There's an old fringe theory that the Sun isn't our system's only star, that a red dwarf star named Nemesis is hiding out in the Oort Cloud. We've never found any evidence for it or any other secret companion star, and if this simulation is any indication, that's very good news for the gas giants.

The short video above shows one possible result of a series of computer simulations undertaken by researchers at the University of Toronto. The video imagines what would happen if Earth were located in what's known as a wide binary system, in which the system's planets orbit one main star while another star maintains a distant, increasingly eccentric orbit much further out.

Admittedly, the video isn't an exact match for Nemesis — that's supposedly located 1.5 light-years away, while this video imagines a star that starts its orbit at a tenth that distance — but it does reveal just how remarkably unstable such wide binary systems can be. The panel on the left shows the Sun and its distant part, while the right panel zooms in to show the effects on the gas giants Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

In this particular simulation, first Neptune and then Uranus are ejected thanks to the incredible gravitational disruptions caused by the second star. Researcher Nathan Kaib of the University of Toronto explains just why this happens in a statement:

"The stellar orbits of wide binaries are very sensitive to disturbances from other passing stars as well as the tidal field of the Milky Way. This causes their stellar orbits to constantly change their eccentricity – their degree of circularity. If a wide binary lasts long enough, it will eventually find itself with a very high orbital eccentricity at some point in its life. This process takes hundreds of millions of years if not billions of years to occur in these binaries. Consequently, planets in these systems initially form and evolve as if they orbited an isolated star. It is only much later that they begin to feel the effects of their companion star, which often times leads to disruption of the planetary system."

In almost half of all their simulations, the researchers found that the distant companion star ejected at least one of the gas giants, suggesting this would be a very common outcome in the galaxy's countless wide binary star systems. Indeed, according to fellow researcher Martin Duncan on Queen's University, we may already be seeing the aftereffects of such disruptions in the systems of recently discovered exoplanets:

"We also found that there is substantial evidence that this process occurs regularly in known extrasolar planetary systems. Planets are believed to form on circular orbits, and they are only thought to attain highly eccentric orbits through powerful and/or violent perturbations. When we looked at the orbital eccentricities of planets that are known to reside in wide binaries, we found that they are statistically more eccentric than planets around isolated stars like our Sun. Recently, planets orbiting at wide distances around their host stars have been directly imaged. Our work predicts that such planets are common but have so far gone largely undetected."

Via Nature. Video by Nathan Kaib.

Asgardian warrior Jaime Alexander reveals what to expect from a darker, more cosmic Thor: The Dark World. The actor behind Emperor Xerxes previews 300: Rise of an Empire. Plus some hints that Revolution might finally crank up the action when it returns.

Spoilers from here on out!

Top image from Thor.

Thor: The Dark World

Jaime Alexander says she's concluded her filming as the Asgardian warrior Sif. She offers this preview of what to expect:

It's going to be a bit of a darker feel. Obviously a lot more action... We get to explore different realms a lot more. And you see a lot more Asgard and you get to know the people of Asgard.

A little more more character development for Sif?
Yes, there is that, yes. And, I don't know if I can say this, we sort of explore the Sif/Thor relationship a little bit.

In a romantic sort of...?
Yeah, kind of. It's more just like getting a feel of who these people are and how they are the way they are with each other.

You can watch the entire interview below. [I Am Rogue]

Guardians of the Galaxy

We can add one more name to the list of supposed contenders to take on the main role as Star Lord, a list that has at one time or another reportedly included Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Joel Edgerton, Jack Huston, Jim Sturgess, James Marsden, Lee Pace, Eddie Redmayne, Zachary Levi, and Michael Rosenbaum. The latest addition is reportedly The Office star John Krasinski, who was previously very strongly linked to the role of Captain America before Chris Evans ultimately emerged with the role.

Meanwhile, the same report indicates the movie is looking to cast the role of Drax the Destroyer, who in the comics was an average human given great powers by Kronos to avenge the death of his family at the hands of Thanos. The three current contenders are reportedly Generation Kill's Brian Patrick Wade, former WWE wrestler Dave Bautista, and Old Spice pitchman Isaiah Mustafa, who has been on the verge of a big breakout role for a couple years at this point. All that said, it's probably best to take this with a grain of salt for the time being. [Comic Book Movie]

Star Wars: Episode VII

Slashfilm's Peter Sciretta sent out this tweet, then didn't have much to add to it when his own site reported on it:

Guillermo del Toro acknowledges a very familiar voice in the Pacific Rim trailer and updates us on two long-simmer projects. Rachel Weisz explains the delights of evil in Oz the Great and Powerful. Plus the latest Man of Steel image! And tons of hints for Evil Dead, Revolution and Once Upon a Time!

Spoilers from here on out!

Top image from Pacific Rim.

Man of Steel

Here's the full version of a recently released promo image from Zack Snyder's Superman movie. [Coming Soon]

X-Men: Days of Future Past

Original X-Men star Famke Janssen confirms she wants to return for Bryan Singer's latest X-Men movie, though she does understand why that might not work:

"I'm sitting by the phone waiting, call me up Bryan! I think their challenge is that I died as Jean Grey and I died as the Phoenix, so what else can they do. If they bring a younger version back, they'll have to get a younger actress, so what is there left to do?"

Fair enough really, though if there's any superhero that can come back from the dead like it's no big thing, surely it's all of them the one called Phoenix. [Coming Soon]

Pacific Rim

Director Guillermo del Toro confirms that he cast Ellen McLain as the A.I. in the movie because of her iconic role as GLaDOS in the Portal games, though that connection won't be nearly as explicit in the film as it was in the trailer:

"I wanted very much to have her, because I'm a big Portal fan. But just as a wink. She's not cake-obsessed. She's not out to destroy humanity. I said, ‘Look, there's no A.I. I'd rather have than GlaDOS. The filter we're using [in the film] is slightly less GLaDOS. Slightly. The one in the trailer I wanted to be full-on GlaDOS."

[Toronto Sun]

Oz the Great and Powerful

The Incredible Hulk

ABC's long-planned Hulk TV show seems to have taken a total backseat to Joss Whedon's S.H.I.E.L.D. show, and Guillermo del Toro pretty much confirms the thing is in hibernation for the time being:

"After 'The Avengers' there's been complete radio silence. I had one more meeting after 'Avengers' with Jeph Loeb from Marvel and he said, 'We're working on it, we're waiting for a writer,' he gave me the name of the writer and their resume and I said, 'That sounds great, let's wait for him' because we had delivered a teleplay and I haven't heard since then."

[The Playlist]

Revolution

Executive producer J.J. Abrams says that just because the show has reintroduced power, that doesn't mean the show can't go back to energy-free storytelling (yeah... there's probably a better way to phrase that):

"The genie is put-back-in-the-bottle-able. They are able to tell stories that will give us these moments and peaks that you know this power exists, and this power is out there, and it's a part of what this incredible struggle is and the conflict that you'll see. You'll be able to see that really what the goal is, is that the power is possible. Will it remain on constantly all the time way too early? Based on what Eric has brilliantly pitched to us, the answer is no."

There's more at the link, including creator Eric Kripke's promise that the show will eventually travel beyond the Monroe Republic to Georgia and the West. [TV Guide]

The rest of the first season has been pared down from twelve episodes to ten, which is likely a result of some budgetary concerns and a need to fit an uninterrupted block of episodes into NBC's schedule. And since they're for some reason locked into the March 25 premiere thing, that doesn't leave them a whole of room to squeeze in ten episodes, let alone a dozen. [The Futon Critic]

Once Upon a time

Here's a promo for this Sunday's episode, "The Outside."

Terriers star Michael Raymond-James has confirmed via Twitter that he will be back as Neal Cassidy for episode 14, and he should be sticking around for the rest of the season. He also says that the third season is a possibility, but it all depends on scheduling. [TV Line]

An upcoming two-parter will flashback to Snow White's childhood — meaning Bailee Madison will reprise her first season role as young Snow White — and introduce Snow White's mother, who according to showrunner Adam Horowitz "has a surprising connection to someone we know." Fellow showrunner Edward Kitsis adds:

"The Snow White story usually begins with the stepmother trying to get rid of her, so we thought it would be fun to explore what Snow's mom was like. Her name is Eva, and she's the person who taught Snow White how to be Snow White."

[TV Guide]

Edward Kitsis previews Regina's arc the rest of the way:

I think the tragedy, obviously, is that Regina was telling the truth. At the moment things got hairy, no one believed in Regina, which just shows to Regina that these people will really never forgive her. I think that makes her susceptible to her mom. I would say watch out.

That begs the question of whether Regina could ever find happiness. Can she ultimately survive the story of Once Upon a Time?
That is the question of the series. That is Regina's character question. Will she find her happy ending? Unfortunately, she hasn't. Of all the characters, it's funny, she may have inflicted the most harm, and yet she has had the most harm inflicted to her.

How will Regina act towards her mother? Will she seek her mother's affection or will she figure out Cora concocted the fake murder of Jiminy?
I would have to say keep watching. That is an interesting question and it really is, how persuasive is Cora? And how receptive is Regina? But deep down, every child wants their parent's love, and deep down, everyone wants their parent's respect and approval. Unfortunately, she has a hard choice because she wants her mother to love her, but in the same respect, she fears her mother and wanted her [to go] away. She wants to be with Henry and wants to go straight.

There's plenty more at the link. [TV Guide]

Elsewhere, Kitsis says not to expect an appearance from Ariel of The Little Mermaid fame this season:

"Probably not this season. We've taken a lot of toys off the shelf, so we're probably not going to see her this year. We do have a plan for her, if there is a Season 3."

[KSiteTV]

Defiance

Syfy's upcoming series, which sounds in the best-case scenario like Deadwood with aliens, will reportedly premiere on April 15. [TV Line]

Additional reporting by Amanda Yesilbas and Charlie Jane Anders.

Man of Steel screenwriter David Goyer explains why writing Superman is harder than writing Batman. Star Jane Levy takes us inside the Evil Dead reboot. Michael Bay reveals a Transformers 4 casting choice. Plus several Warm Bodies videos and some Arrow hints!

It's all spoilers from here on out!

Top image from Man of Steel.

Star Trek into Darkness

Producer Bryan Burk discusses how this sequel moves the story forward, and what the significance of the titular "darkness" really is:

I think it's a continuation. It's not a sequel just for the sake of doing a sequel. We really decided that if we are going to do it, how do we make it different and really step up our game. It's part of the evolution of the title. The film is not a dark film per se. It's not post-apocalyptic dark – it's still within the realm of what Roddenberry had wanted, which is this positive view of the future. However the stakes are significantly greater, and personal. The characters – particularly Kirk – are going to a much darker place emotionally. I feel like the experience the audience has going through it will be a much deeper emotional experience. And on top of that the spectacle will be significantly bigger than the last film.

You say it's not a dark film, but you've got Darkness in the title, and I thought there was a Hollywood law whereby the second episode in a franchise has to be darker than the first.
I didn't say it wasn't dark in content. Visually it's not dark. Everyone keeps talking about darkness, but in my mind that's something that's visually dark or post-apocalyptic. That's not what this is. But emotionally it is. It goes to a place where it's a heavier film, a bit like all of our favorite sequels. Be it The Empire Strikes Back, which is a darker film emotionally than Star Wars. And Godfather 2 is significantly darker. I'm referencing the best movies ever made here, but the idea of making it weightier and heavier – that's the stuff we love. Our intention going forward was not to make a fluffy sequel. It was to take a real step deeper with these characters.

[IGN]

Man of Steel

Screenwriter David Goyer, who previously worked on Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy, discusses the process writing Zack Snyder's new Superman movie:

"I never thought I'd be doing a Superman film. The only possible way to top myself or ourselves on Batman is to tackle Superman who's the sort of granddaddy of all the superheroes. He's trickier. It's easier doing a dark character who doesn't have any superpowers, but I'm really proud of what we've done and I can't wait for people to see it. I think the movie is going to be the right movie for the times. I'm happy the movie is going to be coming out this summer because I think it's the kind of movie that the world needs right now."

[IGN]

The Wolverine

Director James Mangold confirms this story takes place after all previous X-Men entries — although he says it's not so much a sequel to X-Men: The Last Stand as it is based around Logan picking up the pieces after the devastation wrought in that film:

I felt it was really important to find Logan at a moment where he was stripped clean of his duties to the X-Men, his other allegiances, and even stripped clean of his own sense of purpose. I was fascinated with the idea of portraying Logan as a ronin – the definition of which is a samurai without a master, without a purpose. Kind of a soldier who is cut loose. War is over. What does he do? What does he face? What does he believe anymore? Who are his friends? What is his reason for being here anymore? I think those questions are especially interesting when you're dealing with a character who is essentially immortal.

He also discusses the story, mostly in broad thematic terms, although he does confirm just why Wolverine comes to Japan in the first place:

An old friendship. What brings him there is an old ally in Japan. We find Logan in a moment of tremendous disillusionment. We find him estranged. One of the models I used working on the film was The Outlaw Josey Wales. You find Logan and his love is gone, his mentors are gone, many of his friends are gone, his own sense of purpose – what am I doing, why do I bother – and his exhaustion is high. He has lived a long time, and he's tired. He's tired of the pain.

Sounds like you're leaning hard on the despair of this character.
What I wrote on the back of the script when I first read it was "Everyone I love will die." The story I've been telling, he enters it believing that. Therefore he's living in a kind of isolation. He gets drawn to Japan by an old friendship and then finds himself in a labyrinth of deceit, caught up in the agendas of mobsters, of wealth, and other powers we come to understand.

There's still plenty more at the link. [EW]

Transformers 4

Director Michael Bay confirms the casting of one of the two non-Mark Wahlberg leads in typical Michael Bay fashion, as well as commenting on just how this movie connects with its three predecessors:

I just hired a great new actor for Transformers 4 to star against Mark Wahlberg. Jack Reynor, he is an Irish kid that came to America with 30 bucks in his pocket. Pretty ballsy. Seriously who does that? Anyway I spotted him in a great little Irish movie WHAT RICHARD DID. This kid is the real deal.

Transformers 4, is not a reboot. That word has been floating around on the net.

This movie takes place exactly 4 years after the war in Chicago. The story makes a very natural transition, and reason as to why we have a whole new cast. This Transformers will feel very different then the last three. We are embarking on a new trilogy.

[Michael Bay]

At a recent press event, Mark Wahlberg was supposedly overheard saying he was looking for a rental house in Chicago for the filming of Transformers 4. This is a seriously secondhand, unsourced kind of report, but Bay has said he had a positive experience filming parts of the third entry Dark of the Moon in Chicago, so a return visit certainly seems plausible enough. [TFW 2005]

Warm Bodies

Here's some behind-the-scenes B-roll footage. [Shock Till You Drop]

Evil Dead

Suburgatory star Jane Levy discusses just how physically demanding her lead role in the Evil Dead reboot really is:

But this is also like, an extremely physical job, and just like what [director] Fede [Alvarez] was saying, we're doing everything that you see. I don't know how much I'm allowed to give away, but at one point I vomit all over somebody. A lot of vomit. Like, a shit-ton of fluid. I had a tube practically down my throat, and I'm on top of this girl and vomiting all over her. When you actually do something like that – I don't think I can actually describe the sensation – but I actually went to the corner and cried. I'm really sensitive. But I felt like I was really drowning my friend Jessica, it felt so bad. I was shaking... I could name ten of the most horrible things that could ever happen to you in your whole life, and all of those ten things happen to this character. It's horror of all horror films. It is extreme, and that's a lot of the reason I took this project on. I thought like why not do the most extreme movie possible? And the farthest from what I've been doing for the past year.

She also explains her character's status as a recovering drug addict is more a setup to get the gang to the cabin than a major driver of the plot:

But I think that part of the story is actually kind of small. Like that gets you there, that gets you into this environment, and I think from the very beginning Mia has made the decision that she's gonna be healthy. So she's not using drugs at all in this movie. It's like, withdrawal starts the minute the movie starts, and then she has to live.

