RUMOR - Meet the New Fantastic Four Cast for the Reboot Movie

Variety reports - The new Fantastic Four for the reboot franchise from 20th Century Fox - Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell and Michael B. Jordan.

credits Variety

Saffron Burrows Rumored to Join Agents of SHIELD as Victoria Hand

Latino Reviews reveals that actress Saffron Burrows has been cast as SHIELD Agent Victoria Hand for ABC's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." 

Hand was Norman Osborn's right hand gal back when he was still leading H.A.M.M.E.R., she was a tough cookie and hated the administration of both Nick Fury and Tony Stark, which was also the cause of her downfall. 

After the events of Siege, Hand was personally recruited by Commander Steve Rogers to become the liaison for Luke Cage's New Avengers team. She also made up one-third of the so-called "Cap's Angels" joining Maria Hill and Agent 13, Sharon Carter.

Oh and much like Victoria Hand, Burrows is also part of the LGBT community; dating Irish actress Fiona Shaw.

Again, nothing's set on stone with the casting so you might want to file this under 'Rumors'...

Source

The Identity of the New Earth 2 Batman is...

apparently someone very familiar to comic book readers as his name's been active within the Batman mythos for decades...

Apparently the man under the Batman's cowl is none other than Thomas Wayne. Comicbook.com broke the news after DC Comics made an 'allegedly' spoilery announcement on their Twitter account promoting the upcoming DC Collectibles' Earth 2 wave of action figures.

Looking at this post's header page, I seem to be in agreement with this spoiler/rumor. This Batman looks furious, he's got red eyes, which has become a trademark for the Thomas Wayne Sr. version of the Batman from Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert's FLASHPOINT book. 

Plus he's also fond of using what seems to be wrist-based 'guns' or launchers. Of course, we really have to take this news bit with a grain of salt as the mystery is still being unveiled in the pages of Earth 2.

Could it be that the Flashpoint version of Thomas Wayne has been 'ported to the Earth 2 Universe after the cataclysmic events of FLASHPOINT??

Source

It's OK To Have an African-American Human Torch

Rumor has it that actor Michael B. Jordan (Chronicle) is in the running to become the new Human Torch for the rebooted 'Fantastic Four' film franchise. 

So you guys think this'll work if he ever is officially given the role?

That is a double bladed question and more than that it's also got roots on the touchy-feely subject of race. For one, Human Torch (regardless if it's Johnny Storm or the original Jim Hammond) was or were white. That really was just the case in the past when Storm together with the rest of the Fantastic Four were created by Stan "The Man" Lee and Jack "King" Kirby. Only problem is, Johnny's as white as as the white in the US flag; and he's been that way for the last 60 plus years already without any major changes.

But if you've seen Chronicle you'll know that there's a kindred spirit between fun-loving Johnny Storm and Jordan's character Steve Montgomery. The actor is a natural when it comes to playing goofs and jock-type roles. Not only that but the dude is also game for physical roles as he's been doing this stuff for series like "Friday Night Lights", 

And if it weren't geeky enough, aside from playing a superpowered teenager in Max Landis' "Chronicle" he also recently voice Vic Stone aka Cyborg for the animated DVD film "Justice League: Flashpoint Paradox" (which was awesome by the way). 

So there. I think I did a semi-hardsell on the guy.

Anyway, I'm OK with the casting if ever it comes true. But that's just me. We're all entitled to our own opinions anyway.

Another FOREVER EVIL - NIGHTWING Rumor from BC

Bleedingcool  [LINK] is insinuating a new rumor related to DC Comics' FOREVER EVIL and NIGHTWING's fate in that book by Geoff Johns and David Finch.

So what happens in this new rumor???

Well according to Bleedingcool article, Grayson could be captured by the CSA (Crime Syndicate of America) and then at a later time, he will be forced to reveal his identity to the rest of the world through Superwoman's 'Lasso of Truth'. 

