Josh Trank Could Direct The Fantastic Four Reboot

20th Century Fox seems to have directors lined up for their current Marvel projects. Those names include James Marigold (The Wolverine), David Slade (Daredevil), Tim Miller (Deadpool) and possibly Matthew Vaughn for the First Class sequel. The one film that has been in limbo for years is their Fantastic FourShowBlitz reports the studio is strongly considering Chronicle director Josh Trank for the new film. They are just waiting to see how critics and audiences react to Chronicle before making an official offer. The micro-budget superhero indie is gathering a lot of buzz and is expected become very successful. The studio has to make a new movie soon because the rights will eventually revert back to Marvel if they don't. reboot.


I just hope that Fox does for Fantastic Four what they did for X-Men First Class. Hiring aspiring talent and seasoned actors to fill roles instead of flavors of the week. The spandex costumes could also use a massive overhaul. The studio also holds the rights to a slew of other Marvel characters such as Doctor Doom, Galactus, Silver Surfer, Super Skrull, Ronan and Blastaar. Fox has a real chance to make Fantastic Four the cosmic adventure film that Green Lantern aspired wanted to be.

Jane Goldman Talks X-Men First Class Sequel

The wheels are in motion for the sequel to X-Men First Class. Fox's Tom Rothman has confirmed the progress and screenwriter Simon Kenberg (Sherlock Holmes) has been hired to write a draft for the second film. Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy are expected to return as the conflicted best friends along with other supporting cast members. Writer/director Matthew Vaughn's involvement has been mentioned but hasn't been announced by the studio. However, Vaughn has shared ideas of an opening scene featuring Magneto for the sequel.

First Class co-writer Jane Goldman told MTV that she would be 100% on board for the sequel. That's of course if Matthew Vaughn returns and asks for her help. The story goes Vaughn and Goldman completely re-wrote the previous drafts of the first installment. It would make sense that if Vaughn returns to direct he'd rely on his writing partner to help put together another solid script. It's unknown when we could see First Class 2 hit theaters but I assume Fox is eager to move quickly. Fox currently has The Wolverine and Deadpool currently in development as well.

"James and Michael brought so much to them that I think it's entirely natural to be talking about where those characters would go next. It was inherent in their stories and their arcs. There are so many interesting places to go."


 "In terms of what's going on with that, again from my point of view, it's down to what Matthew [Vaughn] decides to do. If he decides he wants to direct the next one and if he wants me on board, I'm 100 percent there."

Joe Carnahan Wants Liam Neeson For Nemesis

In the last couple of days it was revealed on Twitter that Joe Carnahan (Smokin' Aces, The Grey) seemed to have replaced Tony Scott as the prospective director of Nemesis. The adaptation of the Mark Millar comic that poses the question "what if Batman was a villain?". There had been rumblings that Denzel Washington and Brad Pitt were wanted for the role of super cop Blake Morrow. Joe during an interview with Collider reveals he'd like to see Liam Neeson take the part. I can't argue with him since Neeson seems perfect for these grizzled action roles. His current movie the Grey is gathering a lot of positive buzz so it could be a great move to see Carnahan take on this comic book project.

"You know it’s funny—and I’ll let this cat out of the bag just for you—Mark Millar and I were talking about Nemesis and I had mentioned that I think a particularly fantastic Blake Morrow would be Liam Neeson."

New Prometheus Image Featuring Noomi Repace

Jane Goldman And Tim Burton Could Make Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children

Deadline reports that 20th Century Fox is in talks with screenwriter Jane Goldman (Stardust, Woman In Black, Kick-Ass) to pen an adaptation of the novel Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children. Jane is the writing partner of director Matthew Vaughn and helped put together the script for X-Men First Class. She is also expected to work the First Class sequel for studio as well. Interesting enough is that they say Tim Burton could end up directing. One thing that's been holding Burton back over the years is being plagued by sketchy/rushed scripts so hopefully this project along with Dark Shadows (co-written by Seth Grahame-Smith) will bring him back to his former glory.

Jacob is a 16-year-old whose childhood was filled with stories his grandfather told him about an orphanage for unusual children. Among the residents: a girl who could hold fire in her hands, another whose feet never touched the ground, and twins who communicated without speaking. When his beloved grandfather dies unexpectedly but leaves a message behind for his grandson, the teen heads off to his grandfather’s home on an isolated island off Wales. There he discovers the abandoned remains of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. It is in great disrepair and as Jacob explores its bedrooms and hallways, he can see the children were more than peculiar, they might have been there because they were dangerous. And he can’t shake the feeling they are still lurking around.

