Fast and Furious franchise director Justin Lin is officially set to replace Roberto Orci as the director of Star Trek 3. Lin has done a great job with the last couple of Fast and Furious movies, but is he ready to take on a property like Star Trek? I guess we'll have to wait and see. He wouldn't be on my list of directors to take on this sci-fi franchise. Not that he's a bad director, but I just wouldn't think that he has what it takes to do it. After all, he's no where near the same league of talent as J.J. Abrams. Who knows, though, maybe he'll end up making a kick-ass movie. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. 

The first two installments of the updated franchise were helmed by Abrams, who did a hell of a great job with it. I couldn't be happier with how this series is rolling. Hopefully Lin can keep it going. Abrams and Orci are still attached as producers to the movie.

Lin was supposed to direct the sequel to The Bourne Legacy, but once Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass signed on for another installment of Bourne, that spinoff was put on the back burner. 

What do you think about Lin taking over the franchise? 

Source: Deadline

We have some additional news to share with you about Sony Pictures' plans for a Spider-Man universe. There’s some really interesting stuff here, and it doesn’t have anything to do with the Marvel deal. This is intel on casting for several villains for the Sinister Six and Venom films that are currently in development at the studio.

The following details come from CBM, who have come across some additional emails that they received from a source. According to them, Sinister Six was moving along nicely before The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was released. After that and all of the fan hate that came along with it, Sony was looking to switch things up with the possibility of including Spider-Man, Venom, and Carnage in the spin-off. 

Sinister Six has most likely gone through a ton of changes and drafts since then. There’s no word on whether the movie is still being pushed forward after the hacking madness hit. There is a list of actors that they wanted to cast in the film, though, and I think you’ll be interested in know who they might pursue if the movie does go forward.

Here’s what they tell us:

“Drew Goddard apparently loved the idea of Tom Hardy playing Sandman, and in one email really pushed for Emily Blunt as Scorpia (who is an actual comic book character, and not just a female version of Scorpion). Amy Pascal put forward Emilia Clarke and Elizabeth Olsen, but noted that it was too late to do anything about the latter due to her Avengers: Age of Ultron role. Sean Penn, Denzel Washington, George Clooney, and Daniel Craig were also all discussed/rejected for roles, with Penn directly mentioned as a Doctor Octopus candidate. Woody Harrelson is too. Colin Firth is also suggested as The Vulture. Going back to Sandman, he'll apparently be the movie's comic relief, and so a list of names are reeled off, including Danny McBride, Jonah Hill, Chris O'Dowd, Michael Pena, Joel Edgerton, Jason Clarke, Sharlto Copley, and a number of others.”

The site goes on to reveal that Channing Tatum wanted to play Venom, but now that he's Gambit, that doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen. The properties are at different studios, but it may just be one of those things that people frown upon.

No official offers ever went out to any of these actors, but they were named in discussions by the people who are putting these projects together. The report also includes a few other details about the movie:

“Doctor Octopus is described as the team's leader and needs to have quirks so as not to be boring as The Sinister Six's straight man. Avi Arad also suggested female Venom Ann Weiying for the female team spinoff, and Hannah Minghella brings up a suggestion made in jest by Emma Stone that she returns as Carnage (like in the Ultimate comics) as a 'thought to consider for the future' because it ‘could be really cool/sexy/intense to see.’”

There’s some intriguing stuff here, and it will be interesting to see how it all plays out when everything is said and one. There are a lot of casting choices here that I like. Hardy as Sandman and Blunt as Scorpio could be really cool. I can’t even imagine Penn as Doctor Octopus, though, that would just be so weird and distracting. Firth as The Vulture seems like a silly idea as well.

What do you think about the casting suggestions made here?

Sergio Leone’s The Good, The Bad and the Ugly is one of the greatest and most iconic westerns ever made. I freakin’ love this Clint Eastwood flick, and it has inspired so many other films since its release. This thing is a masterpiece and a must watch for any movie geek. I’d be shocked if I learned that some you haven’t seen it yet. If you haven’t, get on it right away and educate yourself. 

