DC Comics to Bring 'Lucifer' TV Series to Fox

Yet another DC Comics series is coming to the small screen, and it's one that got a start in the pages of Neil Gaiman's Sandman, which is already being made into a movie. Deadline reports that Tom Kapinos (Californication) will write and exec-produce a pilot for Lucifer, based on Mike Carey's comics series.

Lucifer was largely based on the Paradise Lost version of the fallen angel, with some very obvious changes. The character Lucifer Morningstar first appeared in the pages of Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen back in 1962, but the modern version of him debuted in Gaiman's Sandman more than twenty years later. Carey spun the character off into a series that ran for more than six years, chronicling Lucifer's story as he abandons Hell to experience more earthly adventures. The TV show will be based on the comic and follow Lucifer as he opens a piano bar in Los Angeles with the aid of his female consort.

So add one more to Warner Bros. and DC's growing stable of shows that includes Arrow, The Flash, Constantine, Gotham, and potential series featuring Supergirl and Nightwing. Lucifer was designed to resemble David Bowie

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Say wha?? Warner Bros. Rumored to Want "No Jokes" in DC Universe Movies

Here comes one of those rumors that makes me question the sanity of the studios, and the bloggers who report on their every move.  Warner Bros. is ramping up their DC universe movies since Man of Steel kicked things off last year, and we know they've got a plan stretching through 2020. One issue that many have had with their films since Christopher Nolan's epic Batman trilogy is the "grim 'n gritty" tone they seem to live by, compared to Marvel's fun and spirited superhero movies. With Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice pitched as being much darker already, it's obvious the trend will continue, but would Warner Bros. demand that of ALL their upcoming movies?

According to HitFix that's exactly what is happening, and Warner Bros. has supposedly mandated there be absolutely "no jokes" in any of the DC Universe flicks. Say wha?? This sounds completely nutso and like something that can't possibly be true, even if WB wants to veer as far away from Marvel as possible this makes no sense. And given that some of the Justice League characters are kinda funny, this seems like an unnecessary step. For example, why would you hamstring a Flash movie by turning the character into a serious bore? What are they afraid of? Another Green Lantern? Oh wait....that may be the issue right there.

Even so, this sounds like a story that can't possibly be true, and the kind of thing rival studios spread to ruffle a few feathers. But we'll see. Stranger things have happened (see Marvel's treatment of X-men and Fantastic Four comics of late), and if Batman v Superman writer Chris Terrio (Argo) has been ordered not to make us laugh we'll find out for sure on March 25th 2016.

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Warner Bros. Finds Director for Big Screen Version of Homer's 'The Odyssey'

A solid decade ago Warner Bros. dove head first in the Greek warrior poems of Homer with Troy (based on The Illiad), a sprawling and wildly expensive ($177M) effort that starred Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Diane Kruger, Orlando Bloom, and basically a cast of thousands. It was an impressive effort that made about $500M despite critics largely bashing it, although I personally love that film with a passion and will defend it forever. And apparently Warner Bros. is also still quite keen on it because they are revisiting the period by tackling a big screen film based on Homer's The Odyssey, setting Russian director Fedor Bondarchuk to helm it.

Bondarchuk, who showed a flash of technological wizardry with his war film Stalingrad, will direct what is being title simply Odysseus, based on the Greek king (played by Sean Bean in Troy) and his incredible journey home to Ithaca after the events of the Trojan War. Odyssseus' decade-long trek sees him encountering a number of perils and fantastic creatures, including a run-in with a giant cylops, the infamous sirens,sea monsters, and more. And really that was just the beginning of things for him as the fight isn't over once he reaches Ithaca's shores.

This probably won't be considered a Troy sequel or anything like that (darnit!!) so we likely aren't going to see Bean in the title role. But the hiring of Bondarchuk, a guy who really did an amazing job on Stalingrad with limited resources, is reason enough to be excited. [Deadline]

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After Tough Cannes Debut, Ryan Gosling's 'Lost River' Shopped by Warner Bros.