Finally, she discusses how she wanted to take a unique approach to being possessed by evil:

Well, it's something I spent a lot of time thinking about. It's something I still think about and stress over. Because we've seen possessed people a lot of times in movies, and as an actor you're always interested in trying something new. And I didn't want to mimic anything, and I really wanted to be f**king scary... But I actually chose to humanize my Deadite a little bit, and I hope that turns out to be scary. I tried not to do much of like spider crawling up wall, like psycho body contortion…just because I wanted, I guess I wanted to try something new, and I also thought, and Fede thinks, that the idea of there being a human quality is almost scarier because it's scarier to think of your father being possessed than just like… do you know what I mean? Like, finding something that you can relate to about this person who's also doing horrible things, I thought would be terrifying. I have yet to see it, so I hope it works.

There's more at the link. [Shock Till You Drop]

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters

And showrunner Joel Wyman offers this promise for the big two-hour finale the following Friday:

"I didn't want to come up with more ­universes or pull any dramatic tricks. A lot of times a showrunner is in the position to do what they like, because at the end of a series, nobody can tell you what to do. But I owe so much to the fans, I wanted to make sure it was for them."

[TV Guide]

Person of Interest

Erstwhile Fairly Legal star Sarah Shahi has been cast in the recurring role as Shaw, described by series creator Jonathan Nolan as follows:

"[She's a] fearless, sexy operative in a secret paramilitary organization that tracks and eliminates terrorists before they can act. She brings to her work a yen for mayhem and a sharp, dark wit - in whatever language the locals are speaking. If James Bond and Sarah Connor had a kid, Shaw would kick its ass."

[EW]

Once Upon a Time

Lost Girl

Here's the synopsis for the fourth episode, "Fae-de to Black":

Bo and Dyson take on a case in the world of new age psychology and Bo suffers the consequences of denying her ravenous hunger; Kenzi feels the weight of trying to find a place in her friends' new lives.

Teen Wolf

Costar Stephen Lunsford confirmed on his Tumblr that Erica Rayes actress Gage Golightly won't be back for the third season. [Seven Pillars of Stephen]

Additional reporting by Amanda Yesilbas and Charlie Jane Anders.

Director Ruben Fleischer is pretty sure Zombieland 2 isn't happening, but it's not for lack of trying. Bill Pullman says an Independence Day sequel doesn't necessarily need Will Smith. Plus more Catching Fire and Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters photos!

It's all spoilers from this point forward!

Top image from Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters.

Catching Fire

And here's a bunch of cast interviews in anticipation of the finale.

Game of Thrones

Here's the official list from HBO of the writers and directors for the third season, with episode 21 corresponding to the third season premiere and so on:

Ep. 21
Writers: David Benioff & D.B. Weiss
Director: Dan Minahan

Ep. 22
Writer: Vanessa Taylor
Director: Dan Minahan

Ep. 23
Writers: David Benioff & D.B. Weiss
Directors: David Benioff & D.B. Weiss

Ep. 24
Writers: David Benioff & D.B. Weiss
Director: Alex Graves

Ep. 25
Writer: Bryan Cogman
Director: Alex Graves

Ep. 26
Writers: David Benioff & D.B. Weiss
Director: Alik Sakharov

Ep. 27
Writer: George R.R. Martin
Director: Michelle MacLaren

Ep. 28
Writers: David Benioff & D.B. Weiss
Director: Michelle MacLaren

Ep. 29
Writers: David Benioff & D.B. Weiss
Director: David Nutter

Ep. 30
Writers: David Benioff & D.B. Weiss
Director: David Nutter

[Den of Geek]

The Walking Dead

Here's a poster advertising the second half of season three, which returns February 10. There's also the latest short description from AMC regarding just what to expect from the rest of the season:

With his group in tatters, his sanity in question, and his own son questioning his every move, Rick (Andrew Lincoln) must somehow pull everyone together to face their greatest challenge — the Governor (David Morrissey). In order to survive, he must risk everything, including the group's very humanity.

[Shock Till You Drop]

Once Upon a Time

Here are four sneak peeks for this Sunday's episode, "The Outsider."

Onetime General Hospital star Rena Sofer has reportedly been cast as Snow White's mother Queen Eva, who will appear in flashbacks alongside young Snow White actress Bailee Madison. [TV Guide]

Supernatural

Here's a sneak peek at next week's midseason premiere, "Torn and Frayed."

Here's the description for "As Time Goes By", which airs January 30:

SAM AND DEAN MEET THEIR GRANDFATHER - Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) are stunned when a man who claims to be Henry Winchester (guest star Gil McKinney), their grandfather, suddenly appears in their hotel room demanding to know where he can find John Winchester. Henry has time-traveled to stop a demon named Abbadon (guest star Alaina Huffman) and was looking for John's help. Through Henry, Sam and Dean learn more about their father and the Winchester blood line.

[KSiteTV]

Here are brief descriptions for three characters we'll meet in the apparently mythology-themed sixteenth episode, "Remember the Titans":

- Prometheus, the fire-stealing Titan. He's actually now a drifter and goes to Sam and Dean for help
- Haley. Mother of Promerheus's son.
- Zeus, king of Gods. Evil and has an old score to settle with Prometheus

[SpoilerTV]

The eighteenth episode will reportedly be called "The Apple Dumpling Gang." [SpoilerTV]

Arrow

Here's a sneak peek at next week's midseason premiere, "Burned."

Here's the description for the twelfth episode, "Vertigo":

SETH GABEL ("FRINGE") GUEST STARS WHILE THEA FACES PRISON TIME - Thea (Willa Holland) is in trouble with the police after she gets caught using a drug called "Vertigo." Oliver (Stephen Amell) thinks the only way to keep her out of jail is to find the dealer, a man who goes by the name of "The Count" (guest star Seth Gabel). Oliver turns to McKenna Hall (guest star Janina Gavankar), an old flame and current Vice cop, for help. Meanwhile, Laurel (Katie Cassidy) steps in to defend Thea, and Felicity (guest star Emily Bett Rickards) gives Oliver some disturbing news about Moira (Susanna Thompson).

[SpoilerTV]

Episodes thirteen, and fourteen will reportedly be called "Betrayal" and "The Odyssey", respectively. [SpoilerTV]

The Vampire Diaries

Here are some promo photos for the midseason premiere and tenth episode overall, "After School Special." [SpoilerTV]

Here's the synopsis for the twelfth episode, "A View to a Kill", which airs January 31:

DANGEROUS LIAISONS - When Rebekah (Claire Holt) turns down Klaus' (Joseph Morgan) plea to stop Kol (Nathaniel Buzolic) and protect Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen), Klaus turns to Stefan (Paul Wesley) for help. After an angry confrontation with her father, Mayor Hopkins (guest star Rick Worthy), over his unconventional approach to ending the violence in Mystic Falls, Bonnie (Kat Graham) has a frightening run-in with Kol, followed by an unexpected visitor. Klaus complicates the already tense feelings between Stefan and Damon (Ian Somerhalder) by revealing a bit of Stefan's personal life, then surprises Damon by asking for personal advice. Elena (Nina Dobrev) tells Stefan about her dangerous plan for Jeremy, leaving Stefan in a difficult spot. When the high school's 1980s Decade Dance is cancelled by Mayor Hopkins, Stefan finds a charming way to make it up to a disappointed Rebekah

[KSiteTV]

Being Human (US)

Here are some promo photos for the third season premiere, "It's a Shame About Ray", which kicks things off on January 14. [SpoilerTV]

Borealis

Genre mainstay Ty Olsson, who currently plays Benny on Supernatural, discusses his upcoming Canadian science fiction show, which is about an ultimate fighter turned customs officer in the year 2045. Well, that's pretty much the greatest thing I've ever heard, but still, let's go to what he has to say:

The year is 2045 and the ice caps have melted, enabling the discovery of the last oil and gas reserve on the planet....Where else but in the Canadian North. It's a front row seat to the beginning of the end. A future we have all seen coming for years. Borealis is the "gold rush " town that springs up to give ya anything you need. For a price. Introducing Vic Carboneau, ex ultimate fighter turned entrepreneur, hotelier , and Canadian customs officer. You could say he staked his claim first. Problem is. everyone wants a piece of the action. Russia, China and even the crippled US of A are all jockeying to lead the last natural resource rape and pillage. The town "Borealis" and "Vic's tavern" just happens to be right in the middle. Vic is the kind of reluctant hero who just wants to make his money like everyone else, but when one of his friends ends up with his throat cut by the Russian mob, well, that's bad for business... And damn it - this is his town. He built it.

It's the Wild West of the future, and life comes down to one thing: Survival.

Can you tell us more about what your character? What are his big motivations?
Vic is the ultimate reluctant hero. A man with a big heart but without any overpowering sense of duty. It seems the world conspires to pull the truth out of him. An unpleasant money hungry entrepreneur with a heart. It actually allows for a lot of what we find ourselves following along with in his journey. He's a deeply scarred man with a secret. Vic says it's none of his business! But somehow can't help but rectify the wrong. When all he's built and worked for is threatened, along with the life of a friend, we see the real man come out.

There's so, so much more at the link. [SpoilerTV]

Beauty and the Beast

Here's the description for the eleventh episode, "On Thin Ice", which airs January 31:

VINCENT'S IDENTITY IS THREATENED - Vincent (Jay Ryan) is torn between his new feelings for Cat (Kristin Kreuk) and his old memories with Alex (guest star Bridget Regan). J.T. (Austin Basis) learns that Evan (Max Brown) is planning to propose a task force to catch the beast and must figure out how to stop him. Meanwhile, Tess (Nina Lisandrello) investigates the mysterious skydiving death of the wife of a billionaire adventurer, while Cat remains off duty until she recovers from being shot.

[KSiteTV]

Additional reporting by Amanda Yesilbas and Charlie Jane Anders.

A Kickass star might face off against Godzilla. The Falcon actor Anthony Mackie talks up Captain America: The Winter Soldier. ABC could someday have its own Star Wars TV show. Plus photos for Catching Fire, The Host, and Jack the Giant Slayer!

It's spoilers all the way down!

Top image from Captain America.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

The Hurt Locker's Anthony Mackie discusses how he will look as the Falcon, as well as what he's seen of the script:

"I have read a script, and it's really good. It's fun. The Russo brothers have been really good about keeping me informed of their visions and ideas for what they want the movie to be. It seems like it's going to work on all accords, so I'm just excited about it... I have, [Falcon's look is] pretty awesome. I look like a bad mother-what. It's pretty cool."

[MTV Splash Page]

Iron Man 3

Here's a new promo photo. [Film Thrasher]

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Gwen Stacy actress Emma Stone confirms that filming in imminent for the sequel:

"We start in a couple of weeks. It's really soon. It'll be fun."

[E! Online]

The Wolverine

Here's the latest promo photo. [Film Thrasher]

Catching Fire

Powers

FX president John Landgraf promises that the network hasn't given up on an adaptation of Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Oeming's beloved comic series — and indeed, Sons of Anarchy had a similarly lengthy development process before they finally decided they had got it right — and so he explains the big next step for the project:

No, [it's] still alive. We've been through so many incarnations. After we made the pilot, we actually developed three more [episode] scripts. So then we had a pilot plus three scripts, and we decided between the pilot and the scripts that it wasn't quite the series that we needed it to be. When I say we, by the way, Brian Bendis is involved in every phase of this conversation and discussion. But one of the scripts was written by this guy named Charlie Huston, and he was a novelist. Both I and Brian and others thought, "Wow, there is actually something in the tone of this." So Charlie was approached, I think by Brian, and said, "Look, would you be interested in taking on Powers?" And Charlie said, "Well, I've never actually adapted anything before in my life. I have only written novels and stuff of my own, but Powers is my favorite graphic novel, and yes!"

So what ended up happening was we reconstituted the whole thing around Charlie as the creator, with Brian. Charlie went up to Seattle, and they sat down and they talked, and read through all the books, and they came back with a new vision, basically. Essentially, a new pilot to begin with, which is a new, different story than the pilot that we shot. So that pilot is officially gone and dead, and the actors are all gone, but we're developing a whole new pilot from scratch.

Landgraf then confirms that he should be making a final decision on whether to produce a new pilot in the next few months. To that end, he reveals what he's looking for from an eventual Powers show:

What it's always come down to for me is I know the underlying material is absolutely great. I know Brian has a vision, and Michael [Avon Oeming], but I feel like there have been so many great adaptations of graphic novels done that we have to add something. I would argue that what [Robert] Kirkman and his collaborators have done at Walking Dead has brought something to the table that didn't exist before and that movies weren't doing. I feel like we have to bring something to the table that doesn't exist. Television adaptations of graphic novels, for the most part, have been the pretty good food you'll take when really good food isn't available, you know what I mean? For me, I'm not going to take second fiddle to Marvel or anybody. I'm not going to be able to make a $200 million negative, and I think that Marvel has done a great job at what they do, and they've created a template that really works, so I'm not going to imitate that. I want to make something else with Brian and Charlie and others that's just as good but different, and trades on the particular strengths that television has in terms of what it can do. And if we can get Powers to that level, I'll make another pilot, and I'll put it on the air. But I'm not going to put anything less than an absolutely great version of Powers on the air. That's like remaking a great film into a good film, and I don't want to do that.

There's more at the link, including an update on potentially working with Guillermo del Toro on a TV adaptation of The Strain. [IGN]

Star Wars TV Series

The gotmrt talk of a 50-episode TV series seems a little passe now that Disney is busy prepping a new trilogy, but it must be said that the studio's acquisition of LucasFilm does give any such series a natural home on ABC. Here's what network president Paul Lee has to say about the general possibility of putting on a Star Wars TV show:

We'd love to do something with Lucasfilm, we're not sure what yet. We haven't even sat down with them. We're going to look at [the live-action series], we're going to look at all of them, and see what's right. We weren't able to discuss this with them until [the acquisition] closed and it just closed. It's definitely going to be part of the conversation... It's going to be very much up to the Lucasfilm brands how they want to play it," he said. "We got to a point here with Marvel, a very special point, where we're in the Marvel universe, and very relevantly so, but we're not doing The Avengers. But S.H.I.E.L.D. is part of The Avengers. So maybe something oblique is the way to [approach the Star Wars universe] rather than going straight head-on at it."

[EW]

Revolution

The fifteenth episode of the season, which I believe is provisionally due to air sometime around July 2031, is reportedly called "Home." [SpoilerTV]

According to creator Eric Kripke, the second half of the season will feature lots more of Colm Feore as Randall and Mark Pellegrino as Jeremy Baker, and it will also introduce ER's Leland Orser as John Sanborn, who is reportedly "an old scientist colleague of Rachel's." [TV Line]

Elsewhere, Kripke talks a little more about what role Randall has to play:

"Randall starts to play a very large part in the mythology in the second half. They're in this mysterious location, and we'll learn what [it] is. We'll learn what Randall wants, what he's doing and indeed how dangerous he is and how it'll affect our heroes."

[TV Guide]

Once Upon a Time

With Grindhouse's Rose McGowan already announced to be playing a young version of Regina's mother Cora, the show is also now reportedly casting a 20-year-old version of Regina's father and a forty-odd version of her father's father. [TV Line]

Speaking of flashbacks, showrunner Edward Kitsis promises some upcoming ones will go to unexpected places:

"We're going to show you some things in our world that you didn't even think were an option. [They'll] center on our characters, but in surprising ways."