I still like the old rumor/ speculation that he will be beaten till an inch of his life by the now revealed CSA including Bruce Wayne's alternate Earth version, Owlman..

We don't have to wait that long because Forever Evil starts the first week of September.

Thor: The Dark World MAJOR SPOILER

IGN is talking about the Thor: The Dark World sizzle reel which was screened during this year's SDCC 2013 and how it does not bode well for the Avengers' resident God of Thunder. 

So according to the report, the final leg of the reel showed Loki (Tom Hiddleston) chopping off Thor's right hand while his hammer, Mjolnir flies towards his direction. 

And if you think that's bad, lead star Chris Hemsworth is telling people that the whole right hand missing is only a fraction of what he has to worry about. Also you know what's funny, is that Alan Taylor is also a director for the wildly popular "GAME OF THRONES' where the blonde, lead guy (Jamie Lannister) also got his hand chopped off for political reasons.

Guardians of the Galaxy Roles for Del Torro, Pace and Gillian Revealed

Den of Geeks is fighting the currents with their daring confirmation for the roles of three stars attached to Marvel Studios' "Guardians of the Galaxy" namely Benicio Del Toro, Lee Pace and Karen Gillian.

The long retracted/ redacted role of the Collector (Taneleer Tivan) is given to Benicio Del Toro and if you look at the photo below, you'd see why this is a perfect fit.

If that's not a perfect fit then I don't know what is. My only concern is that Del Toro has this slurred speech. It's not an impediment but it does ruin some great dialogue (assuming we get good lines from this villain).

Here's a bit of info about the character from Wikipedia: "Taneleer Tivan is one of the Elders of the Universe and is close to his fellow Elder En Dwi Gast (the Grandmaster). He apparently came to self-awareness billions of years ago, on the planet Cygnus X-1. He is an enormously powerful being who wielded the Power Primordial and, though at first he took the appearance of an old human, his true form is a powerful alien."

Former Dr. Who star Karen Gillian's role has also been revealed as being the alleged granddaughter of Thanos, the intergalactic terrorist Nebula.

Here's her stat card from way back when Marvel still pushed trading cards...

This of course debunks the previous rumor I posted about the redheaded beauty being cast as Angela. Which kinda sucks because with her auburn locks, she could've been perfect as the angelic Spawn-hunter.

My favorite 'confirmation' however happens to be what actor Lee Pace will be playing. According to the news that Den of Geeks broke, the former star of "Pushing Daisies" will be playing the role of Kree accuser and frequent Fantastic Four foe Ronan the Accuser.

OK, I'm not 100% sure about how he's going to bulk up considering that Ronan is a pretty physical character but I do know that Pace has the acting skills needed to deliver meatier, statesmanly lines. You see Ronan's not just an alien brawler with a big-ass hammer, he's also what we could see as a judge in Kree society. He needs to be eloquent when he talks and I can see why Marvel Studios picked Pace for the role. For all we know this appearance of the Accuser will be all talk. One thing though, the character in the 616 Universe has faced off against both Gamorra (Zoe Saldana) and Drax the Destroyer (Batista) so it's highly unlikely that he'll be given a 'desk job'.

This confirmation might have some meat and truth to it, but until Marvel confirms this, I'm taking it with a grain of salt. We don't have to wait that long though since SDCC 2013 is around the corner, the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) might have a surprise treat for us.

Marvel's Next Event Book will Focus on Apocalypse and Archangel

Bleedingcool reports that what's coming next year for Marvel Comics for their event book will revolve around the Celestials, Archangel, Apocalypse and more importantly, Magneto.

Obviously the writers for this project will be Jason Aaron (Wolverine and the X-Men) and Rick Remender (who did a lot for these characters back in the first volume of Uncanny X-Force; including "The Dark Angel Saga").

So it's probably time to start re-reading Remender's Uncanny run as well as the earlier issues of WATXM (you know, the one where Warren's gone off his rocker and believes that he's a real angel). Oh and the rumor site cited current Captain America and Kick-Ass artist John Romita Jr. as the book's main art guy.

