Marvel's new Phase Three feature Doctor Strange. The project has been all but given a release date by Marvel and could end up starting production sometime in 2015. Giving potential directors plenty of time to round out another feature before jumping into Strange. I haven't really attributed names that could do Strange justice besides Guillermo del Toro who is currently beyond busy with a massive amount of projects. Raimi actually could be perfect to create the world of Strange. Not to mention having deep Marvel roots already with his Spider-Man trilogy.

Sam Raimi clearly is on Marvel's radar completing a successful Marvel trilogy with his Spider-Man films. The latter installment not exactly heralded by fans, mainly due to it's rushed production and haphazard script (written at times while scenes were being shot). Raimi had even pursued Spider-Man 4 which was on the hinge of shooting but was ultimately cut over budgetary issues. Anne Hathaway was set for Black Cat and John Malkovich was going to play The Vulture. Sadly, the film never happened and Sam would walk from the Spidey franchise. He finally saw Amazing Spider-Man recently and said he loved it. Perhaps, healing ties with both Sony and Marvel? He's obviously a big fan of Spidey and Strange co-creator Steve Ditko, naming a supporting character after him (Peter's landlord Mr. Ditkovich). Also adding a hint to Stephen Strange in Spider-Man 2 as Joe's Pizza has a similar address of Mr. Strange.

During the early days of Spider-Man 4 there had been talk of Morbius being a possible addition to the villain roster. An interview while promoting Drag Me To Hell with Empire and a video interview with FearNet had the director talk about his interest in Morbius and vampires. Only Marvel's Kevin Feige can speak to this but Morbius might be back at Marvel as the Blade rights (including Tomb of Dracula) reverted back to them, when New Line Cinema failed to make more films. Morbius (fellow NYC doctor) was in the deleted ending to the original Blade and might not even be eligible for Spider-Man films. Director Stephen Norrington had originally planned on using Morbius as the villain in his sequel to Blade but it was ultimately changed when Guillermo del Toro signed on. Strange has fought vampires (most notably Dracula), werewolves (Werewolf By Night/Jack Russell) and demons previously. It would make sense to place Morbius (perhaps a villain turned ally?) and other characters like that within the Doctor Strange films. Sam likes the combination of superhero plus supernatural which is basically describes Strange as a concept. Having Strange start off fighting vampires could be way to hold off more powerful villains for future installments. Along with reintroducing Blade to audiences which Marvel seems to be keen on. I also wouldn't be shocked to see Morbius saved for a Blade reboot.

“I like it in the Marvel comics when Spider-Man fights Morbius,” said Raimi. “He’s really cool. A vampire! I like that combination of superhero plus supernatural.”

He still has comics on the brain as he was trying to put together a new version of the classic comic/pulp/radio supernatural anti-hero The Shadow which he had been developing before Oz. If Raimi was considered for Strange he would have enough time to complete a film like The Shadow before pre-production on Doctor Strange would need to begin in 2015. Avengers 2 and Ant-Man are due out in 2015 would could see Strange getting a late Summer or early Fall release in 2016. As it would make a perfect spooky Halloween adventure film. Raimi had previously been attached to Warcraft at WB which has since gone to Duncan Jones. Along with talk of Evil Dead 4 this week which turned out to be a joke Sam made. At this point besides a producing a few projects Raimi doesn't have much in the way of full length directing efforts.

His connection to Disney via Oz could be similar to how Joe Johnston (Honey, I Shrunk The Kids, The Rocketeer) ended up directing Captain America: The First Avenger. A bigger directing name than previous and current directors along with a couple of major hits under his belt (a bit of an understatement for Raimi). Johnston only made the first installment helping to flush out Cap's origins and setting up his mythos. Raimi could be a solid creative mind to setup the macabre/occult superhero within the MCU. He's already tackled magic in Oz not to mention dark laced humor with films like Drag Me To Hell and the Evil Dead franchise. Along with his more serious than usual supernatural thriller The Gift. Raimi certainly has a stronger following/fanbase than Guillermo (last person attached to direct Strange) and that could also be another factor to consider Sam for the job.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?  COULD OR SHOULD SAM RAIMI DIRECT DOCTOR STRANGE? LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW!

Roman Coppola Still Open To Making DOCTOR STRANGE, Neil Gaiman And Benedict Cumberbatch Need To Be Involved

Roman Coppola revealed a couple of weeks ago that he was once attached to make a live-action Doctor Strange film back in the days of Roger Corman's Fantastic Four. His vision never did make it to cameras and the company eventually created Marvel Studios to control quality. Roman has become a very accomplished screenwriter earning an Oscar nomination this year for co-writing Moonrise Kingdom with Wes Anderson. He previously worked as second unit director on films such as Dracula (cutting his teeth in the horror genre) and Lost In Translation. While promoting his new film Charlie Swan (which he directed) he commented if on he'd still be interested in making Strange to FlickeringMyth (via CBM). Marvel recently announced that the occult superhero would apart of their Phase Three lineup.