We have an amazing piece of art for you to check out created by JC Richard, and it features one of the most iconic scenes from the film. The poster will go on sale today, December 23rd, at noon Eastern time at www.skuzzles.com.

There’s an English version, which is the regular edition of 200 prints, and is comprised of 10 colors. It will cost you $50. The variant is in Italian and comes in an edition of 90. It will cost you $60. Both posters are officially licensed by MGM Studios.

Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi are currently developing an Evil Dead series for Starz called Ash Vs. Evil Dead. This is something I’m extremely excited about, and it sounds like it could be a great thing for the classic horror franchise. I’m not really worried about whether we’ll see another movie or not at this point because the fact is, this series is going to give fans everything that they want and more.

In a recent interview with EW, Campbell explained why they decided to go the TV route instead of bringing Ash back to the big screen.

“We realized if we made another movie, frankly, it would probably be too expensive. But in the format of a TV show, we could give people exactly what they wanted and expand the character and the story even more. Ash would probably have more dialogue in one season than in three movies. He’ll have to become a more fleshed-out character as well. And we never burned Evil Dead as a franchise out—it’s not like we did 13 of these movies. So we felt like, what the heck, let’s give it a try.”

I do love the fact that with a TV series we will get more of everything from whatever gloriously bloody and terror filled story they are going to tell. I’m kind of surprised they didn’t think of doing something like this sooner!

The series will follow the character Ash, “the stock boy, aging lothario and chainsaw-handed monster hunter who has spent the last 30 years avoiding responsibility, maturity and the terrors of the Evil Dead. When a Deadite plague threatens to destroy all of mankind, Ash is finally forced to face his demons –personal and literal. Destiny, it turns out, has no plans to release the unlikely hero from its ‘Evil’ grip.”

There’s no information on any additional casting at this point, but Campbell did go on to tease what relationships the characters find themselves in saying, one is “a male-bonding situation” and that the other is a “father-figure deal,” with what I assume is a younger female character. 

The actor goes on to reassure the fans that there is going to be a good mix of explicitness, blood splatter, and some comedy.

“Humor may come out of it, but there’s nothing funny about a demon ripping somebody’s head off. And the beauty of Starz is there’s no content issues. Let’s face it: Fans want the carnage and the mayhem. So we intend to give them quite the explosion of viscera. Most of it directed at me, unfortunately.”

Fan-freakin’-tastic! I’m so ridiculously pumped up for this series! The more I hear about it, the better it sounds. This is going to be everything that the Evil Dead fans have been waiting to see all of these years. 

Hanie Mohd's work is just lovely with its silky smooth lines and bright coloring, and while I've gushed about her work before (you can catch my previous piece on her Storm series here), I think I've nerded out completely with her Final Fantasy VII tribute art. The set (so far anyway) includes Aeris and Sephiroth, though hopefully will soon include a Cloud, Tifa, and whoever else she wants to add. My office wall is begging for a complete set, but in the meantime, you can grab prints of these here, and you really should, like right now. 

According to The Wrap, Judd Apatow and Paul Reubens’ Pee-wee Herman movie has moved from Universal Pictures to Netflix. According to a source close to the production, “it moved to Netflix a gazillion months ago.” A studio rep did confirm that the project was no longer with Universal.

Reubens has been working on getting another Pee-wee feature film off the ground for years, and it finally all seems to be coming together. He is obviously returning to reprise his role as Pee-wee in the film project that he also co-wrote with comedian Paul Rust. Apatow came on board as a producer to help it get made.

Earlier this year Ruebens did an interview in which he said, “we now have such an amazing company involved, and that’s the really big announcement that hasn’t been made yet.” The “amazing company” Reubens was apparently referring to here was Netflix, which is a perfect fit for the project. I assume the movie will also at least get a limited theatrical release.