Have you been keeping up on the reactions to Ryan Gosling's directorial debut, Lost River? They haven't been good at all (27% on Rotten Tomatoes) as critics trounced the film after its Cannes premiere last night, possibly shutting down this new phase in Gosling's career before it has really even begun. Warner Bros. picked up the distribution rights to it last year and paid a hefty price for it, banking that Gosling's name would make it worthwhile.

Now Deadline reports the studio is shopping the film around to distributors with a focus on indie and specialty projects. It's unclear whether they're looking to pawn off a potential flop on somebody else, or if they realize art house flicks aren't really their strength. Either way, it speaks to the fact that Warner Bros. does not think they can do anything with the biggest disaster coming out of Cannes. The only people happy about all of this are Atom Egoyan and Ryan Reynolds because it takes the attention off of The Captive, which audiences booed into oblivion.

In the end this might be the best thing for Gosling. The report suggests Gosling planned to release it later this year, and maybe that was the case before last night, but now that would almost certainly be a mistake.  A small distributor may be open to seeking out a more opportune release window.

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Blu-Ray Deal of the Week: 70% Off Best of Warner Bros. 50 Film Collection

From 1932's Grand Hotel to 2010's Inception, Warner Bros.has many of their greatest films all in one place as part of the Best of Warner Bros. 50 Film Collection Blu-Ray set, and now you can get all of these great movies for one low price. This week's deal is 70% off this incredible 52-disc set, yours for only $181.99. That's less than $4 a movie, and included in that are 16 Best Picture winners, a limited edition 27" X 40" poster, and hours of special features.

Click on the above link or go here to order yours today! We appreciate the support you continue to show our sponsors. Punch Drunk Critics earns a small fee every time one of our readers buys from any of our links.

Check out a full list of the movies included in this set below.

1. Grand Hotel* (1932)
2. Mutiny on the Bounty* (1935)
3. Wizard of Oz (1939)
4. Gone with The Wind* (1939)
5. Maltese Falcon, The (1941)
6. Mrs. Miniver* (1942)
7. Casablanca* (1942)
8. Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The (1948)
9. Streetcar Named Desire, A (1951)
10. American in Paris, An* (1951)
11. Singin' in the Rain (1952)
12. Gigi(1958)
13. North By Northwest (1959)
14. Ben-Hur* (1959)
15. How the West Was Won (1962)
16. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
17. Cool Hand Luke (1967)
18. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
19. Bullitt (1968)
20. Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (1971)
21. Dirty Harry (1971)
22. Clockwork Orange, A (1972)
23. Exorcist, The (1973)
24. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest* (1975)
25. Superman, The Movie (1977)
26. Shining, The (1980)
27. Chariots of Fire* (1981)
28. Risky Business (1983)
29. Amadeus* (1984)
30. Color Purple, The (1985)
31. Lethal Weapon (1987)
32. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
33. Driving Miss Daisy* (1989)
34. Goodfellas (1990)
35. Unforgiven* (1992)
36. Bodyguard, The(1992)
37. Natural Born Killers (Director's Cut) (1994)
38. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
39. Matrix, The (1999)
40. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)
41. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
42. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
43. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King* (2003)
44. Million Dollar Baby* (2005)
45. Departed, The* (2006)
46. Dark Knight, The (2008)
47. Blind Side, The (2009)
48. Hangover, The (2009)
49. Sherlock Holmes (2009)
50. Inception (2010)

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*UPDATE* Warner Bros. Won't Back Down from 'Batman vs. Superman' Release Date

 *UPDATE* While neither side has budged domestically, Warner Bros. will open Batman vs. Superman on April 29th 2016 in the U.K. This date had been rumored a few weeks ago as a potential option here, and that may end up being the case some time in the future. It's common practice for the U.K. to have different release dates than us, though.*

One good turn deserves another. A few weeks ago, after it began to look as if Marvel's Captain America 3 would go head-to-head with Warner Bros.' Batman vs. Superman on May 6th 2016, Kevin Feige was firm in stating he had no plans to change release dates. Now that the Cap sequel is confirmed for that date, the expectation is that Warner Bros. will have to back down. Well, not so fast.