[TV Guide]

Arrow

Being Human (UK)

Phil Davis — whose past roles including Lucius Petrus Dextrus in Doctor Who's "The Fires of Pompeii", the murderous cabdriver in the first episode of Sherlock, and a BAFTA-nominated turn in Vera Drake — will be the main villain in season five as Captain Hatch. Here's how Davis and series creator Toby Whithouse describe his role on the show:

Davis: It's like slipping into a pair of shoes," explains Davis. "Sometimes they fit immediately, and sometimes you have to wiggle your toes a bit. But this was pretty easy to get the hang of. It was irresistible, because it's so well-written. He's very clever and very funny. He kills people with a smile on his face – or persuades them to kill themselves. I want the audience to enjoy his evil and be scared of him at the same time. I want them to be laughing and then stopping dead... I'm one of those rare actors who comes out of make-up looking far worse than when he went in! They blacken my teeth, paint veins on my forehead and put earwax dripping out of my ears – it's a pretty disgusting sight. He's described as ‘a little angry fist of a man' to start with, but as he gets more powerful, he becomes more relaxed and urbane."

Whithouse: It's a brilliant performance, imbued with such presence and danger, and that effortless evil that Phil does so well. I wrote it, but I'm genuinely chilled by some of the stuff he does. And he's not afraid of making himself look ghastly. Hatch goes through a transformation as we get towards the end, but up until that point Phil was happy to make himself look utterly rancid!

And here's Whithouse's hint for the sixth episode of the season:

This one has cameos from two guests from last year… no, Mitchell isn't coming back, because he's dead. And so are George and Nina! We're not only told what Captain Hatch's plan is but we see it played out, in some of the biggest setpieces we've ever done. And the end will leave you guessing. There will be much discussion about the end…

[SFX]

And here's a photo of season five stars Michael Socha, Kate Bracken, and Damien Molony. [Cultbox]

Defiance

Here's another promo for Syfy's upcoming post-apocalyptic, alien-filled Western show.

Tony Curran, who among other things was just wonderful as Vincent Van Gogh on Doctor Who, describes his character Datak:

Me and [Datak's wife] Stahma, their planet has been destroyed. They have come to Earth, looking for a new home. And there is a war that begins between the humans and aliens. [Datak is] from a very low caste. He's from the pages of a Dickens novel. You might say he'd been scraped out of the gutter. On the ship coming to Earth, he ends up meeting Stahma, and she's a higher caste than Datak. She's somewhat aristocracy, you might say. And he's a bit of a silver tongued devil, and he ends up charming her to the point that they actually get married."

There's more about the series from other cast and crew at the link. [TV Equals]

Haven

Costar Eric Balfour discusses the possibility of Duke and Audrey getting together, or lack thereof:

"You know, I think there's an amazing thing about human nature where we want what we can't have and when we get it, we sometimes don't want it anymore and I think that's true with audiences as well," he said. "I know there are people who root for Audrey and Duke to be together, and Audrey and Nathan to be together and there are people who even root for Duke and Nathan to be together... you know, one of the beautiful things about a show like this is the longer we can figure out interesting and intelligent ways to bring the characters together and pull them apart and bring them together–I know that's something I'm always fascinated by... it's pretty true to human nature in our own lives, anyway. We're constantly doing that in real life."

[TV Equals]

Young Justice

Here are two sneak peeks for this Saturday's episode, "Cornered." [Comic Book Resources]

Green Lantern: The Animated Series

Here's a pair of preview clips for tomorrow morning's episode, "Blue Hope." [Comic Book Resources]

Additional reporting by Amanda Yesilbas and Charlie Jane Anders.

It's easy to think gluttony is a uniquely human trait, that animals ruled by their baser instincts are at least equipped with an innate sense of just how much is too much. But one recently discovered pike begs to differ.

The fish was found by Rene Spaargaren in the waters near his Dutch home. More accurately, he didn't discover this one fish, but rather two — inside the dead pike's mouth was a zander of almost equal size, which the pike had been futilely attempting to swallow. According to Spaargaren, the pike measured just over three feet, while the zander was about two and a half feet long. And yet, for reasons probably not even known to the now dead pike, the pike still tried to devour the zander in a single bite.

While such masticatory feats are possible in certain species like snakes that can unhinge their jaws, the pike is not among them. Indeed, according to a BBC interview with angling expert Charles Jardine, the pike is even less suited than most animals to try such a feat:

"What on Earth possessed the pike to take on prey that size? Gluttony just killed that fish. A pike is not an alligator or a python - it will not accommodate similar-sized food. Because the teeth on a pike go backward, it would have been unable to release its grip on the zander. It was a death grip for the fish."

Jardine added that there are in fact Victorian illustrations of fish attempting to swallow similarly sized prey, but until now he had assumed these drawings were simply an example of artistic license. Now it seems that the animal kingdom is once again more awesome and — at least in the case of the pike — more stupid than we ever imagined.

To see a photo of the pike in question (and yes, you want to see this photo), head over to BBC News.

Top image by katdaned on Flickr.

The Orion Nebula, as the closest site of massive ongoing star formation to Earth, has long been one of the most intensely studied objects in the night sky. But it still holds mysteries, including these "bullets" emanating from its center.

The so-called bullets are the blue regions in the above photograph, which was taken by the Gemini South telescope in Chile. These dense, mysterious objects are ripping through the hydrogen clouds at supersonic speeds, and no one is exactly sure why. Most likely, these bullets were created less than a thousand years ago from a mysterious source inside the cloud known as IRc2. This particular image is a close-up image taken in the infrared spectrum, although we're still not getting too close to the bullets, considering just how huge they really are. NASA explains:

Blasted out by energetic massive star formation the bullets, relatively dense, hot gas clouds about ten times the size of Pluto's orbit, are blue in the false color image. Glowing with the light of ionized iron atoms they travel at speeds of hundreds of kilometers per second, their passage traced by yellowish trails of the nebula's shock-heated hydrogen gas. The cone-shaped wakes are up to a fifth of a light-year long. The detailed image was created using the 8.1 meter Gemini South telescope in Chile with a newly commisioned adaptive optics system (GeMS). Achieving a larger field of view than previous generation adaptive optics, GeMS uses five laser generated guide stars to help compensate for the blurring effects of planet Earth's atmosphere.

For more awesome images like this, check out NASA's Astronomy Photo of the Day.

J.J. Abrams explains why Star Trek Into Darkness had to be in 3D, despite his objections. Could some newly registered domain names hint at the new Batman movie? Jurassic Park IV is really happening — and it has a tentative release date in 2014. Plus John Noble talks the Fringe finale!

Spoilers from here on out!

Top image from The Avengers.

The Avengers 2

Writer-director Joss Whedon confirms he's a couple months away from finishing the script for The Avengers 2. He also offers this latest take on what to expect from the film:

"I've done the outline, I'm writing the script now and so the script should be done in a couple of months. I'm pretty excited about it, I have to say... Don't go bigger; go deeper. All of these people have met, so you have that out of the way. Now you can spend your time just digging in - and by digging in, I mean with a scalpel, to cause pain."

[MTV via Coming Soon]

Guardians of the Galaxy

Marvel's most cosmic movie yet will reportedly start filming this summer in the United Kingdom's Pinewood-Shepperton Studios, which was previously the main site of filming for Thor: The Dark World. The movie remains on track for an August 1, 2014 release date, although we still don't know about anyone working on the film other than writer-director James Gunn. [ScreenDaily]

Star Trek Into Darkness

Director J.J. Abrams reveals he had no intentions to make the Star Trek sequel in 3D, but it was quite literally the only way Paramount would allow the film to be made:

The studio said, 'You have to make it in 3D if you're going to make it, for economic reasons.' But my feeling was I didn't like 3D. So the idea of doing Star Trek in 3D was ridiculous. But that was very helpful in some ways, because it let us work with stereographers and the 3D crew in a way that didn't assume we just loved 3D.

However, he goes on to say that he fundamentally approached this as a 2D film, albeit one that could also work in the 3D format:

I approached it very cynically. And the fact is that we've been using techniques that haven't been used before in 3D. They've figured out things. They've made enough movies now with this new process that they can understand ways to eliminate some of these problems. Things like breaking shots into zones, 3D zones, using multiple virtual cameras. A lot of this has made me a believer, whereas before I was really against it… There's this myth that if you don't shoot the movie in 3D it doesn't look good. Actually, the opposite can be true... The key for me is I got to make my 2D movie that I wanted to make, just the way I wanted to; and it gets to be augmented in 3D but that doesn't detract from the 2D.

[SFX via Digital Spy]

Batman Reboot

Take this with several preemptive grains of salt, but a company has reportedly registered a bunch of domain names on behalf of Warner Bros., most of which prominently involve the word "Arkham." Here's the list:

arkhamuniverse.com (Arkham Universe)
batmanarkahmuniverse.com (Batman Arkham Universe)
batmanarkhamarises.com (Batman Arkham Arises)
batmanarkhambegins.com (Batman Arkham Begins)
batmanarkhamdarkknight.com (Batman Arkham Dark Knight)
batmanarkhamknight.com (Batman Arkham Knight)
batmanarkhamlegend.com (Batman Arkham Legend)
batmanarkhamlegends.com (Batman Arkham Legends)
batmanarkhamnight.com (Batman Arkham Night)
batmanarkhamorigins.com (Batman Arkham Origins)
batmanarkhamstories.com (Batman Arkham Stories)
darkknightarkham.com (Dark Knight Arkham)
dcarkhamuniverse.com (DC Arkham Universe)
dcarkhamverse.com (DC Arkhamverse)
thearkhamuniverse.com (The Arkham Universe)

Now, the most obvious explanation here is that this is some preliminary domain registration for a new video game in the Arkham Asylum series, probably called either Arkham Universe or Arkham Legends. But since a recent rumor claimed that the new incarnation of the Batman movie franchise would be based on the Arkham Asylum game, there's some thought that this actually refers to the movie and so is proof of its existence. That seems likely awfully circular reasoning, but I suppose it can't totally be ruled out. But yeah, if this is anything, it's probably a video game. [Fusible]

Jurassic Park IV

After years of idle discussion, Universal Pictures and Steven Spielberg are reportedly actually going ahead with a fourth Jurassic Park movie. Spielberg is currently on board to produce, like he did with Jurassic Park III — although it's still possible that he will also direct like he did with the first two entries in the franchise — and Rise of the Planet of the Apes writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver are working on the first draft. The film is currently set for a June 13, 2014 release date. [Variety]

Oblivion

Much like his use of Daft Punk in Tron Legacy, Oblivion director Joseph Kosinski has enlisted M83 to score his post-apocalyptic Tom Cruise movie. Here's a new video from the group entitled "Oblivion Drum Battle." [First Showing]

G.I. Joe: Retaliaton

Although many rumored explanations for this movie's months-long delay centered on reshoots necessitated by an expanded role for Channing Tatum, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura says that isn't the case at all:

No, it's not. That is a complete rumor. I don't know where that started. Literally, Channing shot for - if I have it wrong, I'm off by an hour - four hours, five hours? So it wasn't really about that at all... [The new cut is] not much different. Literally, we shot for three extra days. We just added sort of explanation in what we did afterwards.

[Crave Online]

The Legend of Conan

Arnold Schwarzenegger confirms the plans for him to return to his iconic role:

"[Universal] finally came forward and said, 'You're absolutely right. The previous regime has missed the boat here. We want to pick it up. We're going to buy the rights and we're going to be serious about it and make a quality with A-director and with A-writers and so on. And we want you to participate in this. We want you to star and you to play Conan. We're going to take a story where Conan is at that age so it's totally believable and you're not looking like a 30-year old action guy.'"

You can also check out the original video interview with Schwarzenegger below. [Coming Soon]

Hellboy 3

Guillermo del Toro says he still wants to finish off the trilogy, but it's simply a matter of nobody in Hollywood wanting to fund the damn thing:

Well, a couple of weeks ago or months ago, I did make a couple of phone calls to test, to gauge the possibility of doing that because it's a big movie. There's no takers for a movie of that size. The two movies made their money back and a little bit. They were financially good, but one was fifty and the other one was eighty, eighty five. This is a hundred and forty. So no one wants to do that leap, from the financial side. So unless we find a way to do the mother of all kick starters.

[Latino Review]

Fringe

Here's a promo for this Friday's two-hour series finale, "Liberty"/"An Enemy of Fate." [TV Line]

Star John Noble discusses what to expect from this Friday's two-hour series finale:

"We know there's something radical that has to happen in order to beat the Observers. I think by now we've built up to the fact that possibly, maybe Walter has to do something pretty outstanding to make this happen. More importantly, I think what you'll find is the way his relationship with Peter plays out in the next two episodes, and particularly the finale, is really quite remarkable. That's something we had to do because we spent so much time, and I know the fans loved the relationship between Peter and Walter so much. We certainly paid homage to that and brought it home, I believe, pretty strongly. I would have liked to have had an episode with each of the characters. I do have some beautiful moments with Jasika [Nicole] and Anna [Torv] as well. It's good story-writing in the sense that they've built this big arc and they're going to pay it out. I'm not going to tell you exactly what happens, obviously, but we do get the payout."

[Spinoff Online]

Here's a pair of interviews with costar Lance Reddick and showrunner Joel Wyman. [TV Equals]

And here's the first promo photo for the finale. [SpoilerTV]

S.H.I.E.L.D.

Creator Joss Whedon provides a useful sense of just how ABC's S.H.I.E.L.D. series will coexist with the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe:

"You've got to bring a little bit of spectacle to it. It's gotta be bigger than your average cop show, but at the end of the day it's about the peripheral people, it's about the people on the edges of the grand adventures. The whole point of this show is that even with all these big things, the little things matter. So it's about people who don't have super powers. There will be some people with powers, there will be effects, the spectacle of Science Fiction story telling, but all played on a very human/small level."

[Coming Soon]

Game of Thrones

George R.R. Martin reveals his episode this season has had a name change, which allows him to talk elliptically about its content:

The episode I scripted for the third season of HBO's GAME OF THRONES has been retitled. It was formerly "Autumn Storms," which I never much liked… but the episode did have a lot of rain in it. The rain went away. So did the title. The episode is now "Chains." I like that better. And it works on both a literal and metaphorical level. It will still be the seventh show of the season, episode 307.

[Not a Blog]

Here are some updates on just who new cast members Tom Brooke, Burn Gorman (of Torchwood and The Dark Knight Rises), and Stephanie Blacker are playing in season three, courtesy of SpoilerTV:

- Brooke will be playing Lothar Frey.
Going against the book description with this one, but Brooke should be awesome in the role nonetheless.

- Stephanie Blacker will be playing "Violet".
Blacker's Violet could be a combination of Val and Dalla, or perhaps a Tyrell cousin or even some Riverrun maiden.... We will have to wait and see.

- Burn Gorman will be a Night's Watchman, however the exact role is unknown.
Considering when Gorman was in Dublin it is assumed he is one of the Watch traveling with Mormont and Samwell.

[SpoilerTV]

The Walking Dead

Here are the reported titles and airdates for the back half of season three:

S03E09 – The Suicide King – 10th Feb 2013
S03E10 – Home – 17th Feb 2013
S03E11 – I Ain't A Judas – 24th Feb 2013
S03E12 – Clear – 3rd Mar 2013
S03E13 – Pale Horse – 10th Mar 2013
S03E14 – Killer Within, Part I – 17th Mar 2013
S03E15 – This Sorrowful Life – 24th Mar 2013
S03E16 – Welcome to the Tombs – 31st Mar 2013

[STV Plus]

Person of Interest

Episode sixteen will reportedly be called "Relevance." [SpoilerTV]

Once Upon a Time

Costar Lana Parilla discusses what's next for Regina, considering her imminent reunion with her estranged (putting it mildly) mother Cora:

think there are going to be moments when she does revert back to that little girl. As much pain as her mother has caused, at the end of the day, she is her mother and she loves her. I think that's true for a lot of parent/children relationships. Even when they go awry or horrible betrayals take place, there's a connection that's undeniable and that could never be broken by anyone. So, I want to make sure that that's there even through the fighting, even if we're throwing fireballs at one another. So much so that she blames Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) for Daniel's (Noah Bean) death when she saw her mother rip Daniel's heart out right in front of her and crush it.

