Movies

According to Variety, director David Slade, previous comic book movie veteran of 30 DAYS OF NIGHT, is aboard for a new Daredevil movie which "will not contain material from the Ben Affleck version". Daredevil last swung across the screen in 2003 when a movie starring Affleck, Jennifer Garner and Colin Farrell was the first of many "meh" Marvel superhero films to follow (cf. GHOST RIDER, PUNISHER, HULK 2, etc., etc.) Daredevil is also one of a number of Marvel characters who must be put into development by Disney rivals lest Disney/Marvel get the rights back. (cf. GHOST RIDER.) It is safe to say not many are pining for a new Daredevil movie right now, but better Fox make it than Disney just happen to do it.

"I have known many gods. He who denies them is as blind as he who trusts them too deeply. I seek not beyond death. It may be the blackness averred by the Nemedian skeptics, or Crom's realm of ice and cloud, or the snowy plains and vaulted halls of the Nordheimer's Valhalla. I know not, nor do I care. Let me live deep while I live; let me know the rich juices of red meat and stinging wine on my palate, the hot embrace of white arms, the mad exultation of battle when the blue blades flame and crimson, and I am content. Let teachers and philosophers brood over questions of reality and illusion. I know this: if life is illusion, then I am no less an illusion, and being thus, the illusion is real to me. I live, I burn with life, I love, I slay, and am content."

Just to give you a laugh as you head out for the weekend, the trailer for THE SMURFS, which stars Neil Patrick Harris as the human who gets embarrassed and frazzled by dealing with his new friends, and Harvey Pekar Hank Azaria as Gargamel.

Deadline reports that Jeff Smith's RASL is being developed by SHERLOCK HOLMES roducer Lionel Wigram. The series, the follow-up to Smith's million-selling fantasy Bone, concerns an art thief who jump to different universes to steal priceless works of art, but at a great personal cost.

IGN has just debuted a "motion poster" for the upcoming CONAN THE BARBARIAN 3D movie starring Jason Momoa, Ron Perlman, Stephen Lang and Rose McGowan, in which he slaughters and avenges all the way across Hyboria. A "motion poster" is like a fancier GIF, and it kind of reminds me of those photos in the Harry Potter-verse...and as such it is kinda cool. Better than a motion comic, anyway.

This week's EW has an interview with Captain America director Joe Johnston and an exclusive look at the Red Skull, played by Hugo Weaving, which became unexclusive a few minutes ago.

Two new posters for X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, the young mutants film opening this June, proving that before they grew up to become arch rivals, Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) liked to stand around experimenting with Photoshop color filters.

This week's EW contains the first photos of Henry Cavill "as" Superman -- if you call wearing a T-shirt dressing as Superman. According to the story, the first time he wore the duds, the handsome Englishman was able to overcome the inherent silliness of the panties and cape look:

Ooookay, NOW we are cooking! You know that part where Thor throws his hammer right in the dude's face? That was alright.

Columbia has just released the FIRST official picture of Andrew Garfield in full, mask-on Spidey-garb and revealed that the next Spider-Man movie will be called THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN. A fine title. Directed by Marc Webb from a script by James Vanderbilt, Alvin Sargent and Steve Kloves, the film will be released July 3, 2012.

Just unveiled over at Facebook, the X-Men: First Class trailer is here. Directed by Matthew Vaughn (Stardust, Kick-Ass) and staring James McEvoy, Michael Fassbender, January Jones and a cast of thousands, it's a retcon showing the origins of the mutant team in the 60s, starring young Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr. The original X-Men: First Class comic was written by Jeff Parker, but it hasn't been explained how much of an influence it had on filmmakers. This is miles better than the dreadfully boring stills have were previously released; Vaughn knows his superhero stuff and how to give it some life. Our one big beef: this does not look like it was set in the 60s! Some JFK voice-overs do not a different decade make! Have they never seen Mad Men? Or A Simple Man? Or...the British Avengers.

Variety confirms that Cobie Smulders is the front runner for the role of SHIELD agent Maria Hill in Joss Whedon's Avengers movie. Smulders is a Whedon favorite (he wanted her for his Wonder Woman movie) and Hill is a perfect Whedon-type character so the handwriting has been on the wall for this.