Another Narnia Movie on the Way?

Walden Media has confirmed that there will be a fourth Chronicles of Narnia film. And this despite the fact that no one really cared all that much about the first three movies.

The Christian Post reports that it'll be The Magician's Nephew that gets adapted next (as opposed to The Silver Chair, which apparently had been speculated by fans).

"We are starting to talk to Fox and talk to the C.S. Lewis estate now about the Magician's Nephew being our next film," said Michael Flaherty, co-founder and president of Walden Media.

The last film, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, only made around $107 million domestically. But it's the overseas market where the money is at, apparently, as The Post adds that Dawn Treader recently hit the $300 million mark there.

Vague high-school English class memories (and Wikipedia) tell us that The Magician's Nephew is a prequel to the first book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and deals with the creation of Narnia. So it's a reboot! 

Darren Aronofsky not directing The Wolverine

This is a real blow for the comic-book movie genre. It looks like Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky won't be helming the Wolverine sequel after all.

His reason? The project would keep him out of the country for too long.

Fox and star Hugh Jackman are expected to begin the search for a new director immediately.

Of course, the film was to largely take place in Japan, so one has to wonder if the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami and the ongoing nuclear concerns in the stricken country played into this decision.

"As I talked more about the film with my collaborators at Fox, it became clear that the production of The Wolverine would keep me out of the country for almost a year," Aronofsky said. "I was not comfortable being away from my family for that length of time. I am sad that I won't be able to see the project through, as it is a terrific script and I was very much looking forward to working with my friend, Hugh Jackman, again." 

Alec Baldwin will not appear in MIB3

There will be one less star making an appearance in Men in Black 3 ... when it finally finishes filming, that is.

Vulture caught up with actor Alec Baldwin this week, where he advised them that MiB 3's not in the cards for him after all despite rumors to the contrary.

"I'm not doing that. I'm out of it; the schedule didn't work out," said Baldwin, who is also lined up to star opposite Tom Cruise in the forthcoming Rock of Ages before resuming his award-winning role as Jack Donaghy on NBC's 30 Rock.

Baldwin would have played the MiB boss during the film's sequences set in 1969. The prolonged delay in shooting said scenes is the reason behind Baldwin's scheduling conflict. No word yet on who is replacing him.

Twilight Director may take on Daredevil

20th Century Fox and Chernin Entertainment have reportedly zeroed in on David Slade to direct the next Daredevil movie.

According to Variety, "Sources close to the project tell Variety that the untitled film will be a continuation of the superhero pic, and will not contain material from the Ben Affleck-toplined version released by Fox in 2003."

Slade is coming off the commercial success of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. His past credits include Hard Candy and 30 Days of Night. Slade had been in contention to helm Wolverine 2, but that gig ultimately went to Darren Aronofsky.

Although no actor's been mentioned yet as the new Matt Murdock, we don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that someone at Fox hasn't at least thought of Slade's Twilight leading man, Robert Pattinson, for the title role. 

The Hollywood Reporter claims that since Daredevil is still only in the development stage with no writer aboard yet that Slade's next project will likely be The Last Voyage of the Demeter.

Scream 5 possibly in the works? Talks of a Second Scream Trilogy.

If you were a fan of the original Scream Trilogy, we have some tidbits that might make you scream with joy a little bit longer. Judging by murmurs in the industry regarding the fourth installment of Wes Craven's horror franchise, it looks as though there might be a few additional movies in store for what is being dubbed as the second Trilogy in the Scream saga.

Shock Till You Drop has the exclusive scoop, citing that they have learned that Dimension Films is still keeping an open mind in finding a writer for a potential fifth installment, which will undoubtedly open the book for a sixth endeavor given the way this industry works with its beloved horror franchises.

Similarly, the writing fiasco over Scream 4 has a little bit of light shed on the situation in this month's edition of Total Film Magazine, which cites an interview with director Wes Craven over the flip-flopping with the writing process for Scream 4, as well as the director stating he could be up for more than just the fourth film in the series. Here is a blip from that interview with Craven:

"In some ways it's a Wes Craven film, and in way it's not entirely, because it's not a script I have control of. It's ultimately controlled by what the studio wants in the script. My job is much more bringing whatever experience and expertise and creativity I can. Look, there was a bumpy period when things shifted over from Kevin to Ehren. I signed up to do a script by Kevin and unfortunately that didn't go all the way through the shooting. But it certainly is Kevin's script and concept and ideas and themes."

What is happening with Men in Black 3?

What exactly is going on with Men in Black III? They were filming at the end of last year, and then they stopped. And... what? Are Agents K and J making a return or not?

The Hollywood Reporter has a piece on the convoluted production, and non-production as it were, of the Will Smith/Tommy Lee Jones starrer. Essentially, the $200 million-plus picture started shooting without a finished script last November. And while -- believe it or not -- that's not entirely unusual these days, the fact that now, some five months after production began, it still doesn't have a locked screenplay… well, that is something of a problem, it would seem.

"Sony Pictures started filming Men in Black III with only one act of the script set," explains the trade. "The studio built in a break in production that was scheduled to last from late December through mid-February, during which the remainder of the screenplay was supposed to be completed."

The hiatus was also meant to take advantage of New York tax incentives for film production. But now that break has been extended until the end of March as new scribe David Koepp has come in to work out "complex script issues involving time travel." Because the MIB movies have always been such bastions of realistic sci-fi and logic? Or is there something else going on here?

Insiders tell THR that the film might've gone into production simply because all of the main players -- Smith, Jones and director Barry Sonnenfeld -- had well-timed openings in their schedules. It has been almost a decade since the second film, after all, and who knows what kind of wait Sony would've had if they let these guys go off into the wild again.

Tropic Thunder's Etan Cohen wrote the initial script, but Smith wanted to make changes to it. And the paper also indicates that tension between Sonnenfeld and producer Walter Parkes are further complicating matters. "The real evil here is Walter trying to impose his point of view on things," says another source. "And because he's so facile and he's got great hair, he wins the day a lot. But what sounds great never materializes into a screenplay."

Yes, great hair will do a lot for you in life. But will it get Men in Black III into theaters by its planned summer, 2012 date? That might take some complex time travel to pull off at this point. 

Neill Blomkamp's Elysium Release Date Announced

Elysium, director Neill Blomkamp's follow-up to District 9, has been slated for a March 8, 2013 release date. The sci-fi film has lined up Matt Damon, Jodie Foster and Sharlto Copley to star.

The Hollywood Reporter adds that Brazilian actor Wagner Moura (Elite Squad) has also been cast as the film's villain.

"The plot is being kept under wraps, although the setting is a future world. Social class figures into this world, and Damon's character is an ex-con," according to THR.