Children, a lot of times, can't make their parents wrong because they have to live with them, because they have to love them. And when you're young, you can't get on your Big Wheel and go down to the Best Western. You've got to live there and you've got to figure it out. I think that she's done that often with her mom. She's made a lot of excuses and has blamed others so she can still coexist and love her mother and feel loved, even though it's a demented sort of unhealthy love. And then there's going to be moments of the Evil Queen. But I think it's going to be different. It has to be. She's grown up in a different way. Now that she's lost everything and she's had this huge revelation, she's going to have to find a new way to deal with Cora.

[TV Guide]

Touch

Here's a ton of cast interviews and B-roll footage for the show's second season, which kicks off February 8. [BestUSATVSeries]

Arrow

Tron Uprising

Co-creator Adam Horowitz discusses the future prospects of the Disney XD series, considering its relatively paltry ratings:

"I don't know what the future [of Tron: Uprising] is now. I know at the present, I can say we need more viewers. I'm so proud of that show and I love that show and anyone who watches it loves that show. The problem is, not enough people are watching it. And so I would love to sound the alarm, because I love the characters and the world and it's really… It's a shame that more people aren't watching it, because I think they're missing out...At this point, I don't believe its fate has been decided. So if people keep watching, then there's still a chance. Please watch. Tell your friends!"

[IGN]

Additional reporting by Amanda Yesilbas and Charlie Jane Anders.

Lost's Mr. Eko reveals what to expect from one of Thor's main new adversaries. A villain from the first Captain America might return. J.J. Abrams hints at Star Trek 3. Plus new Snowpiercer comic art — and some high praise for the Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters script! Plus there's the first piece of casting from the TV version of Stephen King's Under the Dome.

Spoilers from here on out!

Top image from Star Trek Into Darkness.

Thor: The Dark World

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, best known as Mr. Eko on Lost, describes his role as the Dark Elf Algrim, who is transformed into the villainous Kurse:

Kurse is very animalistic. He's got these horns, so what I did was try to go with that flow so my movements were very much like an animal. You had to contort your body and your head cause I've got these big horns on my head. Very, very different style from Chris [Eccleston]. It was a great ride... [Loki] gets his fair share, me and him as well. The great thing about Kurse, he's having it with everybody. Loki has some amazing fights in this, everybody gets their shine. I won't tell you what really happens, but there's some great surprises.

He also says he is in discussions with Marvel Studios to appear in subsequent movies, which quite possibly means he is a candidate to take on another, larger role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Drax the Destroyer in Guardians of the Galaxy the most obvious available role. [MTV via Coming Soon]

Iron Man 3

War Machine actor Don Cheadle offers some general thoughts on what to expect from the latest entry in the franchise, especially in terms of the relationship between James Rhodes and Tony Stark:

"I will just say that the buddy relationship that these guys have gets tighter. The third act set piece for the big finale is bigger and badder. It's just a lot more."

[Enstarz]

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Considering he's playing the other title role in the sequel, Bucky Barnes actor Sebastian Stan says he's very much looking forward to getting back to work:

I'm completely excited to venture down that path. This is why January 1, 2013, was a glorious day to wake up to [laughs]. I'm very grateful and very lucky for what's going on right now. I think you have to allow yourself to be excited about the magnitude of something like [Captain America].

[Broadway]

The Hurt Locker's Anthony Mackie discusses his upcoming role as The Falcon:

I will have wings. I will be able to fly. I will be a superhero and fight people, namely The Winter Soldier.

He refused to go any further, refusing even to comment on whether The Falcon would have his pet bird Redwing, for fear the role would be recast if he divulged such crucial information. [Ain't It Cool News]

Toby Jones says that he hopes to return as Armin Zola, possibly in robot form, although he says he won't know for sure until "the script is totally sorted out." [MTV Splash Page]

Marvel Studios has confirmed that the movie will be released in 3D. This is in line with previous announcements for Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World, and it likely means that all Marvel movies will be 3D from here on out. [Marvel]

Guardians of the Galaxy

Marvel has also announced that James Gunn's space opera will be in 3D. [Marvel]

The Wolverine

Here's a nice high-quality version of the recently released promo photo. [Coming Soon]

Star Trek Into Darkness

Director J.J. Abrams lavishes praise on the new cast members, in particular Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch as the villainous John Harrison:

"I just can't wait for people to see the movie. Benedict is unbelievable. It's a tall order, coming into that movie, because the crew of the Enterprise, that cast is so damn good and they're wonderful to work with and they're all good hearts. So, to come into that group, as he did, as Alice Eve did and as Peter Weller did, and be one of the family was something that I was doubtful could happen. And he completely did it. I not only love him in the movie, but I love him, as a human being. He's an amazing guy. I can't wait for people to see the movie and experience what he's done."

Abrams also vaguely confirms there are plans for Star Trek 3, but it's clear he isn't committing to anything on that front for some time yet:

"No, sir, not yet. I'm sure that the studio would love that to be a possibility but it's up to the audience to decide if there needs to be one...There are things we've talked about but there's no script or anything, it's just ideas."

[Crave Online]

Catching Fire

Here's the first teaser poster for the Hunger Games sequel. [First Showing]

Snowpiercer

1952

Though Disney has now actually officially announced that The Incredibles and Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol director Brad Bird's next film will be in 3D, the director himself flatly denies it:

Jaimie Alexander explains why Alan Taylor was the perfect guy to take on Thor: The Dark World, while Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje reveals how he became the villainous curse. Mark Millar reveals 20th Century Fox's Wolverine strategy. Plus Guillermo del Toro provides the latest updates on all his upcoming projects!

Spoilers from here on out!

Top image from Pacific Rim.

Thor: The Dark World

Sif actress Jaimie Alexander discusses the difference between the first Thor and its sequel as well as the differences between each film's director, Kenneth Branagh and Alan Taylor:

They're two very different people, but both have extraordinary visions for what the film should look like and what it is going to look like. Alan, I feel like the second installment of Thor is much darker, much more rooted in what's going on in the soul, whereas Ken's version definitely had that soulfulness but was also lighter and there's an elegance to his film. They're so different, it's hard to explain because they're both very different in a positive way...So we can do it again and he puts his spin on it. He's got some incredible shots in that film.

Alexander then confirms that she has a somewhat expanded role in The Dark World:

I do, a little bit. You get to experience more of who she is on the inside. You get to see her in a more feminine way and we do explore the Thor/Sif relationship a little bit. That was fun.

Would you say you have more action-oriented scenes, more character-oriented scenes...
Oh, I definitely have action. But there are scenes, we have a few scenes where we don't have any action at all and it was actually a lot of fun to play that because you're not hiding behind a sword or an explosion, it's just here, in your face. It was nice to see who she really is and that sort of thing. It was fun.

She also explains the importance of location shooting in establishing the movie's cosmic, majestic tone:

So much of this film is the set and the locations that we were in, they're almost like a character themselves. We filmed in an area called Bourne Wood outside of London and just some of the most beautiful rolling hills with green gorgeous trees. I do believe Robin Hood was filmed there and lots of things film there, but just to be on that ground where we had a battle sequence and just go, "Wow, a lot of people have been here." That was what it was, the history in England and what has happened on those grounds and to be a Viking on those grounds. It added some sort of majestic feel to it that maybe wasn't there 100% on the set inside a studio in California.

There's more at the link. [Collider]

Here's some more from Lost's Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje about his role as the villainous Kurse:

"I didn't actually know an awful lot about that character and when I did my research in the comics there wasn't an awful lot. But with the director and myself, we sat down and looked at what was traditionally known as Kurse and we tried to put our spin on it. There was quite a bit of creative license in how I would interpret him but the wardrobe, the setting, they were phenomenal. When I set into that outfit, I was Kurse. The did such an amazing job it made my job so easy. There were all these different factions, a different person was making the helmet, a different person making the arms, they all came together prior to the shoot, but in terms of my research before I didn't do an awful lot but once I got into the outfit it set it off. I think the fans are going to be pleased."

There's some more at the link, as Akinnouye-Agbaje becomes the latest actor to throw his hat into the ring to play Black Panther. [MTV Splash Page

The Wolverine

Comics writer and 20th Century Fox creative consultant Mark Millar says it's a good thing to occasionally let Wolverine strike off on his own for a self-contained story, letting him have a break from the main X-Men franchise:

"Oh, absolutely. I've no worries about it at all. You know, I wrote the Wolverine comic twice – I did the Old Man Logan story and Wolverine: Enemy Of The State – and I don't think it detracts having individual Wolverine adventures from the X-Men. He's like a lone wolf character, he disappears and does his own thing sometimes and then he comes back and hangs out at the mansion, so it does feel quite natural to for him to be in these movies. You don't want to have him out there all the time, because I think if you've got him in X-Men and Wolverine movies and they're all running at the same time, it's a little bit too much but as long as you're smart with it and there's a lot of other characters to explore as well. The X-Men universe is about the same size as the Marvel universe in terms of the number of titles it sustains at any one time, so there's a ton of stuff to play with there and a lot of characters I'd like to explore there too."

[Sci Fi Now]

Pacific Rim

Director Guillermo del Toro says he would likely shoot the potential sequel in 3D instead of converting it from 2D to 3D like he has done with the current film:

Yes. Provided, at that point, that the technology is becoming easier and easier…

Initially you didn't want it to be converted...
Even then they were super respectful. By then we were already getting ILM shots. I was realizing that out of 100 shots, maybe 10% of the shots were risky. They said, "If we go 2D on those shots, we can do it." Then I gave them my list of conditions. They spent twice of what they normally spend on [this process], because they gave me the chance to pay ILM to do every single shot in native 3D. They aren't being converted. So all the big 3D effects shots are being done by ILM from the get go. Normally they give a movie a 14 to 16 week conversion time [for 3D]. I started the conversion back in September. So it's six months for conversion. It's very classy.

[The Playlist]

The Haunted Mansion

Guillermo del Toro discusses his plans for his decided non-Eddie Murphy take on the amusement ride-based franchise:

"Haunted Mansion" is very much alive and in process. Disney is very supportive and we are doing another draft of the screenplay… Yet another draft… And they really want to do it. I know we're going to talk about other possible directors, for me to produce, and having written it, produce it for somebody else.

What's the tone going to be like?
It's going to be scary. Hopefully it will be fun scary, rather than funny scary. It's going to be fun but the idea is to make it scary like when you go through the ride as the kid – part of you is charmed and part of you wants to get out of there.

[The Playlist]

Beauty and the Beast

Guillermo del Toro also gives an update on his fairy tale adaptation, slated to star Harry Potter actress Emma Watson:

We just got the first draft from Andrew Davies, who wrote some BBC Charles Dickens miniseries, to great effect, including two of my favorites of his – "Little Dorrit" and "Bleak House." I love his work. So we just got it. I'm doing a pass myself and then we'll send it to the studio for reactions.

[The Playlist]

Fringe

Here's the final trailer for this Friday's series finale, "Liberty"/"An Enemy of Fate." [Fringe Televison]

And here's a bunch of cast interviews to get you pumped and/or wistfully nostalgic, probably.

Grimm

The sixteenth episode is reportedly called "Nameless" and will feature a guest character named Dominick, who is the owner of a video game company. [SpoilerTV]

Once Upon a Time

Here's a sneak peek for this Sunday's episode, "In the Name of the Brother."

The show is currently casting a pair of apparently connected guest roles for episode seventeen:

- Owen, a free-spirited 10-year-old who is mourning his mother's tragic death
- Ben, a 40-year-old, kind widower who is trying to help his son deal with the loss of his mother

[SpoilerTV]

Supernatural

Defiance

Here's the latest trailer.

Additional reporting by Amanda Yesilbas and Charlie Jane Anders.

Check out the first official image from the "ice age train" movie Snowpiercer. Disney releases a complete character guide for Oz the Great and Powerful. There are two sneak peeks from the series finale of Fringe. Plus tons of hints for what lies ahead on True Blood, Doctor Who, Arrow, and Syfy's Being Human!

Spoilers from here on out!

Top image from Game of Thrones.

Man of Steel

Russell Crowe, who plays Jor-El in Zack Snyder's Superman movie, offers some major praise for the film's portrayal of the iconic superhero:

"It's really complicated, it's really complex. I don't think anyone's really tried to get into the psychology of what it must be like to be Superman. And [how] people would really respond in a modern society if someone like that popped up. Zack Snyder who directed The Watchmen, who directed 300 and a few other things, he was given a great deal of responsibility. Because when it comes to comic book heroes and superhero films, at the top of the food chain is Superman. I think the biggest indicator for me as to how it's looking is that the financier of the film, a lovely fellow by the name of Thomas Tull- quite a reticent man, doesn't mince his word, he's sent me dashing e-mails, he just loves it and thinks its going to go down really well. I'm really looking forward to seeing it.

"It's a massive undertaking, the type of sets we worked on in that film were incredible. It takes you to the ground on Krypton. It takes you to a planet where the sun is four times larger than ours. I think people are going to love it and if you've seen the trailer, you realize that this Superman is not just floating through the air, held up by a wire. This Superman is supersonic, when he decides to fly, he doesn't muck around. I'm really looking forward to the way people respond to it."

[Reelz via Comic Book Movie]

Thor: The Dark World

As we come to the end of the press tour for The Last Stand, here's one last quote from Jaimie Alexander on what to expect from the Thor sequel:

Nothing too juicy. Even Sif must respect the power of the NDA. [Laughter.] I can say that we explore the relationship between Thor and Sif a little more in this film. And you get to see a lot more of the people of Asgard, what their daily lives are like. We get to explore a couple of other worlds as well. I think the fans are really going to like it.

[Mania]

Snowpiercer

We've seen tons of concept art for Bong Joon-ho's English-language debut, but here's the first actual photo from the set of his post-apocalyptic Ice Age train-based revolution movie. This particular photo depicts costar Song Kang-ho, who previously worked with Joon-ho on The Host and Memories of Murder. [First Showing]

Oz the Great and Powerful

Disney has released helpful character descriptions for all the major and some of the minor characters in Sam Raimi's Wizard of Oz prequel. Here's the rundown:

OSCAR DIGGS (James Franco)
Oscar Diggs is a small-time magician who takes his magic act on the road as part of a traveling circus in the Midwest. A man with dubious ethics, Diggs is a handsome, charming charlatan who is skilled at smooth-talking his way out of problems. When he is hurled into the magical Land of Oz, Oscar faces a fight-or-flight dilemma that holds the fate of a kingdom in the balance, forcing him to decide what kind of man he truly is before it is too late.

THEODORA (Mila Kunis)
Theodora is a beautiful, naïve witch who is protected by her powerful sister Evanora. Theodora only wants peace to come to the Land of Oz and truly believes that a prophesied wizard will arrive someday to restore order.

EVANORA (Rachel Weisz)
Evanora is Theodora's over-protective sister. With her penetrating gaze, she exudes a powerful presence and has positioned herself as the royal advisor and protector of Emerald City.

GLINDA (Michelle Williams)
Glinda is a good witch who rules over a peaceful kingdom of simple, kind folk. Beautiful Glinda is not only a compassionate and benevolent witch, but also a fierce protector of her people. Though Glinda sees through Oscar's façade early on, she knows genuine goodness lies within and helps Oscar achieve his true destiny.

CHINA GIRL (voiced by Joey King)
China Girl is from the village of China Town, where everything, including the inhabitants, is made of china. When destruction befalls her land, the brave, resilient China Girl encounters Oz and they strike up an unlikely friendship.

FINLEY (voiced by Zach Braff)
Finley is a winged monkey that accompanies Oscar on his journey. Finley doesn't have a high opinion of Oscar and lets him know it. Ultimately he becomes a loyal ally and helps Oscar discover his true self.

FRANK (Zach Braff)
Frank is Oscar's assistant and right-hand man-he's the money handler, costume mender and prop wrangler for Oscar's magic act. Frank is put upon and underappreciated but is Oscar's only friend.

KNUCK (Tony Cox)
Knuck is a dour, unsmiling Munchkin, who, as the Herald of Emerald City, announces all the visitors. Despite his cantankerous demeanor, he is loyal to Glinda and thus reluctantly becomes Oscar's ally.

