It’s Friday morning, time once again for the News Bites. August is just about over, but Hollywood is already hard at work planning out future summer blockbuster seasons. Nearly all of this week’s news is superhero movie related, but a few of the items may just surprise you. So read on to find out what’s happening.
News:
Scott Cooper, director of Crazy Heart is in talks to direct a theatrical version of Stephen King’s The Stand after previous director Ben Affleck had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts (partly because of his impending role as Batman.)
CBS films is producing a superpower movie titled Split, about orphaned identical twin girls who, once reunited, discover they share superhuman abilities, and go on the run from pursuers.
Todd MacFarlane, the creator of Spawn, is writing a script for a theatrical remake. He intends to be finished writing at the end of the year so shooting can start in 2014. He says the tone of the movie is more in line with horror movies and thrillers than with superhero movies. (As mentioned previously, Jamie Foxx has expressed interest in starring in a Spawn remake; whether that will happen or not is unknown at this time.)
Scooby-Doo, where are you? Back in theatres, it seems, as Warner Brothers has tapped Matt Lieberman to write the script for a new film. Bad news? Lieberman’s only current writing credit is for a direct-to-video Dr. Dolittle sequel, though he has a few projects in development. Good news? This film won’t be a live-action/CGI hybrid — it’ll be 100% animated.
Also of note looking at Lieberman’s IMDb resume is that he is apparently one of the writers on a reboot for Short Circuit. I think I speak for all children of the 80s when I say we really don’t need that.
Vin Diesel has confirmed that he will be providing the voice and motion capture work for the character Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy. He states that they had plans for him to take part in a film in Marvel’s “Phase 3”, but they decided to go with something more immediate.
Been wondering who would provide the voice for Ultron in Avengers: Age of Ultron? Wonder no more, as the role has been given to James Spader, known for his starring role in Stargate and most recently as W.N. Bilbo in Lincoln.
Rumors and Speculation:
Metro UK broke a story early this week that Bryan Cranston was “confirmed” to be playing Lex Luthor in Man of Steel 2: Superman vs. Batman… of course, they put a question mark at the end of the headline, because it’s not, in fact, confirmed. A lot of sites have taken this and run with it, but Warner Brothers hasn’t said word one about it, nor has Cranston — according to sources, they are withholding an official announcement until the end of Breaking Bad in late September. Cranston’s deal is reportedly for a minimum of six movies and may last for up to ten. Let’s call this one “probable” for now until some actual confirmation hits.
While noting that it’s up to FOX, Chris Carter has expressed interest in filming a third X-Files movie, and in getting Simon Pegg to co-star in it.
That’s all for this week’s News Bites. Thanks for reading, and chime in below with your thoughts!
Morgan on Media 
Thank goodness that Scooby Doo film is going to be animated. However, I don’t see why they did not tap the writers for Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated to pen the script. That show is pretty solid.
I hope they make The Stand into more than one film so they don’t rush things.
I’ve heard high praise for Mystery Incorporated, but I haven’t had the chance to check it out. Not sure why they didn’t get tapped either, though; seems like it would be logical to tap either them or the writers for the direct-to-video films, which have largely been well-received as well.
From the sounds of it, The Stand is just going to be one film.