Yes, Walter Bishop himself could be going up against the Jedi. The first official synopsis confirms some crucial details about The Amazing Spider-Man 2, while set photos and a detailed plot description take us inside Tom Cruise's All You Need Is Kill. Plus two awesomely prestigious actors could be costarring in Godzilla!
All that, plus Edgar Wright talks Ant-Man, the creative team behind Man of Steel explains what realism means to Superman, Jessica Alba promises a bigger role in Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, and a Game of Thrones episode description gives away some key details!
Spoilers from here on out!
Top image from Game of Thrones.
Star Wars: Episode VII
Pretty much all of the casting rumors so far have centered on whether existing Star Wars characters like Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, and even Lando Calrissian and Chewbacca would return for J.J. Abrams's new entry in the franchise. However, we now have the first rumor regarding a new addition to the franchise, and it's a doozy for all you Fringe fans out there: John Noble, Walter Bishop himself, is supposedly set to play the villain, at least according to some random radio host in Melbourne who revealed she "has it on very good authority that Aussie actor John Noble will be appearing as the villain." So, admittedly, that seems like a hugely unlikely source for reliable Star Wars rumors — even if you allow for the fact that Noble is from Australia, so maybe media types down there have more of a sense of the latest Noble-related rumors — but it's the rare crazy rumor that doubles as a totally brilliant idea, so I'm all for hoping this is one bit of wild speculation that turns out to be true. Still, best to take this with a generous heaping of salt. [Comic Book Movie]
Man of Steel
Screenwriter David Goyer gives a sense of what taking a realistic approach to the Superman story actually entails:
We're approaching Superman as if it weren't a comic book movie, as if it were real. It just struck me that if Superman really existed in the world, first of all this story would be a story about contact. He's an alien. You can easily imagine a scenario in which we'd be doing a film like E.T., as opposed to him running around in tights. If the world found out he existed, it would be the biggest thing that ever happened in human history."
Deborah Snyder, a producer on the film and wife of director Zack Snyder, also offers some insight into Superman's journey:
"[Superman] is looking for his place in the world. He is a little lost when we find him, trying to figure it out. That makes him very real. You can relate to the humanity in him."
[Empire via Digital Spy]
Ant-Man
Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz director Edgar Wright explains why the movie's long development process is actually a good thing while also confirming the film will be a departure from anything Marvel has done before:
"It's a way of doing a superhero film within another genre. I wanted to tell an origin tale in a slightly different way. It's part of the Marvel cinematic universe, but it also feels like its own piece... I've been collaborating with [Marvel boss] Kevin [Feige] during the whole of that cycle. I think people have always assumed… ‘Oh why is it taking so long to make?' Part of it is because I wanted to make two other movies first. I wanted to make World's End… me and Simon were very keen to make it and it felt like it was unfinished business and we wanted to wrap up the trilogy. The script came together really fast. Well not really fast, but it came together at a certain point where it was like ‘I really want to do this next.' But to be honest, the later I do it, it feels like I could learn more, especially about special effects. It's a big effects movie, so I'm pleased to go into it having done Scott Pilgrim and The World's End because you're always learning more about that side."
[IGN]
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Now that filming has started on Marc Webb's sequel, it's high time we get an official synopsis. The key takeaways are that the film will indeed simply be called The Amazing Spider-Man 2, that Paul Giamatti will indeed be in it — although it isn't confirmed whether he's in fact playing the Rhino — and that Colm Feore, whose credits include supporting turns in Thor and The Chronicles of Riddick, will appear in an unspecified role. Here's the full synopsis, which includes some very general hints about the plot:
Columbia Pictures announced today that filming has begun on The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in New York. The film is the first in the history of the franchise that will be filmed entirely in New York City and New York State. The sequel to last year's critical and box office hit The Amazing Spider-Man, the film stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Shailene Woodley, Dane DeHaan, Colm Feore, Paul Giamatti, and Sally Field.
In The Amazing Spider-Man 2, for Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield), life is busy – between taking out the bad guys as Spider-Man and spending time with the person he loves, Gwen (Emma Stone), high school graduation can't come quickly enough. Peter hasn't forgotten about the promise he made to Gwen's father to protect her by staying away – but that's a promise he just can't keep. Things will change for Peter when a new villain, Electro (Jamie Foxx), emerges, an old friend, Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan), returns, and Peter uncovers new clues about his past.
The film is directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay by Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci & Jeff Pinkner, with a previous draft by James Vanderbilt, and based on the Marvel Comic Book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach are the producers. The film's key behind-the-scenes team includes director of photography Dan Mindel, production designer Mark Friedberg, editors Pietro Scalia and Elliot Graham, and costume designer Deborah L. Scott. The latest chapter in the Spider-Man story is set for release in 3D on May 2, 2014.
