What's really going on over at Warner Bros. regarding their superhero properties? Is Justice League still moving forward? Has Christopher Nolan already signed on to direct a third Batman film? Will they attempt a move similar to what Marvel is doing and plot out solid solo flicks before combining worlds? Well, Variety recently spoke with Warners Chief Alan Horn, production prexy Jeff Robinov and Gregory Noveck, senior VP of creative affairs for DC Comics, and they brought back a few answers regarding all this fun stuff.

Firstly, a deal is officially on the table for Chris Nolan to (we assume) co-write and direct a third Batman film, however he hasn't made a decision yet. Horn said, "We have no idea where Chris is going with this. We haven't had any conversations with him about it." Hopefully an announcement on that front will arrive soon. With Justice League, Warners does eventually want to make it, but it definitely seems the early bad buzz from within the fanboy community is what put the breaks on this one.

Originally, it looked as if Warners was going to use JLA to launch solo efforts for a bunch of DC properties. Now, however, we're hearing a different tune. Horn notes they want to turn "the properties into viable movie product in an intelligent way so that we introduce them like planes on a runway. They have to be set up the right way and lined up the right way and all take off one at a time and fly safe and fly straight." So then what does this mean for the future of Justice League ... ?

Holy "Where the hell did this one come from" Batman! In a last ditch effort to win back fans, Warner Bros. has apparently convinced both Christian Bale and Brandon Routh to reprise the roles of Batman and Superman for their upcoming live-action Justice League of America film (currently titled Justice League Mortal). A press release just sent to Cinematical comes with this hilarious quote from a studio rep: "Brandon wasn't too hard to convince; he half-jokingly told us he's dreamt about this opportunity every night for the past several months."

Both men have signed a three-picture deal, which means Warners has plans to extend Justice League beyond the initial film, due out in 2009. Currently, there's no word on whether Armie Hammer (the actor supposed to play Batman) will still appear in some capacity, be it as a younger version of Batman or as a random extra in a background shot. On why he ultimately decided to take the role when there's a good chance it could confuse fans and screw up Nolan's franchise, Bale said, "I don't see me taking on this role getting in the way of anything, aside from someone else's paycheck. The script is awesome. Batman is awesome. Brendon and I look forward to taking this one to the next level."

Sounds like the studio is finally getting serious about this film, bringing on two actors with established fanbases -- guys they know will bolster the flick's box office. There are still a lot of unanswered questions, like what happens to Bryan Singer's The Man of Steel now and will Chris Nolan even go ahead with a third Batman film with Bale doing JLA? Well, one thing is for sure: This whole project just got a lot more interesting ...

For more, check out the entire press release over here.

With the writer's strike over, Warner Bros. believes they have a winner in this Justice League movie, and they're once again plowing ahead to try to get the film up and running for a debut in 2009. Variety tells us that writers Kieran and Michele Mulroney are currently re-tooling the script, while George Miller remains in pre-production in Australia. Additionally, the cast have been told to keep training for their roles. As previously reported, JLA will feature Adam Brody (the Flash), Common (Green Lantern), Armie Hammer Jr. (Batman) and Megan Gale (Wonder Woman). Other actors are rumored to have landed roles, but nothing seems to be official yet.

By mentioning Armie Hammer Jr., we assume this means Batman and Superman will play key roles in the film. Just recently, there was a rumor going around that had both characters scrapped from the new flick. Then again, since the script is still being re-tooled, we really don't know what the final outcome will look like. Assuming all goes right, Warners will use Justice League to launch solo films for a few of these other characters, like the Flash and Wonder Woman. Marvel, on the other hand, is taking the exact opposite approach: They're launching solo films -- and cross-promoting characters within each solo film -- before stepping up to the plate with an Avengers film. Which do you think will be the more successful route?

Also of note: Warners has set a October 16, 2009 release date for Spike Jonze's Where the Wild Things Are.

So now that the writer's strike is over and done with, what's going to happen to that planned-but-postponed Justice League flick? Well, it seems Warner Bros. kinda sorta listened to the fans on this one, and Blockbuster (of all people) reports that they've seen the updated synopsis for the film and -- guess what -- Superman and Batman are nowhere to be found. Why is that? Well, one is dead and the other has been given the boot. Here's the somewhat spoiler-filled synopsis Blockbuster claims to have received: "Feb 28, Sydney, Australia: The film is about Green Lantern, Green Arrow and others of the Justice League of America, an organization made up of the world's greatest superheroes. They must deal with the expulsion of Batman and the death of Superman at the hands of the monstrous Doomsday."