WINKIES
The Winkies are the formidable, spear-carrying, 8-foot tall, uniformed guards of Emerald City under the command of Evanora.

QUADLINGS
The Quadlings are inhabitants of Glinda's kingdom. They are kind-hearted, simple country folk who are mostly farmers.

TINKERS
The Tinkers, who live in Glinda's kingdom, are tall, thin, old men with long, white beards and elfish ears who can build anything. What they lack in stamina they more than make up for in ingenuity. They are led by the Master Tinker, who Oz finds the perfect foil for his plans.

MUNCHKINS
The Munchkins are giggling, happy little people, who live peaceful lives singing and making pretty clothes. Though they don't have a care in the world, they are loyal to Glinda and do their best to help her if and when she needs them.

[Stitch Kingdom]

G.I. Joe: Retaliation

Here's a new international trailer. [/Film]

The Dark Knight Returns: Part 2

Here are some short interviews with Robocop star Peter Weller, Person of Interest's Michael Emerson, and Human Target's Mark Valley, who play Batman, the Joker, and Superman respectively in the two-part animated adaptation of the Frank Miller story.

True Blood

Costar Joe Manganiello previews what's in store for Alcide and the sixth season in general:

"[It's] racier. My character's taken over the wolf pack, so as an alpha, and a pack of dogs, you gotta regulate, you gotta set it straight with everybody so there's some violence. It'll be fun. This is Season 6 and the first couple scripts I read -– I think they're doing a lot of stuff that they maybe held back on the past couple years. They're pretty wild. I think it's going to be a pretty wild season."

[Access Hollywood]

The second episode will reportedly feature a guest character named Connor Farley, described as someone who is "about 45 and works for the Department of Wildlife [and] on his way to a meeting with the governor, he finds himself in a problematic situation." [SpoilerTV]

Person of Interest

Here's a short synopsis for episode thirteen, "Dead Reckoning", which airs January 31:

REESE FINDS HIMSELF IN THE CROSSHAIRS OF A FORMER ACQUAINTANCE ORCHESTRATING A MASSIVE ACT OF CYBERTERRORISM, ON "PERSON OF INTEREST," THURSDAY, JAN. 31 – Reese is abducted by an old acquaintance planning a massive act of cyber-warfare that could lead to Reese's death.

[SpoilerTV]

Once Upon a Time

Being Human (US)

Star Sam Witwer discusses Aidan's crazy flashbacks and an upcoming guest star:

The flashbacks we do this year are more ambitious than any flashback we've ever attempted. We go way further back in his history than we've ever gone. We'll tell a story I knew something about but I just never thought we'd actually attempt it. And we tell that story over four episodes, and we tell it as it relates to what is going on with Aidan in modern day. So it's a really exciting season for that reason too. You're not going to see that until later on.

Lastly, Xander Berkeley (Nikita) makes his debut next week. Tell me about him and how he poses a threat.
The question I had after the first season and after the second season is, ‘Wow, these guys are making a lot of enemies. When is that going to come back and bit them in the ass?' And the answer is Xander Berkeley. He is the father of Connor and Brynn, the two kids that Josh palled around with. And Connor, the male of the two, Aidan shot and killed him after they hunted Aidan through the woods. So [Berkeley] shows up [asking questions] and that's going to obviously go very badly.

[EW]

Elsewhere, Witwer says to expect big things from the season ahead:

"I think we've completely nailed [the tone] on the third season," he says. "While I think we did some really great stuff in the second season and I think our best episode might be in the second season, I also think it got a little bit unbalanced - the darkness didn't necessarily have as much humor to balance it out. So the thing I'm most excited about in season 3 is that there is a very keen balance between the humor and the dark stuff...[Aidan] had a very traumatizing previous season…and the consequences of everything [he's] done are going to haunt [him] this season."

Lost Girl

X-Men: First Class and Twilight actor Edi Gathegi has reportedly been cast as Kyle, described as "a composed agent for a top-secret organization with killer looks and instincts to match [who] doesn't like his time to be wasted, and can easily assess anyone's weaknesses and happily exploit them." [EW]

Additional reporting by Amanda Yesilbas and Charlie Jane Anders.

J.J. Abrams and Ron Howard are remaking an Israeli TV-movie about a dilemma in the afterlife, because why not? Mark Wahlberg says something potentially confusing about Transformers 4, because he's Mark Wahlberg. And let's hear just a little more from the people behind Fringe, because it's time to say goodbye.

It's spoilers all the way down!

Top image from Fringe, because obviously.

Transformers 4

Here's new franchise star Mark Wahlberg with how he got involved in Michael Bay's (supposedly) final Transformers movie:

"We're doing a complete reboot of the Transformers. I did a movie with Michael Bay called Pain and Gain, which comes out in April. And we had an amazing time together and really hit it off, and he said ‘Hey, you want to do this other little movie I'm doing?' Because that was a little movie, and I said ‘Yeah, I like doing little movies.' And he said Transformers. Whoa! You know what, we had such a great experience, I'm in."

It's probably worth noting that Wahlberg isn't using the word "reboot" in the specific, technical sense it's come to mean in internet discussions, wherein this film takes place in an entirely new continuity from those of the previous three entries. I'm guessing he just means the franchise is restarting the story with new human characters a few years on, especially since that's pretty much exactly what Michael Bay has already said would happen. [TFW 2005]

The Host

Here's a pair of behind-the-scenes videos for the upcoming Stephenie Meyer adaptation, directed by Gattaca's Andrew Niccol and starring Hanna's Saoirse Ronan.

All I've Got

J.J. Abrams is producing and Ron Howard is directing an English-language, big-screen remake of a 2003 Israeli TV movie that's mainly notable for being written by Margalit Keren, who also wrote several episodes of the Israeli TV series that inspired Homeland. So, knowing there's a pretty decent track record for remaking Keren's works in the United States, here's a rundown of the script, courtesy of Vulture:

A fantasy-thriller about a young, very-much-in-love man and woman who get into a freak car accident in which the man is killed. Though the woman moves on and marries another man with whom she has three children, her own death 50 years later only opens more doors. In the afterlife, she is given the choice of forgetting the memory of her life after the accident and becoming young again to be with her first love, or choosing to remain as she is and waiting for her second husband's death.

[Vulture]

Fringe

Showrunner Joel Wyman explains his goals for tonight's series finale, "Liberty"/"An Enemy of Fate":

"At the end of the day I could only look and say, ‘I'm a huge fan of TV myself. What would I really want?' And I came up with two criteria. The first was that I wanted things to be logical and make sense; I didn't want to use any trickery like ‘another universe pops up.' We're past that, and more into the emotional journey of our characters. I wanted to be able to get into a car the next day, if I was a fan, and say, ‘I can imagine where they are now.' I don't like to say goodbye at all, as a person. It bothers me."

[TV Line]

Here are some more cast interview videos, this time with stars Joshua Jackson, John Noble, Jasika Nicole, and Lance Reddick discussing their reactions when they first read the script for the series finale. There's also an interview with Joel Wyman. [SpoilerTV]

Doctor Who

David Morrissey, who's currently busy playing the Governor on The Walking Dead, says he'd very much like a return as his character from the 2008 Christmas special "The Next Doctor", namely quasi-Doctor turned quasi-companion Jackson Lake:

Ah, I'd love that. I would absolutely love to do it again. I had such a ball doing it. Mark Gatiss says, you know, there's nothing more blissful for him to write than "Interior TARDIS: Day" or whatever on the top of one of his scripts, it's living the dream. And for me, when I went down and worked on it, I thought ‘This is great', it's a really well-run show, people take it very seriously but you have fun on it. And l loved that character, I really loved Jackson Lake, I thought he was a really interesting man, he was in some sort of trauma himself and the Doctor liberates him from that...

[Den of Geek]

Once Upon a Time

And here's a producer's preview for the episode from showrunner Jeremy Carver. [SpoilerTV]

Arrow

Here's a promo for next week's episode "Trust But Verify", featuring a guest appearance from Farscape star Ben Browder.

And here's the description for episode thirteen, "Into the Wild":

MYSTERIOUS ISLAND - Shane (guest star David Alpay) leads an expedition to a desolate island off the coast of Nova Scotia, where he believes the secret of the cure lies hidden. On the trek to the island's interior, Rebekah (Claire Holt) and Elena (Nina Dobrev) continue their bitter rivalry, Stefan (Paul Wesley) does his best to keep the peace, and Damon (Ian Somerhalder) accuses Shane of leading them into a trap. Bonnie (Kat Graham) and Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) try to figure out the message of the Hunter's mark, while Shane reveals more of the legend of Silas and the witch Qetsiyah, along with his own personal history. Back in Mystic Falls, Tyler (Michael Trevino) confronts Klaus (Joseph Morgan), and Caroline (Candice Accola) is caught up in the violence that follows.

The Originals

Let's go to Vampire Diaries executive producer Julie Plec for more on the premise of the proposed Klaus-centric spin-off:

The idea is that a turn of events in Mystic Falls sends Klaus to New Orleans to solve a mystery. He gets word that some people are making a move against him that might concern him. So he heads to New Orleans to try to figure who's plotting against him and what they're up to. And in unfolding that mystery, it takes him back to a town that several hundred years ago, he was actually one of the original settlers of and helped build. He reacquaints himself with a vampire that he actually turned back in the day, Marcel, who has created a whole set of rules and a whole society for the supernatural community that he's in charge of - sort of tipping his hat to Klaus and saying, "You taught me everything I know." So Klaus' protegé is now the big king of the supernatural community in New Orleans and Klaus is stepping back into that.

And here's how Plec describes Marcel:

He is the life of the party. He is diabolical, and dangerous, and he is a rock star. If anything, he's that kind of hard-partying, hard-living vampire who knows how to enjoy the most out of life in the French Quarter.

And so if it were to go to series, New Orleans would remain the setting.
Yes. When I talked about it to the network and the studio, I said, "In its own way, the French Quarter, with its less than 3,000 inhabitants, is the ultimate small town." So it's still a small-town story, it's just a town that we all know pretty well. We all have our own party fantasy that we've either lived or wanted to live in New Orleans.

American Horror Story: Asylum

Here are four teases for next week's second season finale:

- Four major characters die in the season finale but the Angel of Death (Frances Conroy) only appears to one of them.
- Adam Levine's Leo and Jenna Dewan-Tatum's Teresa return and we learn how Leo lost his arm in the first episode.
- The whereabouts of the taped confession by Thredson (Zachary Quinto) to Lana will be revealed.
- New love interests are introduced for two of the characters and one couple even has a wedding.

Check out the link for a couple more. [EW]

Sarah Paulson discusses what to expect from Lana's journey in the finale:

It's really outrageous and amazing. I was barely in it last year, so it's very different. [Meeting her son is] a very emotional journey, and my character goes through a very tremendous amount of dark stuff. It's pretty spectacular what the writers did... I think people will be pleased."

[TV Line]

Creator Ryan Murphy expands on what's ahead for Lana in the finale:

no! No! After what Lana went through, if she wants to throw on some lip gloss and go on f-ing Dick Cavett? No, I don't think she's horrible at all. I think she hardened up and I think lost her way, which we will find in the last episode to chilling results.

Is this basically leading up to a battle between old Lana and 48-year old Bloody Face?
Yes. It's sort of a Barbara Walters vs. Ted Bundy extravaganza in that finale. That is part of the finale, which is very unexpected, and there's a lot of other things. I think the finale is my favorite episode we've ever done. It was directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon and written by Tim Minear. I think it's even better than "I Am Anne Frank Part II", which was previously my favorite. The whole thing is done almost as a documentary with Lana current day looking back on her life and doing a 60 Minutes-esque [interview]. That plays with like 10 different time periods. It was a very ambitious script and a very ambitious shoot and Alfonso knocked it out of the park as did Tim. The season finale is crazy good. Everyone who has seen it has cried and that includes me and network executives. It's very, very emotional and sad.

Is there like a battle between him and Lana? Are we talking wrestling match?
I don't want to give too much away. It's much more emotional than Grand Guignol. It's something that John Landgraf and I talked about at length before I wrote it. This season was so dark which I loved but I felt it was important in the finale to give a sense of kindness and peace and resolve whenever possible along with some really scary things. So it's a very very satisfying finale. I think there's not a single stone unturned. All the questions are answered and more. The question I get asked the most is, "Who or what chopped off Adam Levine's arm?" We dedicate an entire cold opening to that.

There's plenty more at the link. [EW]

Being Human (UK)

Here's the official description for the fifth series premiere:

What do you get when you put a vampire, a werewolf and a ghost in a house-share in Barry? The return of Being Human! Ghost Alex is adjusting to life after death with werewolf Tom but vampire Hal is in hell. Not because he's chained up like an animal, but because he's desperate to get his marigolds on the messy house. But when Tom and Alex decide to set him free, Hal's wracked by uncertainty…can he control his bloodlust? Things get complicated with the return of Mr Rook, the shady figure whose government department protects the world from supernaturals. Having been fired from the café, Hal and Tom find new employment at the Barry Grand Hotel, home to poisonous pensioner Captain Hatch (Phil Davis). Unknown to our trio, his decrepit exterior hides an ancient evil that threatens not only their friendship but also the entire world.

[SpoilerTV]

Lost Girl

Syfy has released this trailer for what's ahead in season three.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Here are two promos for tomorrow morning's episode, "Eminence." [Coming Soon]

Additional reporting by Amanda Yesilbas and Charlie Jane Anders.

Prymnesium parvum is a single-celled, toxic algae species that wreaks havoc throughout U.S. waters. The toxin is designed to wipe out their competition for sunlight and nutrients... but for some reason, some of the algae don't bother producing toxins.

Cheating and freeloading are well-observed behaviors in more complex species like humans and chimpanzees, but it's a little bit more of a surprise when such behavior is observed in a single-celled species like this algae. University of Arizona researcher William Driscoll made the discovery, reporting that some of the algae in his lab-grown strains grew much larger than others because they didn't devote any energy to creating the toxins that are essential to the algae's species-wide defense system.

What's intriguing about this find isn't so much that some of the algae are cheating; rather, it's the fact that any algae still bother producing toxin when it's a clear individual benefit to devote all available energy to producing offspring. Natural selection should quickly wipe out the toxin-producing algae, even if it means sacrificing the toxic defense. Indeed, part of the reason "cheating" is so rare in simple species like this is that it's hard to maintain two divergent behavior patterns like this — one of these groups, either the toxin producers or the energy savers, should have won out long ago.

The reason why that didn't happen comes down to the true purpose of the toxin. While it has proven useful as an all-purpose defense system, its overriding purpose is something far more aggressive and specialized, as Driscoll explains:

"[The toxic algae] attack other cells. Using their two flagella, they swim up to the prey and latch on to it. Sometimes a struggle takes place, and more cells swim up to the scene, surround their victim and release more toxin, and then they eat it. These toxins might have evolved less as a means to keep competitors away and more like a rattlesnake venom. The algae might use it to stun or immobilize prey. When times are good and there are plenty of nutrients in the water, the algae use photosynthesis to gain energy from sunlight, but when nutrients become sparse, they attack and become toxic. That's when they start swimming around looking for prey. They are a little bit like carnivorous plants in that way — like a Venus fly trap."

Basically, the toxic algae are crucial to wiping out species that might be competition, but they also tend to get rid of prey as well. That's when the "cheaters" take over, as Driscoll explains:

"During a bloom you have killed off all the prey or a huge amount of it, so why produce toxins and go looking for something that isn't there? It might be better to just keep growing and not even try to bother to keep looking for prey because it's gone. We are ultimately interested in disrupting the competitive abilities of these bloom-forming populations. While this research is just scratching the surface, understanding how natural selection may work over the course of a bloom can provide a deeper understanding of the traits that are most important to the success of this species."

Indeed, these new findings may prove crucial in dealing with the increasingly common algae blooms. While the sudden fishkills haven't had a direct impact on the human and livestock populations back on dry land, their growing prevalence isn't good for the long-term environmental balance, and left unchecked these algae could well start to pose a real threat to our food supply.

