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."

Universal In Talks To Make Mark Millar's War Heroes

HeatVision reports that Universal Pictures is in negotiations to develop Mark Millar's War Heroes into a film. Previously the project had been with Columbia Pictures but the rights lapsed. The studio is in talks with screenwriters Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer who wrote Conan The Barbarian (2011) and recently handed in a script for Doctor Strange to Marvel Studios. The premises is an alternate America where soldiers are given pills to unlock various superpowers to fight the country's enemies.

This is yet another boost for comic writer/creator Mark Millar who is starting to become the next Stan Lee in the world of comic book films. War Heroes will be his 7th comic book turned into a film. Two movies have already been completed [Kick-Ass, Wanted] and six others in development [Wanted 2, Kick-Ass 2, Nemesis, Superior, The Secret Service, Supercrooks]. It will be interesting to see who they'll get to direct the film.

I wouldn't be shocked to see Justin Lin in contention considering Fast Five/Fast Six writer Chris Morgan is producing. Lin has been rumored/attached previously to Terminator 5, Highlander, Oldboy, The Wolverine and Die Hard 5. Robert Schwentke (RED) also seems like a possbility since he walked away from directing RED 2 and is currently helming another high concept comic book adaptation R.I.P.D. (his second comic book film) for the studio.

Fox Hires Screenwriter For Tony Scott's Nemesis

Since Fox is starting to put finishing touches on X-Men First Class and Darren Aronofsky's Wolverine is revving up for production it seems they're moving on to their next comic book film. LatinoReview reveals the studio has hired Matthew Michael Carnahan to write the screenplay for director Tony Scott's Nemesis. Carnahan's credits include State of Play, Lions for Lambs and the long in development World War Z. The film based on the Mark Millar comic series focuses on a Batman-type supervillain who uses his resources for evil instead of good.

Monsters' Scoot McNairy Lands Role In Big Superhero Film?

While Monsters director Gareth Edwards has gone on to helm Legendary Pictures' Godzilla reboot. There hasn't been much talk of big roles for the cast of the sci-fi indie. The film's male lead Scoot McNairy has mentioned to TotalFilm that he is indeed been cast in a large superhero film. He and his publicist don't mention the project but there are lots going into production soon. Let the speculation begin!

The three big ones include Joss Whedon's Avengers, Dark Knight Rises and Zack Snyder's Superman: Man of Steel. The other large scale superhero productions that are starting up soon include Darren Aronofsky's The Wolverine, Edgar Wright's Ant-Man and Tony Scott's Nemesis. I think McNairy would make an excellent Jimmy Olsen in the new Superman.

When Will We See Guy Ritchie's The Real RockNRolla?

 The article on the site that gets the most traffic and comments is the one focusing on Guy Ritchie's The Real RockNRolla. It's been promised ever since the original theatrical release of RockNRolla and it was even teased in the credits. Since then Guy Ritchie has been focused on many other projects. I'm going to run down what those movies are and the prospects of when we could expect Ritchie to start production on the RockNRolla sequel.

When it comes to Ritchie's current project he is shooting Sherlock Holmes 2 with Robert Downey Jr. The now established franchise is giving Guy more commercial success than he's ever had before. I expect like with other dedicated Warner Bros. directors (Nolan, Snyder) he will be rewarded with financing for his original projects. The only setback is that he might want to round out a Holmes trilogy before jumping into anything else. I wouldn't be shocked to see Sherlock Holmes 3 his next film.

Guy's previously attached projects could also become a hold up on The Real RockNRolla. He's been in talks with producer Joel Silver to helm both Lobo and Sgt. Rock which are based on the DC comics.
The studio had filmed test shots for Lobo with Jeffery Dean Morgan (Watchmen) and possibly Clancy Brown (Highlander, Starship Troopers). Sgt. Rock is also in development hell and is being re-tool from being set during WWII to the future. I'm not sure if the productions stopped because of Holmes 2 or the fact the characters were taken from Silver by DC Entertainment.


Ritchie has also been attached to direct remakes of the Dirty Dozen and Excalibur for the studio. From what I understand Dozen got the axe because of Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. I'm sure it will eventually happen but needs time between the Tarantino film.

Excalibur was once part of Bryan Singer's long list of projects in the works. He's been focused on Jack The Giant Killer which made opt out on directing X-Men First Class. Giving Matthew Vaughn the chance to finally show us his version of the X-Men universe. It would be interesting to see Ritchie take on the world of fantasy.