No director has been announced for the project, and we still don’t have any plot details to report, but like most of the Pee-wee related stuff, I’m sure fans will love whatever he brings.

We’ll keep you updated on the project as we learn more.

This is an animated video of an actual conversation between a 5-year-old girl and her father, Adam Buxton. The discussion is focused on Princess Leia’s iconic bikini slave outfit in Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi. Buxton’s daughter absolutely loves it. The father brings up how some people find it demeaning, but she disagrees, and even says if she was in Leia's situation she would have escaped and then just kept wearing the outfit because it “looks really nice.” It’s an adorable conversation between a father and daughter, and it’s amusingly animated by The Brothers McLeod. Enjoy!

AMC has rereleased a new promo for Better Call Saul that thankfully features a good amount of new footage from the Breaking Bad prequel/spin-off series. Bob Odenkirk is back as the shady attorney Saul Goodman. The show also stars Jonathan Banks, Michael McKean, Rhea Seehorn, Patrick Fabian, and Michael Mando. Here’s the synopsis:

The series is set six years before Saul Goodman meets Walter White. When we meet him, the man who will become Saul Goodman is known as Jimmy McGill, a small-time lawyer searching for his destiny, and, more immediately, hustling to make ends meet. Working alongside, and, often, against Jimmy, is “fixer” Mike Ehrmantraut, a beloved character introduced in ‘Breaking Bad.’ The series will track Jimmy’s transformation into Saul Goodman, the man who puts “criminal” in “Criminal lawyer.” The series’ tone is dramatic, woven with dark humor.

Co-creator Vince Gilligan directed the first episode of the series, which will premiere on February 9, 2015. The series has also already been greenlit for a second season of 13 episodes.

Orlando Arocena

Poster Posse has released the next two phases of art for their 35th Anniversary Alien tribute art series. There is a ton of extremely cool art that they’ve whipped up for the collection, and I’ve included some of my favorite illustrations below. You can also check out the previously released art here. There are a lot of really fantastic illustrations here that fans are sure to love.

Sam Ho

Rich Davies

Chris Garofalo

Thomas Walker

Laurie Greasley

Patrick Seymour

 Laurie Greasley

Scott Hopko

Andrew Swainson

Rodolfo Reyes

The Dark Inker

Matthew Griffin

Simon Delart

Paul Ainsworth

Luke Butland

Andy Fairhurst

Tomasz Opasinski

Fan art by Jeffach

Knowing what comic-book movies that are coming for the next five or six years is pretty cool. But it means a lot of creative talent committing to projects before a script has been written, acting leads have been cast, or a director has signed on to helm. While there is a long lead-time to a hard release date, these projects seem pretty aimless until talent is signed and script is finalized. Once those key elements are in place, the final thing is called "getting a greenlight" from the studio. This is when the bulk of the budget starts to get spent and production officially starts.

Director of Wonder Woman Michelle MacLaren talked about the film's status in an interview with Vulture.

…she warns that at the moment there is no script, no [solid] release date. There’s not even an official green light from the film’s releasing studio, Warner Bros. — and even if there were, nondisclosure agreements and her paranoia about jinxing things would keep her mum. “I really, ­really, really can’t talk about this,” she says, then gestures toward the restaurant’s picture windows, with their action-film-worthy Hollywood panoramas. “I just picture a drone coming in over the hills and crashing through the glass and flying over here and putting duct tape over my mouth, you know?”

Sounds like Warner Bros. has some crazy advanced drones.

What we know so far is that Gal Gadot is Wonder Woman, it's set in a pre World War II time period, and it's rumored that there are six scripts in concurrent development. Let's hope MacLaren and team can get things ready in time.

H/T: Uproxx

A few months ago we learned that Stan Lee almost had a different cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy than what we saw. It was explained that, originally, director James Gunn "had planned to have Lee in one of the Collector's exhibits. Groot would then look at the exhibit aghast, to which Lee would flick off the large tree creature." You can see a test photo of that here.