Dan Fellman, WB's president of distribution, has come out against the idea of moving dates, while acknowledging the stupidity in two blockbusters opening on the same day....

Fellman: "It doesn't make a lot of sense for two huge superhero films to open on the same date but there is a lot of time between now and 5/6/16. However at this time, we are not considering a change of date for 'Batman vs. Superman.'" 

Captain America: The Winter Soldier has cleared $100M in five days of domestic release and over $300M worldwide. Man of Steel finished its run with $670M. Marvel has nothing to prove at this point. We all know they are the big swinging cock in Hollywood and their films will always make a ton. WB can't say the same thing, and I think rather than risking the future of their franchise by trying to show up Marvel is a mistake. I fully expect they will move Batman vs. Superman some time in the next two years.  [Bloomberg]

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Warner Bros. to Build a 'Minecraft' Film with 'The LEGO Movie' Producer

Warner Bros. obsession with blocks isn't going away any time soon. The studio, having just won the hearts of millions with The LEGO Movie, has now picked up the rights to popular block-building video game, Minecraft, to develop into a feature film.

Not surprisingly, The LEGO Movie producer Roy Lee is on board for what will apparently be a live-action version of the game, which recently surpassed 100 million registered users. The game was created by Markus Persson (his confirmation of the news here) and fully released to the public in 2011. The game presents an addictive open world where players build using special cubes or blocks, giving them the ability to construct just about anything they want. If you've been a comic convention lately you'll probably seen cosplayers walking around with giant Minecraft heads and swords.

There's "huge interest" from writers and directors for this one which, again, shouldn't come as a surprise given what The LEGO Movie was able to accomplish. [Deadline]

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Joe Wright's 'Pan' Offers Garrett Hedlund Hook Role

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Garrett Hedlund (Tron, Inside Llewyn Davis) has officially been offered the role of Captain Hook by director Joe Wright in the upcoming Warner Bros production that will explore the beginning of the iconic relationship between Peter Pan and Captain Hook who, according to THR, will start out as friends. The word gritty was used to describe this origin story...obviously my immediate reaction is to ridicule that, I mean, how can any take on Peter Pan described as "gritty" be at all faithful to the classic tale of the boy who never grew up. Then I remember the early 90's Robin Williams/Dustin Hoffman flick, Hook..yeah I know it doesn't evoke memories of anything dark and on the edge but if you look past the bright colors you'll find a very Lord of the Flies like atmosphere commanded by an almost insane seeming Rufio. Yeah...it takes a stretch of the imagination, but it's there. Staying with that line of thinking I suppose this take, which will reportedly feature Hook's early day's of piracy under the command of Blackbeard (word is Hugh Jackman will be taking that role), could actually be something less light and fluffy than what we all equate to anything Peter Pan and actually still work. 

The real question is, do people want to see a gritty origin story about the green tight wearing icon who taught us all that anything was possible with happy thoughts and imagination? 

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David Yates' 'Tarzan' gets shut down at Warner Bros.

There's no denying that Warner Bros. has set themselves up as the studio for big blockbusters and franchise films. It seems to be pretty much all they do nowadays. But at the same time, they've been extremely cautious in what gets green lit, recently canning attempted takes on Akira and Paradise Lost, largely over budgetary concerns. Now it appears they're doing it again, as Deadline reports that David Yates' Tarzan film has been shut down.

The Harry Potter director had lined up Alexander Skarsgard and Samuel L. Jackson to play the loinclothed hero and his Civil War veteran colleague, George Washington Williams. Last month Jessica Chastain began circling the female lead, and apparently Jamie Foxx was in contention for another part. That's a line-up that most studios would be willing to shell out the big bucks for, but apparently Warner Bros. was never comfortable with the budget, and attempts to reduce it failed. They've shut down the production office, leaving open the possibility of restarting things in 2014.