Another dreaded obstacle could be Ritchie signing onto new projects. Mark Millar teased that Ritchie along with Sam Raimi had been interested in making a movie based on his comic Nemesis. The project now has Tony Scott in the director's chair setup at 20th Century Fox. It's not surprising to see his name involved with Millar's projects since Kick-Ass director Matthew Vaughn is a friend and producer of Guy's films. Vaughn helped produce Lock Stock, Snatch and Swept Away. Millar is now teasing that his new comic Superior will become a film. Superior is a mix of iconic comic book mythology taking influences from Superman, Thor and Shazam!. The comic writer says the director would be announced in January. There is a possibility Guy Ritchie very well could be this name.

A very doubtful but still possible project could be Iron Man 3. It's unlikely because of Guy's current relationship with both DC and Warner Bros. Yet Robert Downey Jr. has director approval and could choose someone he's worked with before.

There could also be other unnamed projects which come up and he signs on. My expectations is that while The Real RockNRolla script is more than likely completed Guy could focus more on his high profile projects first. I wouldn't assume to see it go into production until 2012-2013 at the earliest. While there is enough of a demand from fans of the original he is sort of moving forward with different types of films. You can't blame him for wanting to expand his genres and can respect wanting to try different things.

Pitt & Depp To Star In Nemesis?

Nemesis focuses on the villain rather than the hero of the story. Instead of fighting superheroes he goes up against regular cops with an endless supply of killing skills and weapons. The comic hasn't even fully been released but Tony Scott (Man on Fire, Top Gun) has signed on to direct with the help of 20th Century Fox who will supply the film's budget. Millar offered up to Empire who he'd like to see cast in the film. Mark would like to see Johnny Depp as Nemesis and Brad Pitt as Chief Blake Marrow. Now there is word from Millar that director Tony Scott is actually reaching out to the actors for the roles.


While some might scoff at the idea of getting these two heavy weights together. Pitt's Plan B produced Kick-Ass he's also worked with Tony Scott on True Romance and Spy Games. Depp worked with Angelina Jolie on The Tourist and most likely has been in contact with Pitt. I wouldn't be surprised to see Pitt take the producer's chair again and help sway Depp into joining the film.

Tony Scott Directing Mark Millar's Nemesis

BleedingCool and Deadline report that director Tony Scott (Man On Fire, Domino) is attached to direct the big screen version of Mark Millar's (Wanted, Kick-Ass) newest comic book series Nemesis. They go on to mention that 20th Century Fox has bought the rights to the series. Yet they haven't hired a screenwriter for the project.

Millar Thinks Ritchie Or Raimi Could Helm Nemesis

Comic book writer/creator Mark Millar is no stranger to comic book films. Two of his original comics have been turned into films and more on their way. Millar's newest project Nemesis boasts the interesting concept "What if Bruce Wayne was The Joker?". Similar to Kick-Ass it's already generating film potential before it's release on shelves. On his own site's forums he's been putting out who he'd like to see direct the film.

SAM RAIMI DIRECTING NEMESIS? WTF? Can I just stomp this rumour before it gets any further? This week CAA was approached by an A-list director to buy Nemesis before it goes to auction in March… but I just want to make it clear that Sam is not the guy who contacted my agent. I actually think he’s one of the three best living directors and would be honoured to have him on anything I do, but he’s not the guy who got in touch and the truth is that I’m not taking this out until March as originally planned.

RAIMI DIRECTING NEMESIS MIGHT NOT BE CRAZY AFTER ALL! Things move fast in Hollywoodland. I just woke up to some VERY unexpected emails…

I was actually going to talk to Guy about it in the next couple of weeks, but wondered if a brilliant cop versus brilliant supervillain might be too much like Sherlock Holmes. I’m seeing Matthew this week and will see what he reckons.


I think Guy Ritchie would be perfect for the violent nature of Millar's comic book world. The only issue is the one Millar brings up it could be too similar to his Sherlock Holmes series. While I'd like to see Sam Raimi jump into more comic book films I'm doubtful he could make the film Millar wants to see made. Raimi would more than likely do his version of Millar's material. My personal choice would to see director Matthew Vaughn re-team with Millar for Nemesis. I don't think it would be all that horrible for Millar and Vaughn to keep making films together. Kick-Ass 2 is already in the works but I could see Nemesis coming out before the sequel.