It turns out there was another very morbid idea that Gunn suggested for Lee's cameo and it would have involved an explosion and his head being decapitated. The director talked about the idea during a Q&A with the Jeff Goldsmith podcast.

Gunn explained that Lee was originally going to be unveiled in one of The Collector’s glass chambers when Star-Lord and his pals bring the Infinity Stone to The Collector. It was during this scene that Gunn planned to detonate the box that Lee resided in. I assume it would have been from the explosion from the stone. He said:

"Kevin thought it was a little bit too jokey. And then also we very clearly saw Stan Lee’s box exploding, when the thing explodes. And I said, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if Stan Lee’s…these are the kind of ideas that I would come up with and Marvel would say I think that’s super James Gunn…but Stan Lee’s head is rolling into frame.’ And anyway, so we didn’t do that."

I wonder if Lee or Disney would have been ok with that if Kevin Feige would have been on board with the idea. It definitely would have been interesting to see Lee's head roll into frame! I think the fans would have got a kick out of it. I completely understand why it didn't happen though. Do you think they should have rolled with it?

Via: Cinema Blend

Thanks to Market Saw we've got some final concept art from Star Wars: The Force Awakens featuring Han Solo and Chewbacca. The report claims that these are completely legit, and that they are the final iterations of concept art that were done for these characters. This isn't the first concept that we've seen for Solo, you can check out a couple others right here. We also recently posted some additional art of the villain Kylo Ren, which you can see here.

I love the western-style brown leather duster that he's wearing. It gives him that old-school badass vibe, which fits the character perfectly. It's one thing to see art like this of the character, it's another to actually see Harrison Ford portray him on the big screen again. I can't wait! It's going to be so epic! As for Chewbacca, he hasn't really changed at all. 

Ever wonder what Batman does during the holidays? Well, he takes a second job acting as the Ghost of Christmas Future. In this instance, he's taunting the old scrooge Joker, and is pointing out his grave. This fun piece of holiday art was quickly whipped up by Frank Paur, who was one of the directors that brought us the legendary show Batman: The Animated Series. We hope everyone has an awesome and safe holiday!

AMC has cast Kim Dickens in the lead role of their upcoming Walking Dead companion series Cobalt. You might recognize her from projects such as Gone Girl, Friday Night Lights, and Sons of Anarchy. She will take on the role of Nancy Tomkins, a guidance counselor who works with and dates a colleague of hers named Sean. She she also has two kids, but there's no information on what happened to her husband. The character is also described as having "a troubled past," which will play into her story arc.

She joins actor Cliff Curtis, who is playing Sean Cabrera, the teacher who is dating Nancy. The character is described as a good man trying to do right by everyone in his life. He also has a son that he shares with his ex-wife, Andrea.

The story is set in Los Angeles, and it's set at the dawn of the zombie apocalypse, so it's going to to be a prequel series of sorts. This is new ground for creator Robert Kirkman, who has never explored the origins of the zombie apocalypse in his comics. 

The series also stars Frank Dillane (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) as Nancy's son Nick, who has had a past drug problem. Then there's Alycia Debnam Carey (Into the Woods), who is set to play Nancy's daughter Ashley, who is the complete opposite of her brother Nick. She has ambitious dreams of leaving L.A. for Berkeley, but then the apocalypse hits.

Source: THR

This fun comic by the team at Dorkly is a great Star Wars what-if scenario titled "If Luke Accepted Vader's Offer." Dorkly has a lot of great original comics that you should check out if you aren't already familiar with their great site.

For those of you that were looking forward to seeing James Franco and Seth Rogen's controversial film The Interview, it looks like Sony is giving it a very limited theatrical release after all, and you might also get a chance to see it on VOD. 

Select theaters are preparing Christmas Day screenings for the film. So far, both the Plaza Atlanta theater and Alamo Drafthouse have announced via social media that Sony Pictures has authorized them to show the movie. Sony scrapped the movie after several major movie theater chains said they wouldn't screen the film after the studio's cyber attackers threatened to blow up theaters that screened the movie. It looks like the studio had a change of heart, though.