Sh*t. Now that sounds like a pretty cool ending to a film we'll never get to see. But it's also a smart move on Warner's part; this way they stay far away from the other two franchises, and use this film to launch the franchises of those other characters. Okay, great, so the film will begin shooting later this year? Not so fast says Moviehole -- they claim filmmakers are now eying a 2010 start date instead of mid-2008 because most of the cast have already gone and booked other gigs. We imagine the script will be re-tooled big time (seeing as Supes and Bats were major players), and who knows whether George Miller will remain onboard. The downside to this is that if Warners holds out on making solo films for, say, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, The Flash etc, we won't get to see those until -- what -- 2012, 2013? Or, alternatively, they could go the Marvel route and develop the solo films, cross-promote the characters within each solo film, and then come out with the group pic. In the meantime, I'm sure we'll get a third Batman flick (hopefully from Christopher Nolan), and we'll eventually get a second Superman film, from either Bryan Singer or someone else.

Here's my question: Would you even want to see a Justice League film without Batman and Superman? Are Warner Brothers damned if they do and damned if they don't?

Who gets to fight in 2008? Find out below ...

Finally! News regarding Justice League! And the news is ... that news should be coming later this week! That's right, according to an article over at Entertainment Weekly, Warner Brothers has until January 15 to decide whether to officially greenlight Justice League of America for a spring production -- and summer 2009 release -- or hold off on making any decisions until the strike is over. EW claims filmmakers are not happy with the script, that they'd like another rewrite, and are still debating whether to move forward as is. Apparently all seven superheroes have been cast, but word is Warners isn't exactly thrilled that they'd be risking upwards of $200 million on such a young crop of names. Will the project move forward? Will it get delayed? Will we ever find out either way? Stay tuned ...

Casting rumors regarding the much-hyped G.I. Joe flick have been flying here, there and everywhere. CHUD responds to an earlier IGN story that claimed Sam Worthington (Avatar) was up for the role of Duke in the flick, with recent indie darling Joseph Gordon-Levitt being looked at to play Duke's best friend. CHUD has heard that the Worthington rumor was indeed true, however the deal never worked out. And as far as Gordon-Levitt goes, well, that piece of info comes with a pretty major spoiler. Hear that? Major spoiler ahead. Do not keep reading if you don't want to read a major spoiler. Well, apparently, in the latest script, Duke's best friend turns out to be none other than Cobra Commander. Which means, yes, that Gordon-Levitt is being looked at for the role of villain. Fanboys -- whaddya think about that ridiculous plot twist?

UPDATE: We've removed the Bond 22 info at the request of Rotten Tomatoes.

One flies, one runs and the other whips:

For a film that hasn't released anything official in weeks, we all love to talk about Justice League of America. I'm convinced I'll enjoy writing about this film more than I'll enjoy watching it. So the AFI awards were held in Australia the other night, and Moviehole reports JLA director George Miller was in attendance to NOT talk about Justice League. Well, that's not entirely the case -- he did say the film was still very much on track, with filming to begin early next year. So ... where's the greenlight? Additionally, Miller said the film will have a different name when it goes before cameras. A different name? How do you make a Justice League film and not use the words 'Justice League' in the title? Either Miller was alluding to a fake title being used in order to hide the production (a la Rory's First Kiss, aka The Dark Knight), or he's out of his f**king mind. You make the call.

Will there be another Bourne film? A fourth installment? Ya know, the one where Jason Bourne forgets ... his house keys! Coming Soon sat down with producer Frank Marshall, who was fairly optimistic when asked about a fourth Bourne flick. He says, "There were only three books written. I know they've written a fourth but it wasn't written by Ludlum. Look, we would love to continue the franchise. We just need a great story, and we're not going to do it unless we have a great story, but we are working on coming up with one, and Matt said to me, 'Look, you hand me a great script, I'm in.' Unfortunately, we're not able to do any writing at the moment, but we're all thinking about it." Here's my question: Why would they need a fourth book from Ludlum? It's not like the first three were ever taken into consideration.