The studio also got cold feet over David Dobkin's Arthur & Lancelot, and it should be noted that they've never gone back and tried to jumpstart any of the recent films left in limbo.  What is surprising is that they've done this to Yates, who largely spearheaded the most successful franchise in their history. After losing a rumored $140M on Jack the Giant Slayer, they can hardly be blamed for being cautious.

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Next Batman film happening in 2017?

It's been virtually impossible to get a handle on Warner Bros.' plans for their Batman franchise, just because there have been more rumors than fact circulating around ever since The Dark Knight Rises wrapped up last summer. The latest bit of scuttlebutt to emerge from the usually reliable folks at Batman On Film say that the next solo adventure for the Caped Crusader may not be until 2017.

Their source says that the next time we see the "new" Batman it will be in the Justice League film, expected to hit some time in 2015. Whether that will be Joseph Gordon-Levitt under the mask, continuing on from where Christopher Nolan left off his trilogy, remains to be seen. That will then be followed two years later by a new solo Batman reboot.

So take this all as just loose talk for now. It'll probably be awhile until we learn anything concrete as WB concentrates their energies on Man of Steel. Its success or failure will impact any future superhero plans the studio may have.

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Joseph Gordon-Levitt to play Batman in 'Justice League'?

Apologies to anyone who hasn't seen The Dark Knight Rises yet, but one of the things that came out of it was this hope that perhaps Christopher Nolan's Batman legacy could continue on with Joseph Gordon-Levitt under the mask. We knew there would be no proper fourth film, and that neither Nolan or Christian Bale would be back, but with JGL revealed at the end to be Robin, and essentially taking over as Gotham City's new protector, the possibility was certainly there.

Months have since passed, and while Warner Bros. preps Man of Steel and then Justice League, the talk of JGL as Batman died down. Talk began of Armie Hammer playing the character in a standalone Justice League film, and generally there was confusion which direction the studio was heading. But recently we've heard Zack Snyder hinting at a shared Avengers-style universe, and now it's sounding like Warner Bros. has settled on something definitive to do with Batman. Hitfix has "sources" reporting that JGL will be appearing in Justice League as Batman, likely building off TDKR's finale. But what's even more interesting is that they say he, and another character from the Nolan-verse, may be appearing even sooner, like in Man of Steel.

This is something Warner Bros. would obviously love to do, as it puts them on an even playing field with Marvel. Christopher Nolan has been pretty clear about not wanting to do superhero stuff anymore, and while he's acting as a producer on Man of Steel, this is probably a studio decision. They could easily have Snyder tack on an epilogue at the end of the film, the same way Marvel did with Iron Man years ago and changed the course of comic book movies forever.

Look, Warner Bros. isn't stupid. All things considered, they could easily find themselves in a better position than Marvel in just a few short years. Justice League will be going head-to-head with The Avengers sequel in 2015, and one way to make sure audiences are more excited for their flick is to build off the foundation Nolan laid. They have the most recognizable heroes in all of the world in Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, now they have to give Justice League a cast worthy of those characters. As much as I love Armie Hammer, he doesn't qualify, but Joseph Gordon-Levitt does. What this also tells me is that Warner Bros. are much further along in their planning than I thought, assuming these rumors hold up. Will Beall began work on the script last year, but we're still waiting to learn who will direct.

So now the big question is this: Do YOU think this is an awesome idea? Do you want to see Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Batman? Let us know.

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Guillermo Del Toro's 'Pacific Rim' to be converted for 3D

Whether we like it or not, 3D isn't going anywhere. Even though it may not be quite the draw it used to be, and 2D movies are still capable of raking in hundreds of millions of dollars, studios recognize that the increased revenue from 3D can bump a tentpole feature into the highest grossing films of all-time, and unfortunately that trumps any director's creative vision.

We just heard yesterday about how Roland Emmerich's Independence Day sequels were going to be converted for 3D, even though the director has always shunned the process. Now the latest to have the same thing happen to him is Guillermo Del Toro, with Variety reporting that Warner Bros. has decided to convert Pacific Rim despite the director's push back against it.