According to Variety, there is also growing speculation that the studio will also offer audiences the opportunity to watch the film through VOD. Last week, Sony Pictures CEO Michael Lynton told CNN they didn't have any on-demand providers willing to take on the movie, but that could have easily changed after the last few days. Especially after President Obama came out against Sony’s decision to cancel screenings of the film. The FBI recently came out and said that the hack attack on Sony Pictures was definitely the work of North Korea as a way of retaliation.

It's good to see some of these little independent theaters standing up to these terrorist threats. We can't let these people take away the freedoms of our country with fear. Here are some tweets that were posted by the theaters showing the movie:

Breaking news: Sony has authorized screenings of THE INTERVIEW on Christmas Day. We are making shows available within the hour. #Victory

— Tim League (@timalamo) December 23, 2014

Breaking Plaza News: The Interview will open Exclusive on 12/25 . The Plaza will be one of the few theaters in the nation to open the film .

— Plaza Atlanta (@PlazaAtlanta) December 23, 2014

The Interview -Times Christmas Day 4pm 5pm 6:30 7:30 9:35 12/26 to 1/1 times will be announced tomorrow. On 2 screens

— Plaza Atlanta (@PlazaAtlanta) December 23, 2014

2014 was packed full of amazing movies! I'm so happy with what I got to see this year, and while coming up with a Top 10 list of my favorite films of the year, it easily turned into a Top 15. There were some movies that I just couldn't leave off the list. There's an interesting mix here that consists of big blockbusters, and smaller independent films. In the end, all of these films connected with me on a personal level and punched me in the face with all kinds of different emotions that have stuck with me. So without further ado, here are my 15 favorite movies of 2014. After you look over it let me know what your favorite movies of the year were! 

15. Edge of Tomorrow

This sci-fi film was one of the most underrated movies of the year. Whether or not you like Tom Cruise, he was awesome in this movie that was both action-packed and extremely funny. This is a flick that blew away my expectations. [Full Review]

14. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

I know there are a lot of Hobbit haters out there, but the ending to Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy was freakin' glorious! If you didn't like it, that's fine. I respect that, but it's my second favorite film in the Middle Earth saga right underneath Return of the King. [Video Review]

13. Snowpiercer

This movie didn't get the marketing or wide release that it deserved. At least we got to see the director's full vision of it on the big screen. He didn't compromise his art when the studio executives wanted to cut it down. The result was an incredible, unforgettable movie that will be a cult classic. 

12. Gone Girl

Freakin' David Fincher! He always a manages to deliver meticulously made, entertaining films. This story was the perfect vehicle for the director to drive, and he brought it to life perfectly. It also features the best acting performance that Ben Affleck has ever given.   

11. The Grand Budapest Hotel

I have an off-beat sense of humor, and I thought this was the funniest movie of the year. Wes Anderson has been a favorite director of mine for years. In my opinion, this is the best movie that he's made so far. [Full Review]

10. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Normally sequels aren't better than the films that precede them, but this one took the Planet of the Apes to a completely new level. It told such a deep and tragic story, and Andy Serkis gave a performance worthy of an Oscar nomination. [Full Review]

9. Captain America: The Winter Soldier 

I was completely blown away by the greatness of this movie, and I love how it completely changed the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This was truly a game changer, and the fact that it came from two virtually unknown directors was surprising. [Full Review]

8. The Raid 2: Berandal

This was the most adrenaline-fueled, action-packed movie that I've seen this year. John Wick was a close second. The Raid sequel kicked a ridiculous amount of ass! I hope you've all seen this by now, because it's a must see! I've seen this movie a ridiculous amount of times, and I love it every time I see it.