“Nowadays it’s over saturated with so many comic book movies. It has lessened in my mind. In the past, 15 to 20 years ago, when I talked about Doctor Strange most of the comic book movies were terrible. They’ve [I’m speaking of the Marvel Universe] managed to make them more true to the spirit of the comics as I recall reading them as a boy. If someone said to me, ‘We’d love you to do Doctor Strange. Run with it. What’s your take on it?’ I’d be delighted to have a shot at that but it seems that many comic book movies are made with a certain mentality that pervades all of them. If I had my choice I’d rather do an individualistic than a factory movie but you never know. I’m open to whatever adventure comes my way.” 

I'd love to see Coppola direct theres another name I'm dying to see get involved. That is legendary comic book writer/novelist Neil Gaiman. He's been invovled with the development of the Strange film back when Guillermo del Toro was attached to direct. Neil was tasked to come up with a script which ultimately also fell-threw. He's obsessed with Steve Ditko (who created Strange)  participating in Jonathan Ross' Searching For Steve Ditko documentary. Gaiman has enough geek credibility like Whedon to bring a faithful but cinematic take on the Sorcerer Supreme. His novel Stardust was adapted into a film by Matthew Vaughn. Gaiman wrote screenplays for Beowulf and Coraline along with two episodes of Doctor Who. Having Gaiman do re-writes on the existing script written by Joshua Oppenheimer and Thomas Donnelly or at least consulting is a must.

There has been rally to get Benedict Cumberbatch cast in the lead role. It's not hard to see why he would be perfect for the role with his series Sherlock amassing such a loyal international following. Not to mention film credits that include in Star Trek Into Darkness, War Horse, Atonement, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug/There And Back.

Roman Coppola Wanted To Make A Pre-Marvel Studios DOCTOR STRANGE Movie

During an interview with MoviePilot (via ThePlaylist) writer/producer/director Roman Coppola (Moonrise Kingdom, Charlie Swan, Darjeeling Limited) reveals he once worked on a Doctor Strange film over a decade ago. He mentions speaking with Stan Lee on and developing concepts for it. Apparently, this happened before there was respect for the company during the era of Roger Corman's horrible Fantastic Four flick.

”You know, I did [have the desire to make a superhero movie], but I could again. I was a huge comic book fan comic book fan growing up, within reason. I was a fan of Spider-Man and all that stuff. Actually, I met Stan Lee 15 or 20 years ago when Marvel had the worst reputation for their adaptations. They had made a really terrible 'Fantastic Four' movie and some other things," Coppola explained. "I met him with my dad and we said, ‘Oh, wow, I wish we could be involved. How great would it be to make a really accurate version of one of these films?’ I had the aspirations to make a 'Doctor Strange' movie, which I worked on quite a bit. I ended up coming out on the other side, since I told someone I was working on a comic book movie and they said, ‘Do you really want to work for a studio to get pushed around for three years and not make something that’s personal?’ To make a movie like that where I could really use my sensibility would be fantastic. That type of work now is a product, and there’s a manner in which it’s made. Now I think it’d be better to spend those three years to do something better.”

While Roman is best known as a writer and is currently nominated for an Oscar for his work with Wes Anderson on Moonrise Kingdom. He's also been working a second unit director for years and making commercials. Those productions included Dracula, Virgin Suicides, Lost In Translation, Life Aquatic, Marie Antoinette and Darjeeling Limited. He recently shot an Avengers themed Farmers Insurance commercial, so he might still be in mind for the studio. The current Doctor Strange film has a script which was rumored to have gone out to directors back in 2011. It's expected to be apart of the Phase Three lineup and "could" be introduced in Thor: The Dark World (ala Black Widow/Hawkeye/Fury).

Eli Roth To Direct Dracula Thriller 'HARKER' Starring Russell Crowe

Deadline reports that Warner Bros. has found a director for Harker starring Russell Crowe. Eli Roth who is best known for directing his own original projects will have his first large studio project with Harker. The new spin on the classic tale of Dracula features Jonathan Harker a Scotland Yard detective following a string of grizzly murders which turns out are being carried out by the Count (Crowe). Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way is also producing the film.