Godzilla
The new Godzilla movie from Monsters director Gareth Edwards is still waiting on the new draft from Frank Darabont, but the early rumors suggest one hell of a cast could be taking on Godzilla this time around. Kick-Ass star Aaron Johnson is already linked to the main role, and now Martha Marcy May Marlene star Elizabeth Olsen and none other than Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston are also reportedly in talks to costar. [Variety]
All You Need Is Kill
Here are some set photos from the London filming of the latest Tom Cruise sci-fi epic, in which he plays a time-looped soldier caught in an eternal war against vicious aliens. These photos show Cruise alongside costar Emily Blunt, who makes her return to dark time travel movies after her supporting turn in Looper. You can also find the latest, considerably more detailed synopsis for the movie below, which gives way more of a sense of just how Cruise's character ends up reliving the last day of his life over and over:
The story unfolds in a near future in which a hive-like alien race, called Mimics, have hit the Earth in an unrelenting assault, shredding great cities to rubble and leaving millions of human casualties in their wake. No army in the world can match the speed, brutality or seeming prescience of the weaponized Mimic fighters or their telepathic commanders. But now the world's armies have joined forces for a last stand offensive against the alien horde, with no second chances.
Lt. Col. Bill Cage is an officer who has never seen a day of combat when he is unceremoniously demoted and then dropped-untrained and ill-equipped-into what amounts to little more than a suicide mission. Cage is killed within minutes, managing to take an Alpha down with him. But, impossibly, he awakens back at the beginning of the same hellish day, and is forced to fight and die again…and again. Direct physical contact with the alien has thrown him into a time loop-dooming him to live out the same brutal combat over and over.
But with each pass, Cage becomes tougher, smarter, and able to engage the Mimics with increasing skill, alongside Special Forces warrior Rita Vrataski, who has lain waste to more Mimics than anyone on Earth. As Cage and Rita take the fight to the aliens, each repeated battle becomes an opportunity to find the key to annihilating the alien invaders and saving the Earth.
[Metro via Comic Book Movie]
Snow Piercer
Here's the first poster for the movie that tosses a very promising cast, a new Ice Age, a giant train, and social upheaval into one intriguing stew. [First Showing]
The World's End
Rafe Spall, who played DC Andy Cartwright in Hot Fuzz and had the bit part of Noel in Shaun of the Dead, confirmed he will appear in Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg's apocalyptic conclusion to the thematic trilogy with a cameo in The World's End, although he says he doesn't know yet what the role will entail. [Empire Online]
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
Jessica Alba is reprising her role as Nancy Callahan in the Sin City sequel, and she confirmed that she will have a more substantial role this time around. She offered some high praise for what co-directors Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller are currently cooking up, and she also discussed who she is appearing with this time around:
In Sin City 2, that one is probably the best experience of my career so far. Working with Robert and Frank again was inspiring to watch them. They were already so seasoned before they came together for the first Sin City and just to see how they both have grown as artists. Then to see them come together again and how well they work together, its profound what they come up with and what they have done. All their dreams have become fully realized I feel like. When the process is this fun and exciting you know the product is going to be so cool... Yeah, I got to reunite with Bruce [Willis]. And in the first one I didn't get to work with Mickey [Rourke] because he shot his stuff separately and in this one I got to work with Mickey so it was a dream come true. It was amazing. It was really, really cool.
Game of Thrones
Here's the description for the season three premiere:
Jon is brought before Mance Rayder, the King Beyond the Wall, while the Night's Watch survivors retreat south. In King's Landing, Tyrion asks for his reward, Littlefinger offers Sansa a way out, and Cersei hosts a dinner for the royal family. Arya runs into the Brotherhood Without Banners. Dany sails into Slaver's Bay.
The Walking Dead
Here are some more promo photos for this Sunday's midseason premiere, "The Suicide King." [SpoilerTV]
Supernatural
Here are some set photos from the filming of episode 17. [YVR Shoots]
The Vampire Diaries
Here's a poster. [TV Line]
The Originals
Charles Michael Davis, whose previous credits include recurring roles on Switched at Birth and The Game, has reportedly been cast in the central role of Marcel in the Klaus-centric Vampire Diaries spinoff. Here's a complete description of his character, courtesy of Deadline:
Wicked, wild and charismatic, Marcel is a former kicked-around street rat who now calls the shots in the supernatural playground of New Orleans. As a modern-day vampire, he's fierce and bold, able to accomplish as much with his charm as he is with his strength. Elijah (Gillies), intent on helping his self-destructive brother find redemption, must side with Marcel's enemies in order to keep Klaus in line.
[Deadline]
Additional reporting by Amanda Yesilbas and Charlie Jane Anders.