New Prometheus Images, First Good Look At The Cast

Marvel Unwilling To Create Any New X-Men Characters Because Of Fox?

Ever since Marvel Studios started making their own films and subsequently bought by Disney there seems to be tension between between Marvel and other rights holders. Rob Liefeld in an extensive  interview with WordBallon points out that Marvel hasn't created any new X-Men characters and it's not based on laziness. The comic book writer/creator is responsible for giving birth to Cable, Deadpool, Domino, Feral and X-Force. So when he talks X-Men he does have insider information. He's also been in active talks with 20th Century Fox over the Deadpool movie and possibly adding Cable to the X-Men films. 

Liefeld states Marvel/Disney isn't in the business of creating characters only to hand them over to 20th Century Fox for new additions to their films. Currently the studio holds the film rights to all the characters in the X-Men universe (hero and villains) which is an extensive group. I'm not sure if that also means that Fox gains rights to new characters as they are introduced in the comics. It's further pointed out that Marvel holds the toy rights to X-Men First Class but didn't release any over the summer when it was released. Since they would have competed with Captain America and Thor toys which Marvel gets a bigger profit from. He's pointing out Marvel is undercutting Fox's growth of their X-Men franchise where they can.

My take is that Marvel is smart by not helping Fox by handing over new characters bound by an old rights deal. They could feel the deal was unfair since it was drawn up during Marvel's financial troubles during the 90's and might not have predicted the future of the company. Hopefully there will be a way to wiggle the film rights back to Marvel other than cutting a billion dollar cheque which Rob suggests. I feel when the studio uses up all the villains they'll end up selling the rights back. The X-Men universe doesn't have a lot of film-friendly villains which must be annoying for Fox.

SPOILERS: Ridley Scott Talks Prometheus

I've used the heading SPOILERS to point out this whole article could ruin Prometheus if you read it so you've been warned. Ridley Scott while speaking with The Wallstreet Journal's blog Speakeasy he gave a small tidbits of details on Prometheus. Confirming that the Alien DNA is in the film stating "The last eight minutes of the “Prometheus” story evolve into “a pretty good DNA of the ‘Alien’ one".

This news leads me to believe there is a possiblity that Ridley and Fox could be considering a sequel which had been in the original plan. While setting up the alien world with Prometheus the next installment very well could end up being the Alien prequel that was originally intended. When the Alien prequel was originally announced there had been plans for two movies that would explain where the eggs, ship and Space Jockey came from. It's unknown how much of Prometheus will actually explain if anything of the mythology/origin of the aliens. I wouldn't be shocked if the film ended with a cliff hanger leading into the second film, if that plan still exists.

I had my doubts how they could make one origin story into two movies but establishing the human world, androids, the company's motives and colonies would be the first step, the second explaining the origins of the aliens. This of course is all speculation but it's going to be a massive treat for Alien fans like myself it does turn out this way. There has also been talk that Prometheus very well could be told from the prospective of David (Fassbender), one of the androids in the film.

Simon Kinberg Writing Sequel To X-Men First Class

It didn't take long for the name of screenwriter of the X-Men First Class sequel to be revealed. Jason Flemyng had just stated 20th Century Fox was developing a script for the sequel. However, there was no official word from the studio or Matthew Vaughn.

SuperHeroHype now reports that Simon Kinberg is currently writing First Class 2. Kinberg's writing credits includes X3, Sherlock Holmes, Mr. And Mrs. Smith, This Means War and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. He's also producing Neill Blomkamp's next science fiction epic Elysium. There is no word if original screenwriters Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz will be contributing. It's assumed if director Matthew Vaughn returns he and writing partner Jane Goldman would do their own re-writes.

Jason Flemyng Confirms Script For First Class Sequel In Development

While Jason Flemyng might be just one of the many cast members of X-Men First Class he is also a very good friend of writer/director Matthew Vaughn. Jason has starred in every single film that Vaughn has made [Layer Cake, Stardust, Kick-Ass] including films he's produced [Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch]. The actor who plays Russian mutant Azazel [father of Nightcrawler] gave an update to DigitalSpy. Jason states the box office success of First Class is the main reason the studio is moving forward with a script. Adding that it's DVD/BluRay sales will ultimately decide if the sequel will be made. It ended up making $353 million worldwide and another $30 million during the first week of the DVD/BluRay being released.

"There was a benchmark that they had to hit box office-wise before they could start writing the next one, which they've started. We'll just see how the DVD goes and then fingers crossed I'll be bright red again by next summer."