Finally, in another interview with Frank Marshall over at MTV (the man is sleeping around with every movie site, it appears), he finally revealed who Cate Blanchett and Ray Winstone will be playing in this summer's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Do you wanna know? Do you really wanna know? Okay, here goes: As far as Blanchett's character, Marshall said she's "playing the villainess in Indiana Jones" and that she "makes a great villain." We all knew she was the villain, but there's your confirmation. And Winstone? Marshall described his character, Mac, as "a sort of cross between villain Belloq and friend Sallah. He plays an archaeologist competitor to Indy. Friend and competitor." Also confirmed was Jim Broadbent's character, who will play a "Yale colleague of Dr. Jones that sort of replaces Marcus Brody." Myself? I'll be playing the guy who cannot wait to see this freaking thing.

No! It stings! It hurts! I'm melting! Yes, that appears to be Lindsay Lohan standing next to Batman on the set of ... just another weird photo shoot. Fear not, my JLA friends, the girl is not starring in the upcoming Justice League flick. But she is, for some odd reason, posing for a bunch of pics with Marvel and DC characters -- all of whom are dressed up in outfits you'd expect to find in the post-Halloween bargain bin at K-Mart. Dude! How can they disrespect Batman like that? And it's not only Batman -- wait till you see what they've done to Spider-Man and The Incredible Hulk. It's beyond awful. The pics come to us via IESB's celeb site, CelebSkin, which, honestly, needs someone else to write for them. I barely made it through several grammatical mistakes before finally landing on these images.* Stick them both together and I'm literally scarred for life (which, to the commenter who took me seriously, is a joke). Nothing against IESB; they just need to proof and edit. Like, a lot.

So what's the deal here? Is Lindsay trying to tell the world that she wants a role in the next big superhero flick? Or did some hot Los Angeles club simply pay her half a million to pose with superhero models to promote their establishment? Don't know, don't wanna know and, honestly, I don't care. See Lindsay with Spider-Man and The Hulk after the jump ...

*The grammatical errors on the site have been fixed, so disregard my previous statement.

Hey, guess what? Another Justice League cast member has been unofficially announced! The Los Angeles Times reports that Adam Brody has signed on to play The Flash, and though he's been rumored as having snagged the role for awhile, the LA Times claims he has closed negotiations and the deal is done. Why hasn't it hit the trades yet? Why isn't Warner Bros. saying anything? Well, according to the Times, Warners won't release the cast because the film hasn't received a green light yet. I'm speculating here, but if it hasn't gotten that green light, then that most likely means something is wrong with the script. Maybe not wrong, but the script needs more work before the project can move forward. And since the writers are still out on strike, that script work won't happen until a deal is reached.

The Times also lists a bunch more names, but those are clearly coming from other sites that broke all this casting news weeks ago. They also claim Megan Gale beat out Jessica Biel for Wonder Woman, however, we all thought Biel opted out of the role herself. Other names mentioned in the article include Scott Porter as Superman, Teresa Palmer as Talia al Ghul and Common as Green Lantern. There's no mention of Armie Hammer as Batman (hey, at least it's better than getting someone from MTV's The Hills), which IESB confirmed was official sometime last week. Brody is best known for his role on The O.C.

By now we all expected an announcement to hit the trades letting us all know who, in fact, would be starring in the live-action Justice League of America movie. Said announcement had been rumored for over a week now, and plenty of websites claimed to have inside information confirming that as a fact (in addition to the actors and actresses up for roles). Well, it's Friday -- an announcement was supposed to come on Wednesday -- and we haven't heard a peep. According to Moviehole, those folks in the cast were told they'd be informed of their co-stars on Wednesday, but that never happened. Yup, it appears they don't know who's in the film either. So where's the cast? Are they waiting until after the Thanksgiving break to make a formal announcement? Has the strike postponed production? Did Santa finally receive my letter: "Dear Fat Man, for Christmas I'd like this whole Justice League film to disappear."

Well, interestingly enough, Moviehole tells us that director George Miller couldn't show up to accept his 'legend' award at the IF Awards in Queensland recently because he was "working on a new film." When they cut to his pre-made special thanks video, MH claims he was sitting "in a creamy white set -- and it definitely looked like a set -- somewhere that wasn't in Queensland. Was it the Hall of Justice?" They go on to add that the camera did not pan around, so it was hard to figure out exactly where he was. But if he's working on a movie, it has to be Justice League (or Mad Max 4 ... or Happy Feet 2), so hopefully, come Monday, all these questions will have answers.