Evolution via the University of Arizona. Top image of algae beds by mmmavocado on Flickr. Side image of Prymnesium parvum by William Driscoll.

At the risk of looking like a fool come December, I think we've got an early favorite for 2013's most adorable nebula. As this National Radio Astronomy Observatory video explains, this nebula looks just like a manatee.

While astronomers Miller Goss and Amy Mioduszewski spend much of the video above focused on the actual science behind the nebula's formation and its appearance, you can see an image of the nebula itself on the left — you can click on the image for a closer look. Previously known simply as W50, the nebula is located about 18,000 light-years away in the constellation Aquila. The nebula is the aftermath of a supernova explosion. Here's how the NRAO explains the nebula's distinctive shape:

The remaining, gravitationally-crushed relic of that giant star, most likely a black hole, feeds on gas from a very close, companion star. The cannibalized gas collects in a disk around the black hole. The disk and black hole's network of powerful magnetic field lines acts like an enormous railroad system to snag charged particles out of the disk and channel them outward in powerful jets traveling at nearly the speed of light. This system of a black hole and its feeder star shines brightly in both radio waves and X-rays and is known collectively as the SS433 microquasar.

Over time, the micro quasar's jets have forced their way through the expanding gases of the W50 bubble, eventually punching bulges outward on either side. The jets also wobble, like an unstable spinning top, and blaze vivid corkscrew patterns across the inflating bulges.

For more, check out the NRAO website, including the all-important comparison shot between the nebula and its marine mammal namesake on the left.

Video by NRAO/AUI/NSF, K. Golap, M. Goss; NASA's Wide Field Survey Explorer (WISE). Image by NRAO/AUI/NSF, K. Golap, M. Goss; NASA's Wide Field Survey Explorer (WISE).

One of Marvel's latest superheroes could be crossing over to The Avengers 2. Check out new trailers for Oblivion and the Evil Dead reboot. Ryan Murphy keeps on talking about American Horror Story's next season. Plus Hugh Jackman hints at tons of returning mutants in X-Men: Days of Future Past!

Spoilers from here on out!

Top image from The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

Iron Man 3

The Facebook page for the Hollywood Orchid Suites posted this message to guests that effectively doubles as a set report for the past weekend's Los Angeles reshoots:

It is going to be an exciting weekend here at the Hollywood Orchid Suites as ‘Iron Man 3′ is filming additional scenes in Hollywood on January 21, 2013. Film crews plan to shoot wide-angled shots from cranes positioned high overhead "to capture the full scope, color and liveliness of Hollywood" while they "blow up" Grauman's Chinese Theatre. There will be flashes of light, debris being propelled out of the courtyard towards the street and about 30 cars driving by with obligatory fender benders. The shoot will cause street closures on Hollywood Blvd., between Highland Ave. and Orange Dr., Highland Ave. and McCadden Pl., beginning on Monday, January 21, 7:00 p.m. through Tuesday, January 22, 4:00 a.m. and possible increased noise from generators, cranes, film crews, etc. Iron Man 3.

[Hollywood Orchid Suites]

Thor: The Dark World

Erstwhile Doctor Who star Christopher Eccleston says his Dark Elf character, Malekith the Accursed, is "a bad guy with no redeeming qualities" and that Malekith is trying to take over the universe with the very vocal encouragement of Tom Hiddleston's Loki. [Comic Book Movie]

Lost alum Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje shares some experiences from his work as secondary villain Kurse:

Yeah, I mean look: I can recall the scene. I'm in the scene and Renee Russo is in my arms or beside me and I'm facing Anthony Hopkins and Chris Hemsworth and Chris Eccleston–and just about every great actor within that genre is in the room and you just realize it's a great privilege and honor. To be opposite Anthony Hopkins and to watch him work is just... amazing.

I think that's the most exciting part about it–the fact that you're going to be rolling up your sleeves and getting dirty. As an actor, that's what turns you on. That's what we did, is put on those costumes and we went for it, toe to toe, pound for pound, including those choreographed fights. It wasn't blue or green screen–they obviously need a certain amount of that but there was a lot of stuff that we–that I certainly did. I pretty much did everything myself. Obviously the dangerous stunts were done by stuntmen but I enjoyed the process of choreographing the fights; that was fun.

He also mentioned that he filmed scenes "out in Iceland on these black volcanic mountains." [Comic Book]

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Toby Jones has now confirmed that he will indeed return as the villainous Armin Zola in the Captain America sequel. His confirmation can be seen towards the end of the video interview below. [HeyUGuys via Comic Book Movie]

The Avengers 2

This is most definitely tenuous, but Anthony Mackie — who is playing The Falcon in Captain America: The Winter Soldier — was asked twice about appearing in both the Captain America and Avengers sequels in a recent interview and failed to correct the interviewer about his appearance in Joss Whedon's next Avengers movie. So... he might be in it? There were some reports way back in October that Frank Grillo would be playing the villain Crossbones in both Captain America: The Winter Soldier and The Avengers 2, so the idea of bringing in some supporting players from Captain America — likely in a role roughly the size of Gwyneth Paltrow's cameo in The Avengers — doesn't seem impossible, but anything bigger than that is much more speculative. [Comic Book Movie]

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Speaking of tenuous, Chronicle star Dane DeHaan premiered a new film at Sundance over the weekend, and he was reportedly introduced as playing "Green Goblin" in the Amazing Spider-Man sequel. This is being taken by some as confirmation that DeHaan's version of Harry Osborn will be suiting up as Green Goblin during the film, but it just as easily could have been a reference to the character's past activities in either the comics or Sam Raimi's trilogy. Either way, an eventual transformation into Green Goblin seems decently likely for DeHaan's Harry Osborn, but anything beyond that is just guesswork and inference from not a whole lot of anything. [Bleeding Cool]

The Descendants actress Shailene Woodley says she's excited to play Mary Jane Watson in the sequel, although she doesn't know enough yet about the film to say for sure whether she has a love triangle with Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker and Emma Stone's Gwen Stacy, or indeed if she will be dying her brown hair red for the role — although she says she's assuming she will indeed become a redhead for the part. [MTV Geek]

X-Men: Days of Future Past

Wolverine actor Hugh Jackman very strongly implies there's a bunch more old X-Men returning for Bryan Singer's latest:

"You wouldn't have enough room on the page after you've listed them all. ‘Every other actor who's ever put on a superhero uniform will be in it. There's an element of time travel and, naturally, it will be action-packed."

[Daily Mail]

Oblivion

Here's a trailer for Tom Cruise and Tron Legacy director Joseph Kosinski's post-apocalyptic sci-fi epic.

And here's a promo photo. [/Film]

Riddick

Here's an interview with costar Katee Sackhoff, who of course is best known for her work as Starbuck on Battlestar Galactica. [I Am Rogue]

Transformers 4

New franchise star Mark Wahlberg discusses why he signed on for the project:

"I think it will be the most challenging role that I've played and it's an opportunity for me to do something extremely different. It's going to be very different from what the first ones were. I'm excited about it. When I talked to (producer) Steven Spielberg and Michael and said, 'Don't worry guys, this is not me taking a paycheck and running with it. This is me trying to do something different.'... It's the first time [my children have] ever been excited about me going off to do a movie, and they demand to be in it."

[TFW 2005]

Elsewhere, Wahlberg suggested he starts filming Transformers 4 in May, and then he will be working on the Ted sequel by September, meaning his portion of filming could only run from May to August, though more realistically he will have some time off between projects. That suggests a somewhat shorter production schedule than that of Dark of the Moon, although it's of course entirely possible that there will be more principal photography without Wahlberg being involved. [TFW 2005]

Kick-Ass 2

Here's the first official image from the upcoming sequel, showing an encounter between Aaron Taylor-Johnson's Kick-Ass and Jim Carrey's Colonel Stars and Stripes, the leader of the fledgling Justice Forever superhero team. [Pop Culturology]

Evil Dead

Here's another trailer for the upcoming reboot, directed by Fede Alvarez and starring Suburgatory's Jane Levy, similar to the red band trailer that came out recently. [Shock Till You Drop]

Warm Bodies

Once Upon a Time

Here's the description for episode thirteen, "Tiny", which airs February 10:

"Tiny" – Kidnapped and brought to Storybrooke by Cora, the Giant (Jorge Garcia) unleashes his vengeance on the town when a case of mistaken identity leads him to try and settle an old score with David; Mr. Gold, accompanied by Emma and Henry, attempts to depart Storybrooke – hoping to keep his memory intact when he crosses the town line — and heads to the airport in search of his son Bae; and Greg (Ethan Embry) questions Belle as to what she saw on the night of his car accident. Meanwhile, in the fairytale land that was and against his brothers' wishes, Anton, the Giant, climbs down the beanstalk and attempts to befriend some humans – whose intentions may not be so noble.

[SpoilerTV]

Arrow

Here's a preview for this Wednesday's episode, "Trust But Verify" from producer Marc Guggenheim.

The Vampire Diaries

Here's a promo and a sneak peek for this week's episode, "Catch Me If You Can."

Additional reporting by Amanda Yesilbas and Charlie Jane Anders.

The craziest Doctor Who rumor of them all has officially dropped. Robert Rodriguez and Joseph Gordon-Levitt preview Sin City: A Dame to Kill For. Vin Diesel releases the latest Riddick photo. Plus intriguing Arrow, True Blood, and Teen Wolf rumors!

It's all spoilers from this point forward!

Top image from Doctor Who.

Iron Man 3

Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Feige digs deep into Tony Stark's mindset heading into Iron Man 3, explaining how profoundly the events of The Avengers affected him:

"So much of the journey of 'Iron Man 3' is informed by Tony's experiences in 'The Avengers. It's almost like post-traumatic stress: he really has retreated after the events of 'The Avengers' into his workshop, where he's building advanced versions of his suits. He has [designed] a version of the suit that can latch onto him in individual pieces ... anytime, anywhere. As he starts to realize, it's basically because he doesn't want to be out of the suit: he's seen a lot of things in 'Avengers' and has encountered a lot of powerful people, much more powerful than he is.

"It brings us back to the Tony we met in the first part of 'Iron Man' where he's removed from that convoy and brought to the cave with nothing but a box of scraps. It's fun for all of us to watch Tony try to figure out how to get out of that scenario. Much of the movie is Tony in the middle of the country without his tools and a fairly broken suit to help him. But that's his superpower: he wasn't born on Asgard, he wasn't hit by gamma rays, and he doesn't have the super soldier serum. His power is his brain. It's fun to put Tony Stark in a corner with nothing and see how he can get out of it."

He also explains how he, writer-director Shane Black, and the rest of the creative team approached the villainous Mandarin, as played by Ben Kingsley:

"We felt there was leeway to explore the Mandarin in a way that hasn't been explored before. We found we couldn't point to any sort of definitive Mandarin story in the comics- but if you print this, I'm sure a million fans will point to a specific story - so as we've done with many of the films, we did an amalgamation. The Mandarin is relentless: he's a non-stop threat, and you've seen that in the first teaser trailer when Tony Stark's house tumbles into the sea. He doesn't mess around, this guy."

More stuff at the link. [MTV via Coming Soon]

Transformers 4

Relative newcomer Jack Reynor, who recently joined Mark Wahlberg as the first confirmed human cast members of the new Transformers movie, discusses his preparation for the role:

"I'm training very intensely at the moment. I'm going to keep that up until we shoot. I'm going to do some different courses, some different things I need to pick up for the film. My character seems to be a race car driver so I'm going to be doing a couple of driving courses and getting out on the track... I went through quite a rigorous audition process out in L.A., and after a certain amount of auditions and meetings with different executives, I managed to pull it off... I did [audition], which was an intimidating thing to do, We sat down, we had a long chat one day, which was great. I felt totally comfortable with Michael, he's a really nice guy, but, you know, in the back of your mind he is such a huge director and he does these really high scale type of films. It can be a bit intimidating, but I went for it as best I could and it came out alright... I haven't met [Mark Walhberg] before, but I'm really excited. He's one of my favourite actors. I just think he's brilliant. I have a huge amount of respect for him as an actor so I can't wait to get on set with him.''

[TFW 2005]

Riddick

Here's the latest still image from the film, courtesy of Vin Diesel's often wonderful, always ridiculous Facebook page. [Vin Diesel]

Mad Max: Fury Road

Here's a set video from the recent filming in Namibia for George Miller's Mad Max sequel, starring Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron. [Bleeding Cool]

R.I.P.D.

Kevin Bacon describes his villainous turn in the upcoming undead cop movie starring Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges:

Yeah, he's a villain, but it's much lighter [than The Following]. It's funny. He's a goofball. He turns into a zombie. He's not a serial killer.

[Collider]

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

Robert Rodriguez discusses some of the cast members who recently filmed scenes for the sequel, and he also confirms Bruce Willis will be back as Hartagan:

[Juno Temple] just shot, she was fantastic. Her and Ray Liotta played together, they were amazing. Jeremy Piven shot just last night... we were shooting last night, all night. There are some characters from the book. It might surprise people who they play and the turns that they do... Bruce [Willis] is back, so you'll be seeing him... We have some choices in mind [for Ava Lord but] we haven't finalised the casting. She doesn't shoot for a couple weeks... We shot this in 3D. We didn't shoot Sin City in 3D. I wouldn't want to convert that one probably. The difference in shooting it is just... you can't even compare. Because this is a very two dimensional world it's very stylised. To see that kind of stylisation in 3D will blow people's mind.

[MTV via Collider]

New star Joseph Gordon-Levitt discusses his character, described as a cocky gambler named Johnny, as well as his excitement to work in this particular format:

"'Sin City 2' is going to be fun. [I'm playing] a quintessential Rodriguez badass. It's going to be fun as hell... I've made a lot of short films with hitRECOrd on green screen, and in my opinion, 'Sin City' is probably the best movie that's been made with that methodology. So I'm very eager to see how [Rodriguez] does it."

[MTV]

And let's go back to Rodriguez for some more:

"The only story we've shot is the intro story, that's completely done. The other ones we've just sort of been piecemealing, shooting as the actors become available. All three stories have a little bit of footage to be shot. [Jospeh Gordon-Levitt] plays a gambler. A very cocky gambler that comes in and tries to beat the biggest villain in Sin City at his own game. The story is called 'The Long Bad Night', he beats the wrong guy at a game...bad stuff happens to him."

[Comic Book Movie]

Doctor Who

Well, it was only a matter of time before some brave rumor-monger threw caution to the wind and dropped the alpha and the omega of Doctor Who rumors — Omega not included, incidentally — by claiming that all eleven Doctors will be featured in the 50th anniversary special this November. Yes, even the very much deceased William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, and Jon Pertwee are going to put in appearances and, even more unbelievably, Christopher Eccleston might even show up. Admittedly, it's probably very likely that all eleven Doctors will appear in much the same way that all eleven Doctors appeared at the end of "The Eleventh Hour" — that is to say, with lots of archive footage involved — and return appearances by at least one or two former Doctors are hardly implausible. But including all eleven Doctors in any substantial sort of way seems way more unlikely, and the report's claim that the special "will use studio trickery to resurrect the first three Doctors – William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee – in brief flashback scenes" doesn't really explain much at all about how their inclusion would work, insofar as it really doesn't seem to make all that much sense unless they're planning on using old footage and maybe some sound-alike actors to do their voices. Anyway, this should only be taken with the most liberal heaping of salt, but unless someone wants to claim the special will also bring back every companion living and dead, every monster, and Peter Cushing's spin-off Doctor Who for good measure, I think we've officially found the most outlandish possible Doctor Who anniversary rumor. But, yeah, I still would kind of like it to be true. [Birmingham Mail]

The Walking Dead

Here's an exceedingly low-quality promo for the return of season three. [Update: There's a much better, hi-res version of the trailer here.]