Actors James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender have stated they're on board for more films. There have been ideas tossed around for the sequel like Magneto guiding the magic bullet that killed JFK for an intro sequence. It's expected Azazel (Flemyng) and Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) could explore their characters' relation that leads to Nightcrawler being born. Along with the formation of Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants. Jason also threw out the statement of production possibly starting in the summer.

"Me and Jen Lawrence have a kid, don't we? The world is a wide place and if my son turns out to be Alan Cumming then good for him, that's great. I love Alan Cumming."

"I am so in his gang [for the sequel]. There's one shot at the end of the film [with Magneto] and I was like, 'Please let me be in the shot!' And there I was. If there is a sequel, I have to be there." 

Andy Serkis Returning For Rise Of The Apes Sequel

Deadline reports that Andy Serkis is likely becoming the new Roddy McDowall of the Planet of The Apes franchise. He just landed a deal with 20th Century Fox for the sequel to Rise of The Planet of The Apes. Serkis will reprise his role of Caesar and possibility other apes in the film. Director Rupert Wyatt along with writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver are also returning for the sequel. There is no word if either James Franco or Freida Pinto will be back for the next installment.

Since Rise was inspired by Conquest of The Planet of The Apes I expect the sequel could be inspired by next installment Battle For The Planet of The Apes. That film focused on the new ape community (after the rebellion) lead by Caesar with loyal humans helping teach and build the society. The characters would later enter the abandoned city only to find a vengeful group of surviving humans armed to the teeth. Now with the viral outbreak spreading around the human population it wouldn't be surprising to see desperate survivors being the villains in the sequel. I just hope they scale back on the length of the film's title.

Major Updates On Die Hard 5!

Die Hard 5 is quickly coming together with the official title of A Good Day To Die Hard and the release date of February 14th 2013. John Moore (Behind Enemy Lines) will be directing with Bruce Willis coming back for one more ride as the iconic John McClane. The fifth film follows McClane as he travels to Russia to get his son out of jail, but accidentally uncovers a terrorist plot.

Variety reports a shortlist of actors who will test for the role of McClane's son. The list includes Ben Foster (Messenger, Rampart, Mechanic), Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad), Milo Ventimiglia (Pathology, Gamer) and Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood, Cowboys & Aliens). Paul Walker is also a studio hopeful but will not be testing. There is talk that this actor will carry on the Die Hard franchise similar to how Jeremy Renner is replacing Tom Cruise for future Mission Impossible films. Knowing that this actor could keep the franchise going I'd prefer Ben Foster getting the job since he's able to handle drama and mindless action. Yet, I wouldn't count out Milo and Aaron who are both interesting enough to keep up with Willis.

Hugh Jackman Talks Wolverine, First Class 2 & X-Men 4

Jackman still has a lot of love for Wolverine even though he's been playing him for ten plus years and soon to be five films. While talking to ThePlaylist he gives the impression he has a couple more films in him and wants to finally get the character right in The Wolverine. Unsurprisingly he states he doesn't believe we'll be seeing an X-Men 4 but doesn't count out showing up in X-Men First Class 2.

“I don’t see it. I can only see one movie ahead,” he said deflating hopes of a 4th “X-Men” film, despite talk in recent years by the producers of making one more. “I’m pretty sure I’m well into the second half of this match. I don’t know exactly when the end is, but I only go one at a time. If this is the last one, fingers crossed, man, I just hope we finally get that hole in one.” 

 So might Jackman pop up in a ‘First Class’ sequel? “If they come up with as good of an idea as last time,” Jackman says with a big smile, “Yeah, I could see it.”

I'm a bit skeptical about how the The Wolverine will turn out without Darren Aronofsky. It's odd that both Lauren Shuler Donner and Hugh Jackman producers on the last film have said they were unhappy with it's outcome. Odd since they made the creative decisions and allowed Fox executives to mettle with the production. I'll wait for the trailer before I start condemning but they have a lot making up to do for Wolverine fans. I'm all for more Wolverine but if they mess up Frank Miller's story they really will have lost me. On the other hand I'd rather see Jackman show up in First Class 2 as a pre-Weapon X Wolverine than watch a mess that X-Men 4 would certainly be. They could erase that magic bullet nonsense with Xavier just wiping his mind. Since the studio has established that First Class has it's own X-Men canon.

Lauren Shuler Donner Talks Deadpool, The Wolverine & First Class 2

If Kevin Feige is the face of Marvel Studios then producer Lauren Shuler Donner is the face of Fox's X-Men franchise. Lauren is responsible for producing X-Men 1-3, X-Men Origins and First Class. I have to commend her on finally giving us a solid X-Men film (First Class) after such a long wait since X2. Fox and Lauren finally took the material somewhat seriously and delivered a solid film rather than a cash-in mutant cameo orgy. She's been making the rounds talking up future projects which includes Deadpool, The Wolverine and a sequel to X-Men First Class.

