The Avengers will include one classic member we'd wondered about. Discover how Frank Darabont's reinvented The Walking Dead. Plus Transformers 3, Predators, Green Lantern, Lost, Thor, Scott Pilgrim, Dead Of Night, Doctor Who, Fringe, Caprica, FlashForward and Smallville spoilers!
Transformers 3:
Michael Bay says he's been scouting locations in Chicago, Detroit and Washington, D.C., for the third film, and once again he hints it'll be more introspective. "The script is feeling very different than the other two," he says. [Michael Bay via Den Of Geek]
The Avengers:
Marvel's Kevin Feige seems to confirm that the Hulk will be in this film:
It's not just a team super hero movie with a bunch of characters with powers, its three people, four including Hulk, five including Nick Fury-who you have seen before in other movies, coming together for the very first time.
And he says that the comic books have paved the way for this kind of crossover, even if the way the dots get connected may be different. [SFX via World Of Superheroes]
Predators:
Someone noticed that the Wikipedia entry on this film has had a lot of updates lately, and one of them includes the notion that the current script includes a space for a cameo by Arnold Schwarzenegger, reprising his role as Dutch from the first movie. (I think this comes from Latino Review's script review, which we linked to a few months back.) Is there any chance whatsoever that Arnie, who only appeared digitally in Terminator 4, would take time out for a day's shooting for this film? Probably not, but it's an amusing notion. Take with extreme grain of salt, though. [Wikipedia via AVPGalaxy]
Thor:
Idris Elba plays Heimdall, the guadian of the Bifrost Bridge between Earth and Asgard, and he says he starts filming in February (long after principal photography's started — so he's probably not in the film that much.) "I've got a big sword, a real big sword!" He exults. Meanwhile, Anthony Hopkins says that when he puts on his long wig to play Odin, he looks like Billy Connolly. [Flicks And Bits and Bleeding Cool via Screenrant]
Kevin Feige insists that this movie is about straight-up science.
We're doing the Stan Lee/Jack Kirby/Walt Simonson/J Michael Straczynski Thor. We're not doing the blow the dust of the old Norse book in your library Thor and in the Thor of the Marvel universe there's a race called The Asgardians, and we're linked through this tree of life that we're unaware of. Its real science, but we don't know about it yet. The Thor movie is about teaching people that.
[SFX via World Of Superheroes]
Green Lantern:
How much of this movie takes place in space? Director Martin Campbell explains:
I don't know what the percentage is, but there's quite a bit in space. The initial trip up there, the training sessions he has to go through in order to become a Green Lantern. And there, of course at the end, he goes back up to Oa again. And there's a couple bits in between. There'll be enough, I think, to satisfy anybody.
[MTV]
Scott Pilgrim:
Here are a couple of images, which I'm not sure if we've shown you before. The "light saber" one definitely looks familiar. [IGN]
Brandon Routh describes his character in this film:
The seven exes basically challenge Michael, and I play one of them. I'm a vegan rock star with a blonde wig. Because I'm vegan, I have these special powers, the power of telekinesis. So, I end up having this huge bass battle with Michael Cera, as we're playing dueling bass guitars, and I throw him around telekinetically threw walls and such. And my blonde wig becomes a faux-hawk whenever I use my powers, and then flattens back down when I'm not using them.
[IESB]
Dead Of Night:
Brandon Routh discusses the relationship between the original comic and the movie:
There are really good similarities. I certainly tried to do as much as I could within the scope of the script, and the fact that we were filming in New Orleans and not able to film in London, where the comic actually takes place. I think we have a really similar tone. Dylan is, at heart, a hero. Some people would call him a womanizer, but it's not that. Dylan falls in love in every episode of the comics. He's not willy nilly, sleeping with women. He falls in love and then something tragic happens to the woman, in almost every episode.
So, that theme continues. And, even though we don't have Felix, from the American version of the comic, we have Sam Huntington playing my sidekick. It's a really nice relationship and it really gives Dylan an opportunity to have some comic relief and just be who he is.