7. Interstellar 

Good grief, I'm still thinking about this movie! I love everything about space exploration, and the mystery of the universe has always fascinated me. This film just brought all kinds of amazing elements from fiction and science to bring us this brilliant story. Interstellar was an awe-inspiring experience that I will gladly revisit over and over again. [Full Review]

6. The Babadook

Best horror movie of the year! Unfortunately it didn't get a wide release, but this movie was so spectacular in so many ways! The creature created for the story was creepy as hell, and it was one of the greatest monsters ever created for film. [Full Review]

5. Birdman

I would love to see Michael Keaton take home the Best Actor award at the Oscars for his role in this beautifully directed movie. Keaton was insanely good, and story was told brilliantly. If you haven't seen it yet, do yourself a favor and watch it now.

4. Boyhood

This was an incredibly unique and epic coming of age film that was filmed over the course of 12 years. It's a one of a kind movie that I don't think anyone will ever try to replicate what it accomplished. This is just a special film that needs to be experienced. [Full Review]

3. Whiplash

If you haven't watched this movie yet, you've missed out on something special. I saw this movie at Sundance early on in the year and it stuck with me. This was one of the most intense movies that I saw this year and the performances were simply incredible. It also has one of the best, most inspiring movie endings ever. It gave me the goosebumps. [Video Review]

2. Chef

I know it's not the popular choice, but I was so happy to see Jon Favreau go back to his indie film roots with Chef. It may be smaller film than the likes of Iron Man, but it's such a beautifully told story that connected with me on a very personal level. You will get a better sense of why this movie mean't a lot to me if you read my review for it. The movie came out at a time in my life when I really needed it. I couldn't be more thankful that this movie was made, it was kind of life changing. [Full Review]

1. Guardians of the Galaxy

This is hands down the best movie Marvel has made so far. I couldn't believe that they were able to pull this off so brilliantly. This was the most fun I had at the movies this year, which is why I watched it four times in the theaters. Storytelling like this is the reason why I love going to the movies so damn much!

Amy Adams as Lois Lane in Man of Steel is my favorite cinematic translation of the character. While promoting Big Eyes, MTV was able to ask her a few questions about Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. In the interviews she talks a bit about her role, being part of a tent pole picture, and gushes about Gal Gadot in her Wonder Woman costume. We've only seen a single still of Gadot in costume and it looks really amazing. Having seen the Superman costume in person I can very much say that it's more impressive in person. I'm guessing the Wonder Woman costume is likely that same. I can't wait to see all those heroes on the same screen at the same time.

Christmas is nearly here and that means it's time to break out the Christmas cosplay. Yesterday, we posted Santa Doom. Today, we've got Christmas Tinkerbell by cosplay artist Tink-Ichigo. We've featured her in our "Best of Tinkerbell Cosplay." I had seen these photos but didn't add them to the collection due to the holiday theme. Thankfully I saw one of them again on Dorkly and I pulled the other two from the artist's page.

Warner Bros. has released the first trailer for the long awaited Entourage movie! I'm so glad that this movie actually got made, and it looks great. I've missed the HBO series that the movie is based on, and it's so good to see the boys back together again. The story picks up right where the series left off. 

The movies stars Kevin Connolly, Adrian Grenier, Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara, Jeremy Piven, Rex Lee, Debi Mazar, Perrey Reeves, Emmanuelle Chriqui, and Rhys Coiro as Billy Walsh. Billy Bob Thornton also co-stars in the movie as a rich movie investor, and Haley Joel Osment plays his son, who is tasked with keeping an eye on what happens with his dad's money as Chase directs his first feature film, Hyde.

Based on the HBO Comedy series. Movie star Vincent Chase (Grenier), together with his boys, Eric (Connolly), Turtle (Ferrara) and Johnny (Dillon), are back…and back in business with super-agent-turned-studio head Ari Gold (Piven). Some of their ambitions have changed, but the bond between them remains strong as they navigate the capricious and often cutthroat world of Hollywood.

The film was written and directed by series creator Doug Ellin, and it opens on June 5th. I also included a fake poster for the movie Hyde that is featured at the start of the trailer, as well as a real poster for the Entourage movie. I'm excited to see this!