From the studio's perspective I can totally see why that's the decision they've made. The film seems especially built for 3D, following a group of humans who band together in giant Jaeger mechs to battle invading monsters. The amount of money they'll be able to haul in, especially on the international market, is too significant to ignore. But purely from a fan perspective, Del Toro shot the film in 2D for a reason and I'd like to see it in the way he originally intended.

Pacific Rim stars Charlie Hunnam, Rinko Kikuchi, Idris Elba, Charlie Day, Max Martini, Ron Perlman, and Clifton Collins Jr. It'll now open in 2D and 3D on July 12th 2013.

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Production halted on Albert Hughes' 'Motor City'

And another Albert Hughes film crashes and burns. With filming a mere three weeks away, the plug has been pulled on his vengeance thriller, Motor City, possibly closing the book on what has been one of the more troubled productions of the year. Originally set for Dominic Cooper in the lead role of a guy seeking revenge on those who framed him, with the hook being that the protagonist only gets one line of dialogue. Cooper would eventually drop out, quickly followed by Jake Gyllenhaal and Jeremy Renner taking over before Gerard Butler was finally settled on. The film also lost Gary Oldman and Amber Heard, with new additions Mickey Rourke and Adrien Brody barely having signed on before the other shoe dropped.

Strangely enough, the reason for the shut down has nothing to do with all the casting woes, but some rather intricate behind-the-scenes dealings. Although no official release date has ever been announced, Warner Bros. had apparently given the film's producers a hard March 31st deadline. That date was set to coincide with the foreign distribution deals that were in place, but the producers realized that it gave them too short of a time window for successful post-production. With the admission that the March 31st date couldn't be hit, the film was unable to secure a bond, and that puts us where we are today.

Now, this in and of itself doesn't mean the movie is dead. The producers released a statement saying that the start date was being pushed back, and since Warner Bros. is merely doing distribution, Motor City should still have all of its funding. The problem is that a delay like this could cause them to lose the few stars they've managed to, and a downgrade in talent obviously could hurt the film's prospects of success. Most financiers I know don't want to invest in a money losing project, so we'll just have to wait and see how this whole thing develops. [Deadline]

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New Batman solo franchise to follow 'Justice League' debut?

I consider this rumor to be about as weak as they come, but there's no denying the Internet ha been absolutely buzzing about the prospect of it being true. The folks over at Batman-On-Film are suggesting that the next version of Batman we see on screen won't be in his own solo franchise, but will first debut as part of the Warner Bros. Justice League. Here's the crucial line from the story so you can see what we're dealing with here....

"The new cinematic Batman will be introduced in the JL film as opposed to a solo film. This would, according to my industry “FOBOF,” assure the new Batman film series will be part of a “DC Cinematic Universe.”

Hardly the most rock solid of statements, but in there you can basically see they're saying that a Batman solo film will indeed happen, and he'll be played by the same guy in the Justice League movie as part of an Avengers-style shared universe. That matches some of what we learned earlier this month about both Man of Steel and Batman being linked to Justice League...

"[Warner Bros.] will try to resuscitate Batman as a stand-alone franchise and/or as part of a planned Justice League ensemble that could connect to next summer's Man of Steel."

With Will Beall's script for Justice League already in place, Warner Bros. must have a good idea on the direction they intend to go with it, and must have some inkling of how to approach their solo satellite films. Still, it's important to remember that so far we haven't seen anything official from anybody saying that a shared universe approach is in play. The anecdotal evidence is there to support it, though.

Of course, this could all change depending on how Henry Cavill performs in Man of Steel. If the film is a dud and people don't take to him, it wouldn't be all that shocking to see someone else in the red and blue tights in the Justice League film. Nor would it be shocking to see Warner Bros. use that failure as a reason to do something wildly different with Batman, like possibly continuing on with Christopher Nolan's series in some fashion.