[IESB]
Real Steel:
Another article about this Hugh Jackman film filming in Michigan offers a different plot synopsis, although I'm not sure if it's just a matter of people playing telephone. According to this version, in the future robots have replaced human boxers. Jackman plays a struggling fight promoter who builds robot boxers with his 11-year-old son. [MLive]
Lost:
Emilie de Ravin says she has a lot of scenes with Evangeline Lilly this season, and she thinks Claire really is alive. (But which one?) [TV Guide]
More pics of the Hurley/Libby picnic, and random other filming from the past weekend. [Hawaii Weblog on Flickr via SpoilersLost]
Matthew Fox says the final image of the series will be beautiful and powerful, and he can't wait to see how we get there. Press him for more specifics, and he gets cagey.
Do you know what the temple is? "No."
Do you know about the smoke monster? "Er, yeah."
Can you say anything about it? "Er, no."
Did they really need to be down in the hatch pushing the button? [Long pause] "Yes."
Do you know what the numbers mean? "No."
Will we find out how Jack's dad is connected to the island? "I do anticipate some resolution in that."
Do you know who the Others are and what they were doing on the island in the first place? "I don't know the answer to that one, but I'm sure we will. I haven't been informed."
[Guardian]
Some new promo pics show Sawyer back in the cage. Is this a hint for something to come? [Lyly Ford]
Doctor Who:
A new jigsaw puzzle gives us a possible glimpse at the return of the Weeping Angels. Also, it sounds like they're filming some scenes at Stonehenge. [GallifreyBase]
The Walking Dead:
Corona Coming Attractions has a review of the pilot script by Frank Darabont, which is full of horror, both extreme gore and psychological horror. It makes some pretty sharp departures from the source comic.
Our hero is Officer Rick Grimes, a deputy for a small Georgia town outside of Atlanta. About 15 pages into our story Grimes is involved in a police incident where he receives a near-fatal injury. After being taken to the hospital and falling into a short coma, our law enforcement man awakens to find the hospital empty and the telltale signs that something very bad has gone down while he was out...
Grimes tries to find his family, his wife Lori and their young son Carl. He returns to his home and finds the neighborhood deserted, his wife and son gone. Still not fully comprehending what's happened, Grimes is saved by another father and son who have taken up shelter in a neighbor's house. From these two survivors Grimes learns about the zombie plague... Grimes is told that his family may have decided to head into Atlanta where the government was setting up a safety zone. With that info, Grimes heads off by himself and makes his way into the city.
More at the link. [Corona Coming Attractions via Comic Book Resources]
Fringe:
Something huge and inevitable will happen at the end of the season, but then the season will have a huge surprise at the very end, says J.J. Abrams. Also, he explains the apparent contradiction between the alternate universe looking so nice at the end of season one and then turning out to be deeply troubled and messed up in season two: "there is this sort of growing problem" and "there is something brewing between these two places." [Crave Online]
Caprica:
Things are heating up for Amanda Graystone in Friday's new episode, judging from a new clip:
FlashForward:
The Lloyd/Olivia/Mark triangle will heat up in some unexpected ways when this show returns, and the reasons why Lloyd and Simon triggered the flashforward in the first place will turn out to be really cool. Also, we'll be seeing Simon's bar-car hookup, Camille, again. [Fancast]
Chuck:
Lester is going to be looking to hit on the newcomer, Hannah, in an upcoming episode. [Fancast]
Brandon Routh's original four-episode run was expanded to eight, but he's not sure if he'll ever reappear after that. [IESB]
Smallville:
A Canadian trailer gives more of a glimpse of the Justice Society in the huge two-hour event coming soon.
Clark won't be able to handle Zod without some help from Green Arrow. Says Justin Hartley:
Oliver and Clark, instead of butting heads about everything, team up and find the usefulness in each other and the power of unity. They spend so much time griping at each other that it's fun to see them work together.
[TV Guide]
In the upcoming episode "Persuasion," Clark's exposed to a Kryptonite stone which gives him the power of mind control, so that everybody has to do whatever he says. A casual remark to Lois leads to her moving in with him and playing housemaker, and an off-hand comment to Chloe about her recent priorities has more serious repercussions. Also, one character toting a bow and arrow has his sights set on Chloe. (Possibly the new Black Archer?) And we'll be seeing more of the Martian Manhunter besides just in the "Absolute Justice" two-parter. [Fancast]
And here's a new "Absolute Justice" promo. [OSCK]
Heroes:
It's the countdown to the season finale, in a new promo:
Additional reporting by Josh C. Snyder.