Depending on who you talk to, both films are doing just fine. Word has it the Justice League cast will be announced this week (most likely tomorrow), and the solo Wolverine flick is all ready to go -- eying a May 1, 2009 release date. Not so fast, says Cinema Blend, who have received a tip from a reliable source that claims both Wolverine and Justice League are running into problems. Could these two films become the next to be delayed by the strike? Regarding Wolverine, here's what their scooper had to say: "Apparently the movie Australia has taken up all the stages at Fox in Sydney, where Wolverine is meant to film, and they just can't accommodate Wolverine at the moment. They're going to have to push back Wolverine." Australia is still filming? Damn, how long has it been now -- at least four, five months? A recent article in The Press claimed pre-production on Wolverine was already underway on the Fox lot in Sydney, and that the film was also going to shoot on location in parts of New Zealand. With Wolverine about to start, I'm sure we'll hear official word soon enough.

And Justice League? According to Moviehole's source, "the film is definitely on track" and "the cast is a lock as of today." Ah, but then you have Cinema Blend's source, who says ... "they don't have a finished script and can't work on it until the strike is over, and there's no studio space at Fox Sydney... so maybe one of these productions will have to move to Docklands studios Melbourne (but The Pacific is taking up all the stages there) or Warner Bros Studios on the Gold Coast. So perhaps there's some chance for JLA to get done, of course that probably depends on how much longer the writer's strike goes on. They'll need enough time to finish the script and shoot it before SAG goes on strike. They're rapidly running out of time." It's a game of "Who Has the Better Source" right now, so I guess all we can do is wait it out and see what happens. My top secret source, who goes by the name of Awesome Dude and lives inside my head, isn't too keen on either film -- although Wolverine definitely has some potential. What say you?

If you're anything like me, upon reading some of the names that were up for roles in the new live action Justice League of America movie, your first response was probably: "Who the f*ck is that?" It's okay to feel that way; most of the actors up for roles are young up-and-comers who don't have many credits next to their name. And in order to be familiar with them, you'd need to watch The O.C. or read Teen Hotties of the Month Magazine. Forget about the film for a moment (which I do not think should be made at this time), my main problem with this cast is that they're so damn young. Armie Hammer, for example, is rumored to be playing Batman. He's 21. He looks like a baby. And am I the only one who expects my Batman and Superman to actually be, ya know, MEN?

As it stands right now, this whole film will feel like a Beverly Hills 90210 Halloween episode, in which everyone dresses up like their favorite superhero. My suggestion: They wait a few years, and instead of launching a live-action film, why not exploit the new 3D IMAX nonsense. Mo-cap the hell out of the thing. Get an older, more experienced and well-known cast to voice the roles. Let poor Christopher Nolan finish his Batman trilogy without having to deal with pics of Armie Hammer as "hottie Batman" leaking all over the web. Launch solo films for Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and The Flash before this JLA movie. Sure, one day it might be fun to watch Superman and Batman fight one another, as it's somewhat cool to watch the new Alien vs. Predator movies, but wait until those franchises have run out of steam. Those are my two cents, anyway ... How about you?

Could it ... be? Maybe? Potentially? Possibly? Is Warner Bros finally about to announce their official cast for the live action Justice League of America film? Should we celebrate? Throw a party? Go out for drinks? Raise a pair of underwear up a flagpole (quick, which movie)? I wouldn't go getting your hopes up just yet (I'm talking to you Mr. "I wear the same JLA shirt 30 days in a row) -- but if IESB is correct, we could be hearing who was cast in this thing at some point this week. Yes, they apparently talked to some Warner Bros. sources who claim the cast is locked -- everyone is in double secret probation mode -- and an announcement should be coming within the next couple days.

A recent Variety article claimed some huge studio tent poles could suffer delays because of the current writers strike, and that Justice League of America was one of those films. Not so, says this WB source, and so it'll be interesting to see what happens throughout the week. Who should we expect in the roles of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter and Cinematical Man? It's anyone's guess at this point; director George Miller and his team have auditioned almost all of "Young Hollywood" and from what we hear, Miller's done a bunch of talent scouting over in Australia as well. Chances are we'll see a mix of American and Australian talent -- faces that are kinda sorta familiar, but no one really big. Then again, they could surprise us with a high-profile actor or actress, but after the whole Jessica Biel debacle, I highly doubt it. Who do you want to see in the film? And check out our JLA cast wishlist down below.

