Today's spoilers include a huge hint about a new Star Trek character, a Tom Hardy Batman rumor, Hunger Games script reactions and Fringe/V set pics. The Host 2 will be 3-D! Fantastic Voyage may have a director! Plus Harry Potter!
Star Trek:
Did a New York Times article just give away a massive character spoiler for the Star Trek sequel? Judge for yourself. The article talks about how Roberto Orci brought his iPad to a meeting where the creators were planning the next film:
Mr. Orci, meeting with the producers J. J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof and Bryan Burk, and his fellow writer Alex Kurtzman, jump-started the discussion with an iPad slide show, showing stills from the first film, snapshots of potential locations and a photo of a suggested actress for one of the roles. On the woman's photo, he had used his iPad to paint on a Vulcan ear.
So what actress do you think they're talking about? And is it true that they're looking to cast a female Vulcan? If so, who would it be? (Saavik, presumably, is too young, but there's always T'Pring. Or, just as likely, a new Vulcan character.) What do you think? [New York Times]
Batman 3:
And now from bona fide (if possibly misleading) casting hints to total out-there rumors. Some fans are suggesting that the character Tom Hardy is in line to play in the next Batman movie is not Killer Croc, but Bane. Somehow, I'm having a hard time seeing Christopher Nolan wanting to dip into the "Knightfall" well, but considering what he was able to do with "The Long Halloween," it could be great. Still, just a bit of rumor/speculation — major grain of salt. [Comic Book Movie]
Tron Legacy:
Disney 23, the magazine published by Disney, has some hints about this movie, and Wired has a sneak peek. Most of it's stuff you already knew — like Disc Wars, the gladitorial game from the first movie, has evolved into a "multidimensional gladitorial arena with thousands of cheering spectators." And original director Steve Lisberger has a cameo as a bartender in the virtual nightclub in the new film. Tons more at the link, but here's one image, of a nice-looking mousepad. [Wired]
Harry Potter:
Three new TV spots give you a few new glimpses of one of the most anticipated movies of the next month:
The Hunger Games:
Entertainment Weekly saw an early draft of this movie adaptation's script, by Billy Ray, and it contains a "note-by-note retelling" of the brutal games from the book — leading to questions about whether this film will be able to obtain the desired PG-13 rating. [EW]
The Runaways:
Marvel is putting the brakes on its adaptation of Brian K. Vaughn's amazing comic, which had been rushing into production. It's not because they're worried it's too similar in target age group to Kick-Ass, as some have suggested, but rather because they have too many projects going on right now, and they want to do Runaways right. Director Peter Sollett, who was going to make this his next project after Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, has been encouraged to do another project first. [Deadline]
Fantastic Voyage 3-D:
This James Cameron-produced remake of the classic 1966 film lost Paul Greengrass as director a while back, but it's still zooming forward anyway. Laeta Kalogridis, who polished the script of Avatar, is doing a last-minute rewrite of Shane Salerno's screenplay, and a new director should be chosen soon for a start date early next year. Cameron's top choice: Louis Leterrier, who directed a successful Clash of the Titans remake. (This time around, the film would be shot in 3-D instead of being a crappy post-conversion.) Also in the running is Jonathan Mostow, who directed an underwhelming Terminator sequel — which would make him an odd choice to team up with Cameron. In any case, this film seems like it'll get made pretty soon, although they may have to slash the budget to get a final green light. [Deadline and Hollywood Reporter]
Captain America:
Could this be the first Marvel movie to go without a Stan Lee cameo? The Marvel veteran hints that this could be the case. "I don't know. They're filming it in London and I don't have the time to go there. Now if they shoot any scenes here in the States, I'm sure that I will be in one of them. But I wouldn't imagine that they're going to change their whole shooting schedule just to accommodate my cameo, so your guess is as good as mine at the moment." [Freep via Comic Book Movie]
The Host 2:
The sequel to this mind-blowing Korean monster movie will be shot in 3-D. The script's still being revised, but a sizzle reel of visual effects shots will be shown at TIFFCOM 2010. The film should be out in 2012. [The Hollywood Reporter]
Ghost Rider: The Spirit of Vengeance:
A Romanian news site has a few more details about this film. It's being shot in 3-D, with lots of pyrotechnics and vehicle stunts — not surprisingly — and huge sets are being built, including one on Plate 5, which is the highest plateau in Europe. They may relocate to Turkey for the tail end of the shooting. Ciaran Hinds is definitely in the film, but Christopher Lambert is in final talks to join the cast as well. [EVZ.Ro. via Comic Book Movie]
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island:
Speaking of sequels that nobody asked for... Kristin Davis (Sex and the City) has joined the cast of this sequel to Journey to the Center of the Earth 3-D. She'll play the mother of Josh Hutcherson's main character, who gets dragged along on adventure with her boyfriend (Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson) to look for Hutcherson's missing grandfather (Michael Caine). Vanessa Hudgens is playing the island girl that Hutcherson strikes up a love connection with. [Beyond Hollywood]
Dream House:
This supernatural thriller, starring Daniel Craig, won't make its Feb. 18 release date, because Craig is too busy shooting The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo to come back for needed reshoots in time. So Dream House, about a publisher who moves his family into a house where the previous tenants were murdered, will have to reschedule, probably until later in 2011. [Variety]
The Walking Dead:
Here are the official synopses for the whole first season of AMC's adaptation of this classic graphic novel series:
PILOT/EP 101 – "Days Gone By" Rick searches for his family after emerging from a coma into a world terrorized by the walking dead. Morgan and Duane, whom he meets along the way, help teach Rick the new rules for survival.