DC Planning to Hurt Nightwing in Forever Evil

Nightwing aka Dick Grayson may have dodged a major bullet back in "Infinite Crisis" thanks to fan support after news broke that Dan Didio wants to off the original Robin; but it looks like the character is in once again for September's Forever Evil event.

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Bleedingcool ran an article regarding how Nightwing will figure into the whole 'Villain Month' and how Dick would be one of the first few heroes that going to suffer badly from this new rising threat.

If this is true then I will seriously hate Didio for his unchecked hatred for Dick. Leave the guy alone Dan. Also this makes me wonder if the guy is either a Jason Todd fan or a Tim Drake one? So far, those two have been left untouched with no threat to their fictional life whatsoever.

There's An Alleged Live Action Lupin III Movie in the Works

Lupin III time once again. According to a report by the Japanese newspaper The Tokyo Sports, casting is well underway for a live-action Lupin III movie with Shun Oguri reportedly holding the role of the master thief.

Aside from Ouri, rumor also has it that the roles of Jigen and Goemon have already been given to Arashi's Sho Sakurai and Satoshi Tsumabuki respectively.

Unfortunately for fanboys, the rumor does not state who Fujiko Mine will be. Although the newspaper dropped several names when they printed this little rumor including Mirei Kiritani, Masami Nagasawa, Anne Watanabe, Airi Taira, Kyoko Fukada, Asami Mizukawa, Tsubasa Honda, Kiko Mizuhara, and Kou Shibasaki.

Now for the sad part, Animenewsnetworth adds that "NTV, the television broadcaster of the Lupin III anime, has not officially announced a live-action Lupin III film." Plus there's also the fact that the casting seems so.... 'fancasted' don't you think?

Regardless, I'm looking forward to see a live-action Lupin III and if Rurouni Kenshin/ Samurai X is a good indication, then maybe it's high time anime and manga series start developing high quality movie adaptations. Oh and before you go, do vote for this little game I'm hatching for Cosplay battle, we have three ladies battling for the right to be called the ULTIMATE Fujiko Cosplayer. Click for the link - HERE

Sources: ANN, Yaraon!

The Wolverine Post-Credit Scene Rumors Begin

X-Men Origins: Wolverine had a weird post-credit scene but it looks like for 20th Century Fox's "The Wolverine" it's only going to be a single post-credit scene which has ties to Bryan Singer's X-Men: Days of Future Past. 

Find out what it is after the cut...

RUMOR: Fast and the Furious 6 Having it's Gala Premiere in the Philippines

Take this with a grain of salt for the moment folks, but during the welcoming speech this evening during the press screening/advance screening of "Les Miserables" from Solar-UIP, it was mentioned that there's a possibility that "Fast and the Furious 6" might have a gala premiere here in the Philippines. 

As I recall, Michelle Rodriguez's character already hit the dirtnap in 5. 

Not only this, there's also a chance that most of the cast will fly in to join the promotion. So it's going to be: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez. Those were the only names that were dropped but hey, if we're lucky we could have Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson or Elsa Pataky.

Oh and knowing Solar, this would probably happen in Resorts World (which did a really fucking bad job with the gala premiere of "Les Miserables".) 

Will Warner's Man of Steel Resemble Superman Birthright?

News on the interwebs is circling once more that the soon to be released "Man of Steel" movie from Warner Bros. will resemble DC's Superman: Birthright Book which was written by Mark Waid with art by Leinil Yu. 

This of course is speculated following the production of a new synopsis for Production Weekly which was shared by movies.com.

"Clark Kent is a freelance reporter in his early 20’s, traveling all around the world covering various news stories. However, Kent is forced to fly back into action to attain a fleeing assassin instead of covering an ethnic conflict between the Ghuri and Turaaba clans in West Africa. Upon his return to form, Kent returns to Smallville to learn more about his origins and become the hero he was born to be."