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I'm not sure how many actors need to turn down roles in the upcoming Justice League of America movie before they just to tuck their movie production tail between their legs and run away. Man, they've got to be close. Jessica Biel's turned down Wonder Woman, and they're really having a heck of a time finding interested actors. MTV now reports that Stomp the Yard's Columbus Short, who has got This Christmas and Whiteout on the way, is among those who have turned down the chance.

The actor told the site he was up for the movie, having been approached to take on John Stewart/The Green Lantern. But he didn't refuse out of comic disgust. Short says: "Justice League is going to be dope; it's going to be huge. But it's not the movie for me." While he used to be set on becoming the first really big African-American feature film superhero, now he says: "I think there comes a point in an actor's career when he decides what type of actor you want to be. [Each actor] decides: I want to do commercial movies, but do I want to go this way? Or do I want to go that way?" Apparently, he didn't want to don tights and take that route.

The cynic in me wonders if he's just being nice, and would be interested in the role, or a similar superhero role, if it wasn't such a rush-job movie. Whatever the case, he's out, and JLA is back to square one. Will anyone want to be in this thing? Is this a lost cause?

Warner Brothers has assigned Greg Berlanti to direct a feature film version of the DC Comics character Green Lantern according to a report from Variety. Based on Berlanti's resume which includes mostly TV work (executive producer and/or writer on Everwood, Dirty Sexy Money, and Dawson's Creek) as well as helming the 2000 feature The Broken Hearts Club, he certainly wouldn't have been my choice to helm the adventures of the Emerald Warrior, but I'm going to keep an open mind for now. Several of the other people involved with the project have done work that makes me think these guys may know what they're doing. Co-writing the script with Berlanti are Marc Guggenheim, who has written the Marvel comic books Amazing Spider-man, Wolverine and Blade, and Michael Green, who is a co-executive producer on NBC's Heroes and has written Superman/Batman for DC Comics. Donald De Line, will produce the picture.

The Green Lantern character has been through several incarnations since his creation in 1940 by cartoonist Martin Nodell. Probably the best known (and presumably the subject of this movie) is Hal Jordan, greatest member of an intergalactic peace keeping force who use their power rings to bring justice to every corner of the universe. As originally drawn by Nodell, however, Green Lantern was a man named Alan Scott whose high collared cape and red pirate shirt contrasted with the green and black tights that became the standard when the Hal Jordan incarnation was introduced in 1959. Hal Jordan spent several years being dead (though he eventually got better) and was replaced by Kyle Rayner. Other Green Lanterns have included John Stewart (the ring wielder from Cartoon Network's Justice League series) and Guy Gardner who I best remember as a humorous lunatic from the Justice League comics of the 1980s. No word on casting or how this film will tie in with the hotly anticipated live action Justice League of America movie.

Although the Justice League of America film still doesn't have a firm cast, it looks like we have a director for the first official JLA spin-off. MTV Movies Blog reports that they've spoken with David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers), and he's confirmed to them that he's taken over directing reigns on The Flash. Not only that, but he also says his version of The Flash will exist in the JLA universe, the same as the upcoming live-action film. The film has already gone through two different directors; first it was David Goyer, and then it was Shawn Levy (who was going to use elements of Goyer's script). Now it's Dobkin ... who's never directed a comic book film before. But neither had Christopher Nolan when he did Batman Begins, or Bryan Singer when he did X-Men, or George Miller, who's directing Justice League -- so, really, does it matter?

When asked which Flash would be The Flash (there have been four of them), Dobkin replied, "Wally West." West took over for Barry Allen, his Uncle, when Allen died. As MTV pointed out, recent rumors over at AICN suggest the new live action JLA flick will open with Barry Allen's funeral. Dobkin even threw out the following tagline when asked about his vision for the film: "You can't outrun yourself." Deep. No word yet on when this film will begin, but you bet whoever signs on to play The Flash in JLA will most likely do so under the condition that they star in the spin-off. What do you think about Dobkin? Is he better than Levy? Goyer?