True Blood

Friday Night Lights actress Jurnee Smollett will reportedly take on the series regular role of Nicole, described as "a do-gooder who possesses the rosy outlook of someone that life hasn't beaten down yet [and who is] not concerned with money and more concerned with the doing what's right." 90210's Amelia Rose Blaire will reportedly have a recurring role as Willa, "the daughter of Louisiana Governor Truman Burrell (played by Arliss Howard) [who] has long clashed with her father over vampire rights." [TV Line]

Once Upon a Time

Here's a promo for the next episode, "Tiny", featuring the return of Lost's Jorge Garcia as the Giant.

Arrow

For those on Black Canary watch, there may be good news on the horizon. The sixteenth episode will reportedly introduce Laurel's estranged mother Dinah Lance, who in the comics was the original Black Canary. (She was also Oliver Queen's original girlfriend, but that's more due to timeline-shifting shenanigans than anything else.) Though there's nothing to suggest the elder Lance will appear as Black Canary, the introduction of the other major holder of the title in the comics can only be a good thing for the chances of a Black Canary appearance down the line. [Zap2It]

The Vampire Diaries

Here's some more info for the upcoming episode that will set up the Originals spin-off, courtesy of Zap2It:

Klaus will meet the beautiful and intelligent Camille, a psychology student at Tulane in New Orleans. Like Elena before her, Cami is a human, unaware of the "supernatural storm" brewing around her — but she's certainly intrigued by the darker side of the French Quarter. She'll be particularly drawn to Klaus, because as a smart and curious student, she's intrigued by one question in particular: What makes someone evil? If anyone can answer that, it's our very own Original hybrid. If "The Originals" gets picked up to series, Cami will be a regular cast member.

[Zap2It]

Defiance

Here are some new photos from Syfy's alien western. [KSiteTV]

Teen Wolf

The show will feature at least one gay sex scene in the upcoming third season, specifically involving Danny. [Zap2It]

Additional reporting by Amanda Yesilbas and Charlie Jane Anders.

Star Trek Into Darkness puts Kirk and Spock's fundamental differences under the microscope once again — but that will end up being a good or bad thing? And Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige talks more about the Mandarin.

All that, plus Nicholas Hoult discusses Warm Bodies and Mad Max: Fury Road, the S.H.I.E.L.D. pilot starts filming, Felicia Day discusses her Supernatural return, and a Doctor Who star joins Arrow!

Spoilers from here on out!

Top image from Star Trek Into Darkness.

Star Trek Into Darkness

Director J.J. Abrams hints at why Benedict Cumberbatch's villainous John Harrison poses such a threat Captain Kirk's fledgling control of the Enterprise:

In many ways, this film is about a guy who is being tested to earn [his ship]... There is an insidiousness and ruthlessness and fierce intelligence to [Harrison] that almost undermines the interconnectivity of the crew. The stakes are much higher... The goal of this movie is to make you cry. If the movie does its job, then by the end of the movie, you will have had a reaction involving the eyes.

And Kirk actor Chris Pine explains how the movie explores the often diametrically opposed views of Kirk and Zachary Quinto's Mr. Spock:

"The definition of who these two people are definitely comes to bear in this film. It's central to what happens in the story. Spock is a logical man of cold reason who is run by laws, regulations and prescriptions. Kirk is a guttural, by-the-heart, instinctive and impulsive guy. Those two ways of looking at the world are central to these characters and their journey."

[MTV via Comic Book Movie]

Iron Man 3

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige talks some more about how writer-director Shane Black approached the admittedly tricky character of the Mandarin, played in the movie by Ben Kingsley:

"None of us wanted to do Fu Man Chu. We weren't interested in that in the least... So as we've done with many of the films, we did an amalgamation. The Mandarin is relentless: he's a non-stop threat, and you've seen that in the first teaser trailer when Tony Stark's house tumbles into the sea. He doesn't mess around, this guy. When we took away the notion of the Fu Man Chu and 'I found rings in a spaceship,' we got much more to 'How do we bring his Ten Rings organization and make it scary the way real-life terrorists can be scary, but also much more theatrical and flamboyant, like how the Mandarin was in the comics?' So we made him very public and had him take credit for his actions, to announce them in a very public way before striking. That's good for a movie, because it makes things very dramatic, and it also brings the Mandarin into the 21st century, where the videos you pass through the 24-hour news cycle is as important as the strike itself."

[MTV Splash Page]

It's been officially announced that the movie will open in IMAX 3D, despite the fact that it was shot in neither format. So, fingers crossed for one hell of a conversion, I guess. Anyway, here's a trio of set videos. [/Film]

Tron 3

Bruce Boxleitner, who plays the franchise's title character as well as human counterpart Alan Bradley, offers this update on the Tron Legacy follow-up:

I don't know. They say yes, they say no. It's way above my pay grade to be able to tell you that. It's still a money-maker for them (Disney), and it's still a great franchise. They announced it at San Diego Comic-Con, so I'm not speaking out of school here, but it's in development, and development can take a while. We've got to get that creative team back again. I do know they're working on the story concepts and stuff like that.

[Coventry Telegraph]

Warm Bodies

X-Men: First Class actor Nicholas Hoult explains the particular challenges of playing the zombie half of a romantic comedy:

I just felt bad for the other actors that had to do scenes with me because there wasn't a lot going on a lot of the time, and particularly for [costar] Teresa [Palmer]. She'd have pages of dialogue to rattle off whilst I just sat there and would look blankly at her. But it's that thing you know of just committing to it and believing in what you're doing. Trust in Jonathan [Levine] as well, you know he's a very talented director. So that gave me a bit of confidence.

Mad Max: Fury Road

Nicholas Hoult also discusses his experiences filming George Miller's fourth Mad Max movie, in which Tom Hardy takes over the title role:

It was fantastic to film. I mean crazy. You know I've never seen anything like it: the landscape we're in the, the vehicles, the stunts. But George Miller is a fantastic director and I think its going to be a really cool film.

Who do you play?
I play a character called Nux who is one of the drivers.

Do you have in scrapes with Mad Max?
We've got a few scenes together

[Collider]

Jack the Giant Slayer

And let's finish our all things Nicholas Hoult update with his thoughts on Bryan Singer's gritty fairy tale epic, in which he has the title role:

I've seen a few little clips of it. It looks pretty impressive, like, visually. The giants they've created all have the personalities and the world that they live in, Gantua, is pretty spectacular.

Oz the Great and Powerful

Here's a new promo image spotlighting Michelle William's Glinda and James Franco's Oz. [The Lebanese Cinema Movie Guide]

Beautiful Creatures

Here's a sneak peek clip from the upcoming supernatural romance. [Coming Soon]

S.H.I.E.L.D.

Here are some photos tweeted from the set of the currently filming S.H.I.E.L.D. pilot, including an almost-silhouetted look at creator and pilot director Joss Whedon. [EW]

Supernatural

Felicia Day discusses her return tonight as Charlie Bradbury:

"This Charlie is a little bit more beaten up and a little bit more gun-shy in a sense. But she's still the kind of girl who's going to meet you toe-to-toe. She's never going to back down if she believes something. She's not intimidated, and she's willing to question. That brings out a lot of fun dynamics between her and, especially, Dean.

"I think that there might be costumes on everybody at a certain point. I can tell you there are definitely things you're going to want to screenshot and [make into] animated GIFs. You can highlight the quotes in the scripts. It's really witty and well-written. I know the legacy of women on Supernatural is a little bit up and down. Everybody assumes you're going to be in deathly peril all the time. So having Charlie be a part of the world in a different way and having the fans like her is really important to me and made me excited to go back."

[TV Line]

Arrow

As part of the show's increasingly impressive effort to cast every awesome genre actor in existence on the show — seriously, the show has already found room for Torchwood's John Barrowman, Battlestar Galactia and Dollhouse's Tahmoh Penikett, Fringe's Seth Gabel, and Farscape's Ben Browder, and that's just off the top of my head — Arrow has reportedly cast River Song herself, Alex Kingston, as Laurel Lance's estranged mother Dinah, who tries to reconnect with her daughter and ex-husband in an upcoming episode. And, if her character on Arrow is anything like her character on Doctor Who, there will be considerably more to her than meets the eye, which fits in nicely with all the speculation that her appearance will be used to introduce the Black Canary alter ego into the show's universe. Anyway, she will have a recurring guest role on the show. [EW]

Executive producer Marc Guggenheim says the introduction of Spartacus costar Manu Bennett as Deathstroke in the thirteenth episode will really shake up the flashback island narrative:

"One of the things we like to do on the show is use the comic book expectations to surprise people. So I will say that when Oliver meets Manu's character, it's a seismic change in the level of trust that Oliver does or does not feel on the island. And the connection with Deathstroke is probably not what people are expecting."

Guggenheim also says that, by season's end, Diggle and Huntress won't be the only ones who know Oliver's secret identity. [EW]

The Originals

Daniel Gillies is reportedly set to return to the role of Elijah for the proposed Klaus-focused Vampire Diaries spin-off. Elijah's role in the New Orleans-set show would reportedly be to try to help Klaus find redemption, which forces him to side against Klaus's evil protege Marcel. All that said, Gillies has a preexisting commitment to the Canadian series Saving Hope, which might end up precluding his involvement with The Originals if it keeps running. [TV Guide]

Being Human

Here's a brief synopsis for the third episode, "The Teens They Are a Changin":

Nora and Josh meet a teenage runaway; Sally tries to make things right with Troy; Aidan and Henry search for clean blood.

[SpoilerTV]

Additional reporting by Amanda Yesilbas and Charlie Jane Anders.

Jon Favreau might not longer be directing the Iron Man movies, but his role in Iron Man 3 is bigger than ever. An original Replicant confirms she's been approached about Ridley Scott's Blade Runner sequel. Plus more serious carnage can be expected on The Walking Dead!

Spoilers from here on out!

Top image from The Walking Dead.

Guardians of the Galaxy

Marvel Studios is reportedly reaching out to the representatives for, of all people, Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler to find out whether they might be available for a role in this upcoming space opera. There's no word yet on which role or roles they might be under consideration for, but the obvious answer would probably be the voice of Rocket Raccoon, as the character will almost certainly will be a CGI creation. In any event, whatever role Carrey and Sandler are up for, it's rather understandably expected to be a comic relief role. Meanwhile, three more actors have reportedly read for the main role of Peter Quill, otherwise known as Star Lord: American Beauty and The Hunger Games actor Wes Bentley, Veronica Mars recurring costar Chris Lowell, and Twilight's Cam Gigandet. [Latino Review]

Iron Man 3

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige says erstwhile director Jon Favreau has his biggest on-camera role yet as Happy Hogan:

"This is by far the biggest part that Happy has had in any of the films. He's just great in this. When you put Jon in front of the camera, he tends to steal every scene he's in, just by reading the scripted lines, but also by going off-book and ad-libbing with the best of them. He's got some amazing scenes that he steals. But there's a deeper storyline for Happy in this one, and more of a connection with Tony. The movie goes into why they've been friends for all these years."

He also confirmed that Favreau had some behind-the-scenes input in the film, very much at the behest of new writer-director Shane Black:

"It was wonderful for Shane, because he had Favreau right there, sitting next to him. Shane was not shy about going over and asking Jon questions, whether it was as simple as, 'How do I navigate this giant green screen?' Or if it was a question about the character and the franchise. Jon is incredibly gracious and incredibly conscious with other filmmakers to not step on their toes. At the same time, he gives advice and input when he's asked. It's been a pleasure having Favreau involved. It feels like a natural evolution and a natural continuation of the storyline, even behind-the-scenes, in the making of the movie. It's not a right turn from where we started."

[MTV Splash Page]

Thor: The Dark World

Lost alum Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje reveals his initial reaction to learning he would be playing Kurse, a villainous Dark Elf:

"When I was first approached about the role, I was a little confused, because my perception of an elf was a dwarf, and I thought, ‘This is interesting - are they going to morph me into this dwarf character?' But, actually, It's a very interesting take on a dark elf: this creature who is dark because he comes from a dark world. I can't tell you that much, but I can tell you Marvel are going all-out to really give this character an incredible visual impact. It's exciting for me, not just as an actor, but as a guy."

[Comic Book Movie]

Sif actress Jaime Alexander says she doesn't know if she will be back for subsequent Thor films but considers it a decent possibility:

"I think they keep it secret mostly because they know that we might slip and accidentally say something. I think it's no secret that Marvel tries to make as many films as they can, so that possibility of there being a third installment of Thor is a strong possibility — I mean, we've seen it over and over again — but, we still don't know. And like with this one, I was told for certain that it was happening about a month before I flew here. I mean, it's like you know it's happening, but they won't really confirm it until the last possible minute. So, I know when to start lifting weights. I do it two or three months ahead of time now so I don't have to overdo it. But I'm like, ‘I know it's coming around at about this time, so let me start lifting weights again!'"

With Thor: The Dark World set to explore the Nine Realms, will we get to see more of Sif?
You do! You do get to see more Sif. A little bit more of everyone, I think, as it stands right now. Of course, you never know what can happen in the editing room, but we do explore Asgard quite a lot, and also some of the other realms that maybe you didn't know of...

[Total Film]

Elsewhere, Alexander reveals that, although no one ever asks her about this, she might well share some scenes with Natalie Portman's Jane Foster. Here's the video interview with her below. [Bleeding Cool]

Man of Steel

Zack Snyder's Superman movie has, as one really could have just assumed, reportedly been given a PG-13 rating "for intense sequences of sci-fi violence, action and destruction, and for some language." [Spinoff Online]

Blade Runner Sequel

Sean Young, who played the almost entirely human replicant Rachel in Blade Runner, confirms she's been approached about returning to the role for Ridley Scott's planned follow-up:

Well, I did meet with Alcon, the company that owns it and is planning to do the remake with Ridley. I did meet with them, but I think at that point they just wanted to meet me and I don't think they have any plans of using any of the original people, although I can't say for sure. I do think, let me just say it right here, I do think it would be a disappointment to the audience not to have Rachel in it but you know what, folks in Hollywood make mistakes all the time.

I guess depending on your interpretation of the film, she might have only lasted four years.
Oh no, in the interpretation I'm the one that has no end date. I'm the one that rides off in the car with him at the end that has no end date. I'm Nexus-7, not Nexus-6.

[Crave Online]

Warm Bodies

Here's a sneak peek clip. [Coming Soon]

Oz the Great and Powerful

Here's a video spotlighting the role of the three witches in Sam Raimi and James Franco's Wizard of Oz prequel.

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters

Star Gemma Arteron discusses what's going on inside the mind of her title character (Gretel, not Hansel, in case you haven't read this particular fairy tale recently) as well as the function of the recent reshoots:

ARTERTON: She's very damaged, both of the kids are; they've grown up emotionally scarred by what happened to them when they were kids. She has developed this tough exterior, though inside, she's a delicate little flower and very vulnerable. But she's not to be messed with; she's fearless, and doesn't take any nonsense from anybody. She's more the brains behind the operation, and Hansel's the brawn and the humor, though Gretel does have a good sense of humor too; it's just not so outward.

Would you say the movie has more of a fairy-tale spirit, or a tone more akin to modern action films?
I think it has got a fairy-tale spin to it. It vacillares between many different genres: horror, comedy, action…adventure is maybe the best word to describe it. But the fairy-tale element in this fantasy world is very prevalent, and not to be mistaken for a typical action movie.

HANSEL & GRETEL's release was delayed for nearly a year. Did you go back and do any reshoots during that period?
We did; there were a couple of things. We had quite a lot of time, and there were a lot of little moments that we didn't manage to get while we were shooting, so we thought, "Why not use this time?" Little bits and bobs, so that was good. It was just character things between Jeremy and I. We shot a little bit in the [California] desert, actually, because we couldn't get to do that in Germany, and it was actually good to revisit it.

