Justice League Movie is Now Happening

Warner Bros. is seems to be looking at the way Marvel is ramping up to The Avengers by building an on-screen universe through standalone movies starring superheroes like Iron Man, Captain America and Thor.

Jeff Robinov, president of the Warner Bros. motion picture group, sat down with the Los Angeles Times and revealed that WB wants a Justice League movie to hit theatres by 2013. He also said that the studio plans to "reinvent" Batman following the events Chris Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises.

The long-in-development Justice League movie is a priotity for the studio, with a new script currently in development. George Miller was set to direct a JL movie in 2008, but that project stalled due to several factors, one being studio's concerns over "presenting a competing (and conflicting) version of Batman while director Christopher Nolan's films were breaking box office records."

So what is Batman's future? Nolan's departure from the series after Dark Knight Rises presents a challenge that Robinov has a plan for. "We have the third Batman, but then we'll have to reinvent Batman," Robinov said.

"Chris Nolan and [producing partner and wife] Emma Thomas will be producing it, so it will be a conversation with them about what the next phase is."

The studio is also reviving Flash and Wonder Woman projects, with the intention of spinning them off after the Justice League film. Robinov doesn't see any conflict between the Wonder Woman film and a potential big-screen version, pointing to the fact that Superman Returns came out while Smallville was on the air.

So the JLA will hit theatres (fingers crossed) in 2013. And Batman will be reinvented following TDKR with Nolan and his wife still overseeing that project. Guys, we know you have opinions about this. Unleash your all-caps fury on the Comments section! 

Amy Adams will play Lois Lane in Superman Reboot

Oscar nominee Amy Adams has been cast as Lois Lane in the Superman reboot.

The film's director, Zack Snyder, revealed to the Los Angeles Times that Adams received the news Sunday. After meeting with Adams, it was clear to the filmmaker that the Enchanted and The Fighter actress was "perfect" for the role of the dogged Daily Planet reporter and Man of Steel's love interest.

"It goes back to what I've said about Superman and making him really understandable for today. What's important to us is making him relevant and real and making him empathetic to today's audience so that we understand the decisions he makes. That applies to Lois as well. She has to be in the same universe as him [in tone and substance]," said Snyder.

Adams joins a cast that includes Henry Cavill as Superman, Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent and Diane Lane as Martha Kent. Viggo Mortensen is said to be circling the role of General Zod.

Mila Kunis and James Franco Join The Wizard of Oz prequel

Mila Kunis, hot off of the Oscar-winning Black Swan (and with That '70s Show nothing but a distant memory), is now confirmed to be starring in Disney's Wizard of Oz prequel, Oz, the Great and Powerful.

James Franco stars as the Wizard… well, before he actually became the wizard.

Variety has the report. Kunis will play Theodora, the youngest sister of three witches who "starts out as a good witch, alongside her beautiful sister Glinda, but after her sexual advances are jilted by Franco's salesman, she's convinced by Evanora to switch sides and help her older sister rule Oz."

Sam Raimi will direct the film, which positions Franco's character as "a fast-talking snake oil salesman and illusionist who flees a travelling circus and winds up whisked away in a hot air balloon by a tornado to Oz where he must face off against real magic and the sisters battling for control of the land."

The other witch roles also need to be filled, and names being thrown about include Olivia Wilde, Amy Adams, Kate Beckinsale, Keira Knightley and Rebecca Hall. 

The Return of Chucky. Child's Play reboot on the way.

We've gotten Jason, Freddy and Leatherface reboots. So why not Chucky?

Movieweb reports that the little homicidal mold of plastic will be returning to cinemas soon, now that MGM has cleared up some legal issues surrounding the character.

"The remake had been in development for several years, with a script already written by Don Mancini, who also wrote all the previous movies in the Chucky franchise," says the site. "The hold-up on the remake was apparently due to rights issues by MGM and Universal. MGM has the rights to the original Child's Play, while Universal retained rights to the sequels. Apparently, a deal has been made between the two studios."

Production reportedly will begin later this year, with Brad Dourif returning to voice Chucky. Which automatically makes the film sound like a sequel rather than a reboot, but MW says unconfirmed talk is that the picture will be "more of a reboot, with a darker tone and less comedic elements." 

Bourne Spinoff film. Director narrows down search for lead.

Universal and writer-director Tony Gilroy are deep into searching for the lead of their Bourne Identity spinoff film, with several young Hollywood types in the running.

Deadline reports that the actors up for The Bourne Legacy include Joel Edgerton (a.k.a. the young Uncle Owen), Dominic Cooper (The Devil's Double), Garrett Hedlund (Tron: Legacy) and Luke Evans (Clash of the Titans). They'll all be screen-testing for the part.

"There could be another name or two (Logan Marshall-Green comes up as speculation)," says the site, while adding that "the choice could always come from an actor who doesn't test." That could be a Shia LaBeouf or Taylor Kitsch, both of whom apparently are also under consideration.

Sequels to the Spiderman reboot already in the works

So now we're getting sequels to superhero reboots. Don't act surprised -- you knew this was coming.

According to Heat Vision, Sony has hired James Vanderbilt to write the follow-up to the still-shooting The Amazing Spider-Man, which he also penned.

"Vanderbilt had a meeting with the Spider-Man filmmakers and studio execs yesterday outlining his take, getting a thumbs up, and will now begin writing," says the site. He worked on the Spider-Man 4 script before that project collapsed, at which point he segued into the reboot for Sony. "[Originally] he was chosen for his character-driven approach to the story rather than a focus on special effects and worked on an outline for a trio of films."

Though it was originally designed for Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 4 (and beyond), it would seem that trio has morphed into a reboot trilogy.

Vanderbilt has also penned Zodiac and The Losers, and recently did a polish on the Total Recall remake.

The Amazing Spider-Man is scheduled for a July 3, 2012 release. 

Clash of the Titans Sequel begins production. One of the main characters will not be returning.

The Clash of the Titans sequel has begun production this week and the plot for the film has also been revealed. Plus, one of the lead characters of the first film has been revealed to not be returning in the sequel.

The film, previously reported to be called Wrath of the Titans but simply called Clash of the Titans 2 in today's Warner Bros. press release, is being directed by Jonathan Liebesman (Battle: Los Angeles). Sam Worthington of course is back as Perseus, but Gemma Arterton, who played Io in the first film, apparently will not be back. Which kind of makes sense anyway, since her character was originally meant to be killed before a new ending was tacked onto the first picture. 

Liam Neeson, Danny Huston and Ralph Fiennes are all returning to the cast, while Rosamund Pike joins the group as Andromeda (replacing Alexa Davalos from the original), Edgar Ramirez plays Ares, Toby Kebbell takes on Argenor and Bill Nighy is Hephaestus.