First Lauren talks to CinemaBlend and TotalFilm about an R-rated Deadpool and director Tim Miller.

"If we make the movie it needs to be a rated R film. Otherwise you can’t make it. As for Tim, most of the advertisements for the games you play, everybody plays, he does those. He’s just…it would give it a very different look, a very different feel, which would be totally appropriate for Deadpool. Again, I don’t want people to feel like they’ve seen these movies before. Every movie has to have its own identity, and he will bring a whole different visual style to it. Very different visual style. And he’s funny! He fits right into that world. He fits right in. He’s perfect." 

"We have a few more things to do. And then it’s up to the studio to decide whether we’re going to go forward or not… But I’m pretty excited. We have a good script and a good director [Tim Miller].....Yes he was treated totally wrong in the Wolverine film and yes we will redeem him."
 
She also talked to CinemaBlend and HitFix about director James Mangold who recently landed the gig for The Wolverine. The film has been rumored to have been pushed back to a Spring/Summer 2012 shoot to work around Hugh Jackman's other films.

"I really liked Walk The Line and I really liked Girl Interrupted and I really liked 3:10 To Yuma. For me there’s three things that I look for. One thing is performance, because really it’s all about characters, even in action movies. Two is a look, you know, visual, because we have to have a style. Three is the ability to handle action and certainly with 3:10 To Yuma you could see that and he’s very experienced. I think we lucked out."

"[We want] to distinguish it from the other one… It’s much more of a standalone [movie]… I’m not sure when we’ll start. Maybe summer 2012 we’ll start shooting. It’s based on Hugh’s schedule, frankly. When he’s available, we’ll film. …He’s doing ‘Les Miserables’, and then he has to come and train for us. So it’s all dependent on him."

Talking to CraveOnline Donner also gives a couple updates on a First Class sequel. Along with her response via HomeMediaMagazine about bringing in Cyclops and Jean Grey for the next film.

"Well, if we were going to sequelize this and keep on going, we would stay in the next [time] period. Probably we’d go to the 70’s."

[on Cyclops and Jean for First Class 2]..."Maybe. Let's just say, I hope so."

"Yes. I mean that movie was a very strenuous movie so Matthew and everybody took some time off. Now we’re back and regrouping and kicking around some ideas. I think we just need to come up with a really good story and see where that leads us. If we could, great, if not, I think the story itself is what is most important."
 

James Mangold Will Direct The Wolverine

20th Century Fox has finally chosen a director to replace Darren Aronofsky. Deadline reports that James Mangold (Walk The Line) has nabbed the director's chair and will start production on The Wolverine in the fall. Hopefully this means that the studio still plans on shooting on location in Japan.

Mangold wasn't my favorite choice out of the recent group of candidates but he isn't a bad one either. He's no stranger to action films with his previous work on 3:10 To Yuma and Knight & Day. He does have a visual edge to his movies so with a solid script from Christopher McQuarrie (Usual Suspects) I have no doubt he can improve on the last Wolverine film. It's expected that The Wolverine will be it's own film ignoring the events of X-Men: Wolverine Origins. More than anything focusing on the raw source material that Frank Miller wrote.

Directors Out Of The Running For The Wolverine?

It looks like Fox has had quite a mess on their hands since Darren Aronofsky exited The Wolverine. The promising film written by Christopher McQuarrie (Usual Suspects, Valkyrie) and based on Frank Miller Japanese saga hasn't had much traction since. The studio still aimed at shooting on location in Japan seems to have been waiting to see how the recovery was going before proceeding with the production. Pausing the production date doesn't seem to be a problem but finding a new director however is. 

Recently it was reported that the studio had a list of hopeful directors that included Duncan Jones (rumored), Jose Padilha (Elite Squad 1-2, Robocop), Doug Liman (Bourne Identity, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, All You Need Is Kill), Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, Brooklyn's Finest), Mark Romanek (One Hour Photo, Never Let Me Go), Justin Lin (Fast Five, Highlander, Terminator 5), Gavin O’Connor (Warrior), James Mangold (Cop Land, Knight & Day, 3:10 To Yuma, Walk The Line) and Gary Shore.

Mark Romanek, Doug Liman and Antonie Fuqua have seemingly taken themselves out of the running.  Romanek states "That's just one of those stories that floated around. I was on their list, I received the script months ago. It didn't seem like my kind of thing...That script was a terrific version of that kind of thing, but not something I felt really passionate about." While Liman (Luna) and Fuqua (South Paw) are pursing other projects.