Russell Crowe Could Star In Dracula Film Harker

Vulture reports on yet another project Aussie actor Russell Crowe could be joining. This time it's for Warner Bros' new take on the classic Stoker tale of Dracula titled Harker. Instead of Jonathan Harker being a lawyer he's a Scotland Yard detective investigating Dracula's murders in London. It seems to be a mix of Sherlock Holmes and Jack The Ripper which could be worthwhile reason to make another Dracula film. Crowe is in early talks to take the title role of Detective Harker. It's not a done deal yet as Crowe is also looking at starring in Darren Aronofsky's Noan this summer. However, a production start for Harker hasn't been announced so he could be able to do both.

Jaume Collet-Serra, (Unknown) who was originally attached to the project before agreeing to direct Akira has seemly come back to helm. Akira had a long string of problems from casting, budgets, directors and scripts. Warner Bros. put the project on hold. It looks the studio has given Jaume another task while they figure out what to do with Akira. I'm not shocked as Harker is a more viable/profitable project with an interesting take on the classic Dracula tale. Apparently the studio still wants to make Akira but Harker will go first.

Dracula Year Zero Gets New Director

Deadline reports that Dracula Year Zero which was in limbo has a new director. Alex Proyas, who was set to direct originally decided to pursue Paradise Lost instead putting the vampire film on ice. Now, it looks like Dracula is being resurrected one more time with newcomer Gary Shore at the helm. Shore isn't well known but you might remember one of his shorts that made it's rounds the web a while back. It featured Wolverine and a partner slashing their way through the Hand. The quick short was visually stunning and it seems it helped Gary land this project. Currently, Paradise Lost has been given the axe by Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros., so Proyas is back onboard as the film's producer.

Universal Pictures has hired Matt Sazama & Burk Sharpless to rework the film's script. Sam Worthington who was originally attached to play Prince Vlad of Transylvania (Vlad The Impaler) has left the project. I assume that Universal will start movement on it's production soon as another Dracula project titled Harker is also on the horizon. The film won't be taking it's cues from Bram Stoker's novel but rather the myth of Vlad The Impaler and his battles against the Turks. This was somewhat explored in the opening scenes of Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula.

RUMOR: Could Marvel Be Using Vampires In Doctor Strange?

A new rumor points out that the Avengers post-credits scene could involve a vampire or vampires has surfaced via ComicBookMovie. This doesn't seem to fit with Iron Man 3, Thor 2 or even Captain America 2. So if true this could mean that we'll be seeing a new film that vampires would inhabit. That narrows things down to Blade or Doctor Strange.

Blade comes to mind but they don't have a script, director or even a new Blade. I assume when Marvel Studios regained the Blade rights from New Line they got all the vampire characters back including Deacon Frost, Hannibal King, Dracula, Lilith (Dracula's daughter), Morbius and The Blood Pack.

Morbius was going to be the main baddie in Blade 2 before Guillmero del Toro came in for the sequel. The living vampire had a cameo at the end of the first Blade movie but was ultimately cut out. One of the great things about Morbius is that he's also been a hero so he could be an interesting conflicted character.

The rights would also include Jack Russell from Werewolf By Night who had a cameo in a Blade 3 cute scene. There had been talk of Werewolf By Night film in development but nothing came of it. I figure all these characters are now fair game at Marvel and could be used in many different films.

Doctor Strange just happens to be the best bet to what this post-credit scene could be teasing. The film has a script and has been the one project most voiced by Marvel as apart of their next lineup. It's unknown what angle they'll be going with Strange but he runs the gauntlet of cosmic, magic, occult and horror elements. Strange has run into a few vampires in his time which includes Morbius, Dracula, Lilith, Baron Blood (his brother Victor) and many others. I would love to see Strange end up becoming more of a horror style Marvel franchise. A vampire could also just be one of the many monsters that Strange will have to face in the movie.

Horror comics were once a major part of Marvel, titles included The Living Vampire, Tomb of Dracula, Werewolf By Night, Brother Voodoo, Son of Satan, Legion of Monsters, Santana and others. It would be interesting to see Marvel Studios bring this sort of comic book universe to the screen. It had been sort of teased with the Blade films but the occult, magic, other creatures and demons were never the focus.

Concept Art From Hotel Transylvania

David Slade To Direct The Last Voyage of The Demeter

HeatVision reports David Slade (Hard Candy, 30 Days of Night) will direct yet another vampire film. This time one based on actually lore and inspired directly from Bram Stoker's original Dracula novel. The Last Voyage of The Demeter tells the story of Dracula's voyage to London and the evil that is unleashed upon the crew/passengers during it. Ben Kingsley and Noomi Rapace were previously attached for the project but it's very likely they could leave to focus on other commitments.