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DiCaprio and Warner Bros. both pass on Alan Turing biopic, 'The Imitation Game'

What was once looking like one of the more promising pictures of the upcoming year now may be dead in the water. Warner Bros. had picked up the rights to The Imitation Game, a biopic on renowned cryptographer and mathematician, Alan Turing, who helped the British crack German codes during WWII. The project had Leonardo DiCaprio circling the lead role, and earlier this year gained J. Blakeson(The Disappearance of Alice Creed) as a director. With a Black List script by Graham Moore, adapted from Andrew Hodges' 1983 novel, the studio snatched up the film at a hefty 7-figure sum.

But now THR reports that Leonardo DiCaprio has passed on starring in the film, which in turn has caused Warner Bros. to back out as well. A film based on the mostly unknown Turing was always going to be a big risk, and without DiCaprio's star power it was going to be an even tougher sell. The project still has Blakeson on board, and can now be shopped to other studios. I wouldn't be totally surprised to see a smaller, more indie-oriented studio scoop it up as it has definite prestige potential.

Turing's story is one worthy of being told, with great displays of genius and national loyalty, which were then met by suspicion and betrayal. During WWII he helped in the Allied victory over the Axis Powers by cracking the German Engima codes. Later in life, Turing was convicted of indecency for engaging in a homosexual relationship. The conviction caused him to lose his security clearance, thus destroying his career, and the punishment was to undergo "chemical castration" for over a year, rendering him impotent. Turing would soon after commit suicide via cyanide poisoning.

Warner Bros. was so excited for the film at first that it seems odd they'd drop out so quickly, but that initial enthusiasm is also why I think we'll see The Imitation Game turn up elsewhere.

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'Man of Steel' and 'Justice League' movies to tie-in?

Those thinking Warner Brothers would definitely follow the ultra successful Marvel mold in crafting their own shared DC Universe, were likely thrown for a loop when Zack Snyder said this about how Man of Steel relates to a Justice League movie...


Snyder: It doesn’t. Like what Chris Nolan is doing and what I’m doing with Superman, what they’ll do with Justice League will be it’s own thing with it’s own Batman and own Superman. We’ll be over here with our movie and they’ll kinda get to do it twice which is kinda cool’

It didn't make sense then, and a year later it sounds like ridiculous claptrap. For one, we've now seen The Avengers gross more money than the GDP of many small countries, and Warner Brothers shit the bed with Green Lantern. So it comes as no surprise that we may be seeing a change of tactics, and the possibility of Man of Steel and Justice League tying together becoming more likely.

In a small blurb about the studio's future prospects, THR mentions that Warner Brothers "will try to resuscitate Batman as a stand-alone franchise and/or as part of a planned Justice League ensemble that could connect to next summer's Man of Steel."

With Will Beal(Gangster Squad) brought on to pen the Justice League script, the thinking right now is we won't see the film until around 2015, and with no other DC Universe films before then other than Man of Steel, it makes sense to try and connect the two. Besides, trying to get people to rally around two different guys playing Superman would be damn near impossible, considering how hard it's been to find just one post-Christopher Reeve. I understand the hesitation to lock new Supes Henry Cavill into more than one potential franchise, especially after the disaster that was Brandon Routh.

What has me most intrigued is the Batman bit, though. While an eventual reboot was inevitable, I figured it would be a good many years before that happened, and we'd see some other spinoff movies(Catwoman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character) before that. If this story holds up, that doesn't seem very likely.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

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Superman Update: Jonathan Nolan to Direct?

The Superman rumors are flying faster than a speeding bullet lately, but it's turning out that the most recent ones have more validity than I gave them credit for. Just a few days ago there was a story from Geektyrant that Jonathan Nolan, brother of Batman Begins director Christopher Nolan, was up to direct the Superman reboot. Now Moviehole is reporting that the rumor may indeed be true, sighting an inside source from Warners Brothers who had this to say...

"You know, some of that is true", my very reliable* contact, said ."Jonathan Nolan is not onboard yet, but it looks like he will get the job. Jonah wants to direct, Chris wants to land him that gig, WB doesn't want to upset Chris. That said, it is far from a done deal -- but with Chris and Emma producing, the odds are with Jonah - kind of like Michael Mann producing his daughter's first feature: "How bad could things go?".

