Comic creations

With the recent successes of movies like Daredevil,Spider-Man and X-Men, the scent of profit has beenpicked up by the major movie studios, and they are drooling at thethought.

Movies based on comic books come with a pre-built fan base andare virtually guaranteed to do well at the box office. With this inmind, it’s no surprise to see that many upcoming movies are comicbook adaptations or sequels to previous successful comic bookfilms.

One of these will be Bryan Singer’s follow-up to his 2000 hit,X-Men 2. Joining the original cast of mutant superheroeswill be Alan Cumming, who will play the impish teleporting mutantNightcrawler. Kelly Hu (The Scorpion King) will be playingLady Deathstrike, a femme fatale with metal fingernails indesperate need of trimming.

The latest rumors indicate that the plot of the film willprobably involve some sort of fighting between mutants and/orhumans and there will most likely be some sort of “special effects”throughout. Though not confirmed, Wolverine will probably stillhave claws and, also unconfirmed, might use them in the course ofthe film.

X-Men 2 a 20th Century Fox production, is scheduled for aMay 2, 2003 release.

Last summer’s mega hit, Spider-Man, made enough money tomake Stan Lee envy its profit margin. (He sued Columbia Picturesfor “his share” of the money.) Needless to say, a sequel is alreadyin the works and plans are being put together for a third. Underthe guiding hand of Sam Raimi (Army of Darkness), TheAmazing Spider-Man will feature Alfred Molina (Frida)as the many-limbed baddie, Doctor Octopus.

Slated for a May 7, 2004 release, Amazing will alsofeature a cameo by Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko) as KletusKasady, who will play a larger role in the next film in theseries.

This third film will spotlight psychotic symbiotic villainsVenom and Carnage. Vin Diesel and Scorpion King star TheRock are reported to be interested in the role of Venom. No wordyet on who will be appointed the role of counting all the moneyColumbia Pictures will rake in.

Meanwhile, Warner Bros. has been trying desperately to jump onthe superhero bandwagon by reviving a couple of old franchises:Superman and Batman.

The Batman series of movies was virtually killed by the meddlingof director Joel Schumacher (Batman and Robin, anyone?), butWarner Bros. had to do something to cash in on the comic-to-moviephenomenon – so they hired a new director. At first, it was DarrenAronofsky (who directed Pi and Requiem for a Dream),and the movie was going to be an adaptation of Frank Miller’sgraphic novel Batman: Year One. As the title hints, it wouldhave been a prequel of sorts, depicting the early escapades of theDark Knight.

However, due to varying circumstances, involving studio politicsand previous commitments, Aronofsky has all but dropped theproject. Warner Bros., not to be defeated, quickly picked upChristopher Nolan (Memento) to direct. Rumors indicate thata new script has been approved for the new film, subtitled TheFrightening, which will feature The Scarecrow as the principalvillain.

Guy Pearce, also from Memento, is rumored to have cinchedthe role of the Caped Crusader. However, considering Warner Bros.track record on this project, expect things to change and changedrastically many times before production actually begins.

The Man of Steel is also going to make a return to thesilver screen and, according to the latest reports, could be playedby none other than Josh Hartnett (Pearl Harbor). SupermanV, which will be directed by Brett Ratner (Rush Hour,Red Dragon), is reportedly going to be the first in atrilogy, working with a script by J.J. Abrams of TV’s “Felicity”and “Alias.”

Initial reports by various Web sites suggested that the scriptwas terrible, including a gay Jimmy Olsen and a Superman who wouldrather flirt with Lois Lane than save endangered people, but thishas since been disproved by Warner Bros. The movie is scheduled tobe released sometime in 2004 or 2005.

Comic creations