EP 102 – "Guts" Rick unknowingly causes a group of survivors to be trapped by walkers. The group dynamic devolves from accusations to violence, as Rick must confront an enemy far more dangerous than the undead.
EP 103 – "Tell It To The Frogs" Rick makes a decision to go back to Atlanta to retrieve the bag of guns and save a man's life. Lori and Shane must deal with the surprising return of someone they thought was dead.
EP 104 – "Vatos" Rick's mission to Atlanta is jeopardized when things go awry. Jim becomes unhinged in camp.
EP 105 – "Wildfire" Rick leads the group to the CDC after the attack. Jim must make a terrible life and death decision.
EP 106 – "TS-19" Rick and the group are allowed into the CDC, by a strange doctor. But all is not what it seems in their newfound haven.
The Sarah Jane Adventures:
Den Of Geek has a rave review of "The Death of the Doctor," which starts airing in the U.K. today, and which we're now even more desperate to see. Among other things: Jo Grant has a grandson, Santiago. Sarah Jane and friends have to travel to the UNIT base at the foot of Mount Snowdon, where UNIT's Col. Karim (Laila Rouass) claims the Doctor is lying in state. Matt Smith's Doctor has an amazing moment with Jo Jones (nee Grant) where he reassures her that her life has been anything but wasted. And it turns out the Shansheeths' evil plan is to create a new key to the TARDIS out of Jo and Sarah Jane's memories of the Doctor, so these intergalactic vultures can use the TARDIS to bring life to the universe instead of death. At the end of the story, Sarah Jane rattles off the names and current occupations of a host of former companions of the Doctor. [Den Of Geek]
Fringe:
Here are some new set photos, including Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, and an Observer. Is it just a weird trick of the lighting, or are both Olivia and Fauxlivia on set for this one? Plus also some images of a nighttime gathering of Observers, with a strange light in the sky. [Celia and Bernard and Nigel Horsley on Flickr via SpoilerTV]
Chuck:
Here are some promo pics from episode 4x07, "Chuck Vs. The First Fight," featuring Timothy Dalton and Linda Hamilton. [Zachary Levi Fan]
And a new promo for episode 4x06, "Chuck Vs. The Aisle of Terror":
The Event:
Here's the synopsis for the Nov. 8 episode, "I Know Who You Are":
FAMILY SECRETS INTERFERE DURING THE HUNT FOR THE TRUTH — PAULA MALCOMSON ("CAPRICA," "DEADWOOD") GUEST STARS — President Martinez (Blair Underwood) orders Director of National Intelligence, Blake Sterling (Zeljko Ivanek), to root out the mole from their staff, which causes Sterling to question his judgment of people close to him. Sophia (Laura Innes) reasserts her power over Thomas (Clifton Collins, Jr.) and the other detainees, and she prepares them for the next leg of their mission. Elsewhere, with the aid of Madeline (guest star Paula Malcomson), Sean (Jason Ritter) continues his hunt for answers, all the while trying to stay one step ahead of the covert agents who trail him.
V:
Some pretty spoiler set photos show Elizabeth Mitchell in danger and the aftermath of a huge explosion. More pics at both links. [Susan Gittins on Flickr and Nigel Horsley on Flickr, via TheVFiles.Info]
Star Wars: The Clone Wars:
Season three has already been airing in the U.S. for a while now, but a new U.K. trailer does include a few dark hints about what's to come. [Empire Online]
Smallville:
Here's a new promo for Friday's new episode:
Not only is an O.G. Lois Lane, Teri Hatcher, appearing on this show, but also original Supergirl, Helen Slater will return as Lara in one episode, alongside Julian Sands. [Den Of Geek]
Additional reporting by Chelsea Lo Pinto.