Despite my skepticism, it's hard to argue against that logic. Jonathan has written the script, and with Chris's "overseer" role already cemented  it wouldn't be shocking to see him land the gig. I'm just amazed that they'd trust a first time director for such an important job.

The other half of that rumor was that Zachary Levi had auditioned for the role of Clark Kent. I think there's a better chance of Reese Witherspoon donning the red & blue tights, but apparently I'm wrong....

"Also, it is a TV star that they're looking at for the lead - but, despite what that article says, I don't believe anyone has actually tested." (He/She has heard nothing of Zachary Levi being considered).

Warner Brothers has someone in mind already, and they say it's someone nobody's considering but if he gets the gig we'll all be surprised. Oh no. Please don't be Patrick Dempsey! I'll boycott!! Eric Dane? I got no clue who it could be. Kevin Sorbo? He's still alive, right?

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The Bat Signal's Been Answered! WB Announces BATMAN 3 Release Date!

Just a couple of days ago, Warner Brothers and IMAX inked a deal have as many as 20 of the studio's tentpole films released in the expansive format. The press release pushed that it was to last until 2013, with the most notable film on the list being Batman 3. Speculation shot off almost immediately, with most analysts suggesting a summer 2012 or 2013 release date.

Today Warner Brothers decided to shut everybody up for the moment by announcing through an internal email that Batman 3 will indeed hit theaters in the summer of 2012, specifically July 20 2012.

That date puts it right in the thick of an already jam packed summer, as it follows just a few short weeks after the Marc Webb helmed Spider-Man reboot(July 3rd) and The Avengers(May 4th).  That's only just the comic book competition. Don't forget JJ Abrams' Star Trek sequel is set for around that same timeframe, likely to hit in late June.

Still no confirmation of Christopher Nolan's return to direct the project. The script is currently in the hands of his younger brother, Jonathan, based on an idea from David Goyer. Goyer is also in charge of the upcoming Superman relaunch, which Christopher Nolan will be overseeing.

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BATMAN 3, SUPERMAN, THE HOBBIT Update

Quickly, because I find press releases boring and generally unreliable especially when announcing long term plans, Warner Brothers and IMAX have struck a major deal to bring up to 20 WB films to the biggest of screens all by the year 2013. Here's the relevant bit of info...

“Warner Bros. and IMAX also plan to release an additional 15 films over the course of 2011, 2012 and 2013, including Gravity, Dark Shadows, Fury Road, Batman 3, and Superman.”

The update is that the first Hobbit film, directed by Guillermo Del Toro has been nailed down to a December 2012 release and is included as part of that package of films. The follow-up will release exactly one year later.

The biggest news is that this gives us something of ballpark date for the third installment of Christopher Nolan's Batman epic, and frankly the only real confirmation of it's existence. Up to this point any information on it has been kept totally under wraps. We're still a long way off so trying to nail down even an estimated release date is premature.

Then there's Superman, which has been languishing in development Hell for a few years now. This could serve as an indicator that some real movement has taken place on reviving the Man of Steel's film franchise. The only thing we really know so far is that Nolan will be serving as a 'godfather' of sorts but not actually directing it.

Lastly, it might not amount to anything. This isn't a Warner Brothers press release. It's an IMAX one. Granted, I doubt that IMAX would list a bunch of movies that they don't have any sort of confirmation on but would I be totally surprised if they did? Not really.  As usual we'll just have to wait and see when the real news starts flying about these movies.

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Green Lantern to be 3-D

Quickly, because I've got a show to prep for(read: play video games), but BoxOfficeMojo has confirmed that Warner Bros. will be releasing upcoming superhero flick, Green Lantern, in 3-D. Set to release on June 17, 2011, the only question remains whether or not it will be shot using 3-D camera or if it will be converted in post-production, the way WB is doing with Clash of the Titans.

Frankly, I'm sick of 3-D. Chances are by the time this comes out I'll be boycotting it completely and will see this in plain old, steam driven 2-D.

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