There's more at the link. [Fangoria]

Jack the Giant Slayer

Here's a TV spot.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation

Snake Eyes actor D.J. Cortuda summarizes everything the film has to offer:

The great thing about this is that, while it's all G.I. Joe, we have two really great stories underneath. You have the strong, hardcore military stuff with all the things you want to see and much more and then Snake Eyes' journey is kind of separate in the beginning. It goes much further into his individual journey and everything you would want to see there," said Cotrona. "But they do come together in a really cool way in the second part of the film towards the end. They all kind of merge together. It's really cool. You almost get three movies. You get the hardcore military G.I. Joe thing. You get a really amazing Snake Eyes action-based ninja acrobatic amazing fight thing and then they come together. Everybody mixes it up together.

[IGN]

The Dark Knight Returns: Part 2

Here's a sneak peek at the second half of the animated DVD adaptation of Frank Miller's seminal comics story. This particular clip spotlights the Joker, as played by the great Michael Emerson. [Coming Soon]

The Walking Dead

Co-executive producer Greg Nicotero all but confirms there will be more major character deaths before the end of the season:

"We've established a certain scenario on our show where nobody is safe — and certainly in the back-half of our season, it doesn't get easy for anybody. We have the whole Woodbury community with the Governor [David Morrissey] and our principal cast. We'll probably end our season minus a cast member or two. [The fight] moves around a lot. It's very possible there might be another attack on Woodbury. The beauty is you're not confined to one location, even though we spend a lot of our season at Woodbury or the prison. The bottom line is that we've established the conflict between the Governor and Rick, and we'll explore that a lot more in the second half."

And costar Laurie Holden explains Andrea's growing internal conflict:

"Andrea's eyes are now opening; she had no idea that Rick and the others were still alive. Now she's learning that the group is not only alive but that one of her friends has been captured by the man she's been romantically involved with. Her head is exploding. Andrea has a really good sense of character, and she loves Rick's group. She doesn't know they're at the prison, so she's got a lot of catching up to do. But I can guarantee you that what she does, her heart is in the right place... It's not so easy [for her to help Daryl]; she is in a town where it's guarded and the Governor has men who have disarmed everybody. Woodbury almost becomes a cage, like its own prison, in the second part of the season. Andrea is going to do anything and everything she can to protect the people she loves."

[Spinoff Online]

Person of Interest

Episode seventeen is reportedly called Proteus, and "some of it will take place on Owen Island, where a storm is taking place." [SpoilerTV]

Grimm

Episode seventeen will reportedly be called "One Angry Fuchsbau." [SpoilerTV]

Touch

Here's the description for the two-hour second season premiere, "Event Horizon"/"Closer":

"TOUCH" RECONNECTS WITH A HEART-POUNDING THRILL RIDE IN THE SPECIAL TWO-HOUR SEASON TWO PREMIERE FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, ON FOX

Season Two of TOUCH picks up right where Season One left off - with Kiefer Sutherland's character, MARTIN, on the run with his son, JAKE (David Mazouz). Martin is determined to keep Jake safe from those who want to exploit his supernatural abilities, but Jake is on a mission of his own - to find the elusive Amelia (Saxon Sharbino). When Jake leads Martin to Los Angeles and to Amelia's mother, LUCY ROBBINS (Maria Bello), these three form an ad hoc family, searching for the girl who may be the key to understanding Jake's abilities. Factoring into the unfolding equation is the genius of Aster Corps., CALVIN NORBURG (Lukas Haas), who's on the verge of making a career-defining discovery, as well as the extreme religious zealot GUILLERMO ORTIZ (Said Taghmaoui), who stops at nothing to attain his vision. As ominous connections appear, Martin remains determined to uncover a global conspiracy in order to protect his family and save the lives of the innocent in the special two-hour Season Two premiere episode of TOUCH.

[SpoilerTV]

And here are some promo photos for these first two episodes. [SpoilerTV]

American Horror Story

Creator Ryan Murphy says he wants Taissa Farmiga, who played Violet Harmon in the first season, to return for the third season in a big way:

"I missed her this season. There wasn't really a role for her. I feel very protective of her and I didn't want her to go back into the loony bin — it was too dark. So I thought well ‘I want Taissa to be one of the leads next year.' I called her up and pitched her the character for the season and she loved it and she said, ‘Yes let's do it.' So we're in negotiations for her to headline season 3."

[EW]

Being Human (UK)

The fifth series will kick off at 10:00 pm on Sunday, February 3 on BBC Three. [SpoilerTV]

Lost Girl

Here are some promo photos from episode four, "Fae-de To Black." [SpoilerTV]

Additional reporting by Amanda Yesilbas and Charlie Jane Anders.

Kate Winslet might be in the latest Hunger Games imitator, because Kate Winslet can do as she damn well pleases. Fringe's Seth Gabel previews his Arrow guest spot. Plus Warwick Davis discusses meeting the Cybermen on Doctor Who, and more!

It's spoilers all the way down!

Top image from X-Men: First Class.

The Wolverine

Director James Mangold makes it clear the Tokyo-set Wolverine movie won't just be going to that one part of Tokyo where everyone inexplicably speaks perfect English the whole time — and indeed, that's crucial to making this distinct from other X-Men movies:

There is a significant amount of Japanese spoken in the movie, and the cast is almost entirely Japanese. So there is this wonderful sense of cross-pollination between a very Western character and a far Eastern culture, and I think it's very cool and something we haven't seen so far. I think there is a lot of ways that Japanese film, Japanese fighting, Japanese martial arts have had an effect on this movie. And certainly the movie is dripping with Japanese tradition both cinematically, fighting-wise and philosophically as well...We've given Logan a new haircut, a shorter haircut that I think is a more handsome haircut. The wonderful opportunity for me with this film is that 90 percent of it takes place in Japan, and even though other elements remain constant from the other pictures, namely Hugh Jackman, we kind of got our chance to reboot the tone and go a little darker and a little deeper than they've gone before with this character. That was exciting for me."

Also, on the all-important question of whether Wolverine will be in a bad mood in this movie, Mangold confirms that, yes, Wolverine is in a pretty bad mood, all things considered:

"The whole point is not about violence or rating; it's about intensity. I wanted to make a film that in a way captures the intensity of his character. One of the things that has always been a feature of Wolverine in the comics is that he has a berserker rage, that he has anger and some of his abilities are driven by something more primal. Honestly, to get really pissed off — not cute pissed off, not quippy pissed off, not funny pissed off or cigar-chomping pissed off, just pissed off — that can then help drive the fighting, drive the combat. That is interesting for me and then for the character, some of the jet fuel underneath some of the combat in the film.

[MTV]

X-Men: Days of Future Past

Despite Hugh Jackman's promise that everyone who has ever worn spandex will show up in the X-Men: First Class sequel, it sounds as though everyone might not include Mad Men star January Jones, as she's not at all sure she'll be back as Emma Frost:

"I don't know that I'm in it, I don't think Emma's in this one. Well they haven't told me if I am (laughs). I wouldn't put it past them though, I got the script for the first one on the airplane on the way there. It's called Days of Future Past I think, and I think it's more about James [McAvoy] and Michael [Fassbender] and then Patrick [Stewart] and Ian [McKellan], and I think it's gonna go back and forth with those so I don't think Emma's in those bits. I don't know, I really don't know."

[Collider]

Iron Man 3

Here's a set video from the recent Los Angeles reshoots.

Divergent

Kate Winslet is reportedly close to signing on for the planned three-part adaption of Veronica Roth's young adult sci-fi series. The books imagine a future world in which the world is strictly regimented into five wholly separate factions, which is supposed to prevent war and fighting but obviously doesn't because it's clearly bullshit. Anyway, The Descendants actress Shailene Woodley — otherwise known as the next Mary Jane Watson in the Amazing Spider-Man sequel — is already on board to play protagonist Beatrice Prior, who rebels against her own particular ultra-aggressive faction. It's not known which role Kate Winslet would play in the film, but it will probably involve adding a touch of class to the dystopian proceedings. [Variety]

G.I. Joe: Retaliation

Director Jon M. Chu explains why the movie was delayed for months, categorically denying the rumor that it was all about adding more Channing Tatum to the proceedings:

"I didn't want to answer any of the crazy rumors that were happening, at that time, but the reality was the 3D. We were told they wanted it turned into 3D, and luckily we had the time to do that. It just so happens that the March date was a date that they could do it in, and that gave us enough time to focus on it. We didn't reshoot anything. We didn't go in and [add] Channing. I'm not going to say what happens to Channing in the movie. You have to watch the movie. But, there wasn't any of all that crazy stuff, so we just ignored it. It's funny, when the new trailer came out, everyone was like, 'Oh, Channing is in it way more!' I just didn't want to say anything, but it was very interesting. There were rumors that we shot more things, but we literally didn't shoot anything. We had done some reshoots a couple days before all that, in January, that were just some pick-up things, but that's pretty much it."

[Collider via Comic Book Resources]

Doctor Who

Warwick Davis — I'll be kind and not refer to him as Life's Too Short star Warwick Davies, even if that show's failings weren't really on him — has a guest role in the upcoming Cybermen episode from Neil Gaiman, who previously penned "The Doctor's Wife." Davis offers some general thoughts on what to expect from the episode:

"[The Cybermen] "were always scary to me. I was one of those kids who hid behind the sofa, so I know they are scary. But the Cybermen that I saw were awesome and yeah I think it'll be scary. I mean, it was an exciting moment to come face-to-face with one of those dudes. Seriously, it was a great thrill. I mean, it was a great thrill to be in Doctor Who. A career ambition. But to be in an episode written by Neil and to have Cybermen in it, was for me the jackpot. Matt Smith is amazing. These guys, they work so hard on that show. And Matt. He learns lines so fast. Scripts are given to him last minute and they'll go straight from one episode to the next one the next day and he's remembered it. But he's so full of energy and spark and imagination. You read the scene on the page and you think, that's a good scene, but Matt gets hold of it and it's like, ‘Wow, that's incredible.'"

[SFX]

Once Upon a Time

John Pyper-Ferguson, who played Stanton Parish on the dearly departed Alphas, has reportedly been cast in the guest star role of Ben, described as "a widower who wants nothing more than to help his young son heal from the loss of his mother." The character will appear in the seventeenth episode. [EW]

Touch

Here's a preview of what to expect from the upcoming second season. [E! Online]

Supernatural

Here's the description for episode fourteen, "Trial and Error":

KEVIN DECIPHERS THE TABLET - Kevin (guest star Osric Chau) deciphers the tablet and figures out how to close the gates of Hell. He tells Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) that according to the tablet one person must face a series of three tests designed by God. The first one – kill a hellhound. Sam and Dean argue over who should complete the trials.

[SpoilerTV]

Arrow

Seth Gabel, best known as Fringe's Lincoln Lee, previews his upcoming guest role as the villainous drug dealer Count Vertigo:

"The character doesn't have any super powers to start with but any superpowers that the comic book character had get manifested in the form of a drug called Vertigo that I sell on the street. I'm a street drug kingpin, and I'm flooding the street of Starling City with Vertigo. I found that at the end of the day, [he's] obsessed with power and money and whatever it takes to get that is what he's willing to do. [He wants] to ride to the top and be one of the most powerful people in Starling City. So to have the opportunity to take on the Arrow character and prove himself to himself and to the rest of the city is everything he wanted and more."

[EW]

Here's the description for the fourteenth episode, "The Odyssey", featuring Spartacus costar Manu Bennett as Deathstroke:

MANU BENNETT ("SPARTACUS") GUEST STARS AS SLADE WILSON - After Oliver (Stephen Amell) is shot, he turns to a surprising person for help – Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards). Diggle (David Ramsey) is stunned when he sees Felicity walk through the front door of the lair dragging a dying Oliver behind her, and the two team up to save Oliver's life. As Oliver (Stephen Amell) hovers between life and death, he flashes back to a seminal event on the island – a daring escape attempt with his new friend Slade Wilson (guest star Manu Bennett). Katie Cassidy, Willa Holland, Paul Blackthorne and Susanna Thompson also star.

[SpoilerTV]

The Vampire Diaries

Costar Kat Graham teases a major, major character death coming up:

"There are huge deaths coming up, one in particular. It's one of the most amazing scripts I've read; I actually cried when I read it! It's actually one of the biggest deaths since the beginning of The Vampire Diaries. It'll change the nature of the series; it'll change the nature of the characters going forward; it'll change the dynamic; it will completely alter everything."

[TV Guide]

Here's the official synopsis for episode fourteen, "Down the Rabbit Hole":

CHARLIE BEWLEY FROM "TWILGHT" GUEST STARS AS ONE OF THE FIVE HUNTERS - On the island, Damon (Ian Somerhalder) has an ugly run-in with a Hunter named Vaughn (guest star Bewley), and realizes he is one of The Five. Stefan (Paul Wesley) confesses his true feelings about the possibility of becoming human again to Elena (Nina Dobrev). When a stunning new piece of information about the cure is suddenly revealed, it changes the stakes for everyone. Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) helps Bonnie (Kat Graham) recognize what is real and what is an illusion, and Shane (guest star David Alpay) is comforted by a woman from his past, Caitlin (guest star Camille Guaty, "Prison Break"). Back in Mystic Falls, Caroline (Candice Accola) and Tyler (Michael Trevino) find that their attempt to translate the code on the Hunter's Sword is futile without help from Klaus (Joseph Morgan), who has his own reasons for solving the puzzle. Claire Holt also stars.

[SpoilerTV]

American Horror Story

Ryan Murphy talks generally about what to expect from the third season:

A mixture of both [season one actors and season two actors] and then I'm meeting new people. I'm meeting new actresses. I'm meeting some really cool people. I think the story is good and so far has attracted a great interest from people because of what it's about which is fun.

You had said you wanted a younger romance in season 3. Would Taissa Farmiga, who's in talks to return, be part of that?
Yes. There's a romantic element. I think the whole season I want to be funnier, romantic. But make no mistake, just when I think it's gonna be a little lighter, I find this great, true-life character that's the most horrible woman ever created.

Is that character the main villain?
Um kind of. I think Jessica is going back to be in that Constance-vein. She's gonna go back to her evil roots, Jessica Lange.

He also says the third season will be shot on location in three different cities. [EW]

Sarah Paulson confirms she will be back for season three, but your guess is almost as good as hers in terms of what's in store:

I know jack shit. If this year is any indication, I certainly know that if there's any person I'm going to go into something blindly with, it would be Ryan. He trusts me to show up and do the best to honor what he's written. I don't know what he has in store for me but I'm ready to roll up my sleeves and get in the muck.

He always has people play the opposites each season.
Right. I was thinking about that so I was thinking I might not be a very nice person. I might be a perpetrator of horrible things as opposed to being perpetrated.

[EW]

Beauty and the Beast

Here's a promo for next week's episode and eleventh overall, "On Thin Ice." A description is below:

VINCENT'S IDENTITY IS THREATENED - Vincent (Jay Ryan) is torn between his new feelings for Cat (Kristin Kreuk) and his old memories with Alex (guest star Bridget Regan). J.T. (Austin Basis) learns that Evan (Max Brown) is planning to propose a task force to catch the beast and must figure out how to stop him. Meanwhile, Tess (Nina Lisandrello) investigates the mysterious skydiving death of the wife of a billionaire adventurer, while Cat remains off duty until she recovers from being shot. Also starring Brian White.

[KSiteTV]

Here's the description for episode thirteen, "Trust No One":

VINCENT MAKES AN ATTEMPT AT ROMANCE AND CAT IS CAUGHT DESTROYING EVIDENCE - Cat (Kristin Kreuk) and Vincent (Jay Ryan) are unsure if they can trust Alex (guest star Bridget Regan) with the truth about his past. Evan (Max Brown) realizes that Claire (Kelly Overton), the woman he is dating, is hiding things from him. Heather (Nicole Gale Anderson) meets and falls for Joe's (Brian White) younger brother Darius (guest star Christian Keyes), and Vincent tries to win over Cat with romantic gestures for Valentine's Day.

[SpoilerTV]

Additional reporting by Amanda Yesilbas and Charlie Jane Anders.