Jones had been the most promising name linked and confirmed meeting with the studio out of politeness. Jones has been trying to get money together for Mute and his Blade Runner homage. So it's likely he's been talking with major studios like Fox to get the films financed. Justin Lin is also linked for the film but has a three projects currently in development which includes Terminator 5, Fast Six and Highlander.So it looks like the only current directors in the running are Jose Padilha, Gavin O'Connor, James Mangold and Gary Shore.

Writers Ashley Miller & Zack Stentz Want A Crack At Fantastic Four

Fantastic Four is one of the most popular and recognizable Marvel properties. The comics themselves introduced us to Silver Surfer, Galactius, Rama-Tut (Kang The Conqueror) and Doctor Doom (one of the greatest villains in comics). So it's puzzling how three attempts to make a decent film has ended up in ethier disaster (Roger Corman's version) or average at best. Fox is giving the foursome one more shot before the rights revert back to Marvel/Disney. The relaunch has been stuck in development limbo for years now and it's status has yet to be updated.

Screenwriters Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz (via ComicBookMovie) think they have a way to reinvent the characters while keeping the fantastical aspect of the comics intact. Miller and Stentz are best known for their work on Thor as well as writing credits for X-Men First Class.They believe the Fantastic Four reboot  should be playing up the cosmic aspect of the comics.


"We would absolutely love to reboot the Fantastic Four. There is a franchise that's crying out for it. The Fantastic Four are adventurers, not superheroes, and we have not seen that so far.

"It should all be about venturing into the unknown, space, the Negative Zone, the Microverse. They are explorers. It should be Star Wars meets superheroes."


I have to agree with them as Thor and Green Lantern seem to be proving that science fiction can be included in the superhero genre. Considering they get their powers in space and a majority of their villains are aliens this makes a lot of sense. With Fox's massive success with Avatar they should understand the power of a space adventure spectacle. It would be interesting to see a Fantastic Four film on the edge of Star Trek and Star Wars. The studio doesn't seem to be revamping their recent comic properties without thinking things through. First Class brought the X-Men series back to it's roots while The Wolverine, Daredevil and Deadpool are expected to be on the nose faithful reinventions. Hopefully they will go the same route with Fantastic Four and putting the time into giving fans a solid film.

Fox Hires Screenwriter For Daredevil

There is finally an update on the progress of 20th Century Fox's Daredevil reboot. HeatVision reports the studio has hired Brad Caleb Kane (Fringe) to write the film based on the iconic Born Again storyline from Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli. Kane is best known for his impressive script for Brooklyn's Finest which was one of my favorite crime thrillers of that year. His involvement does give the impression the studio is indeed going for a faithful and dark adaptation. Fox is likely to move quickly on the relaunch to prevent the rights reverting back to Marvel/Disney. David Slade (Hard Candy, 30 Days Of Night) is attached to direct without a release date or cast set for the film.

RUMOR: Xavier Samuel In The Running For Daredevil?

There hasn't been much updates concerning 20th Century Fox's Daredevil reboot. We know that David Slade (Hard Candy, 30 Days Of Night) is currently attached to direct with Kyle Killen (The Beaver) writing the script. Also that the film would be based on Frank Miller's Born Again storyline.

There is some speculation that Twilight alum Xavier Samuel could be a candidate for Matt Murdock. Slade recently tweeted an image of the Australian actor donning shades when defending not using 3D. Previously there had been rumors of Bradley Cooper, Robert Pattinson and Garrett Hedlund (Tron Legacy, Troy). While I think Hedlund is a solid choice an up and comer could be what the reboot needs.

Bryan Singer & Matthew Vaughn Talk First Class Sequel, Trilogy In The Works?

While we've heard Bryan Singer giving hints on sequel to X-Men First Class before. It's the first time we've heard him talk details and even director Matthew Vaughn weighs in his opinion. The two talked to TotalFilm revealing some decade settings they've discussed. Vaughn wants to stick with the late 60's. As the first film is set during 1962 and the rest of the decade could be explored. It also makes sense as you can't really age the characters too fast if the actors are expected to return. Singer also mentions visiting the 70's and 80's giving the impression that if successful they are willing to make at least a trilogy.

A trilogy would work best as Cyclops, Jean and Storm have yet to be included in the films. I would also guess that characters like Gambit, Psylocke and other underused X-Men characters could be given solid screen time in future films.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE A FIRST CLASS TRILOGY? WHAT CHARACTERS SHOULD BE IN THE SEQUELS?