There may not be many of you out there, but considering the success of the first Avatar movie there must be at least a few people who are looking forward to James Cameron’s promised sequels.  Though the first was, in my humble opinion, a shallow pile of crap with little plot, a terrible script, mediocre acting and action scenes that were about as cliché as they come, it did make tons of cash.  And Cameron has some sort of hard-on for making more, so they will be coming.  But how’s the schedule going with that, you ask?  Check out what Avatar and Star Trek alumni Zoe Saldana had to say about it below.

In an interview with MTV, Zoe had some things to say about director James Cameron and how his progress is going:

I know that he’s sort of been removing himself from things that might distract him so that he can focus on doing the final tweaks on the scripts. He did share that he’s in a very interesting and fragile place, because the story is dictating itself.
You walk a fine line when you’re the creator of the story you’re going to tell, of the manipulation that you may have unconsciously of the story and the characters versus allowing the story to unfold it, because you did create such a monumental and solid platform that they’re just living and breathing organisms and they’re the ones that need to make their own decisions. I’m geek talking right now, but that’s how intense it affects me and how I feel about amazing storytellers like James Cameron, like J.J. Abrams. They create things that are real out of unimaginable scenarios, and that is beautiful to me.

That was an amazingly insightful response from Saldana, especially considering the not-insightful nature of Avatar.  Thumbs up to you Zoe and may your future hold projects more worthy of your brains and talent.

Currently, Avatar 2 and 3 are scheduled to begin shooting sometime early next year and the first sequel has a tentative release date of late 2014.

Thanks to ComingSoon for the heads-up.

Since no one can wait another 5 weeks until Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel finally hits the big screen, the folks at marketing have decided to ply us with more footage.  You may feel like you already know half the story considering all the trailers, TV spots, pictures and spoilers that have been circulating the great landscape of the Internet, but if not then check out some more.  Here is the latest UK TV spot for Man of Steel, complete with multiple explosions and 50% more epicness:

Feel free to check out the actual film in its entirety when it releases on June 14th.

Thanks to collider for the heads-up.

In case you have been worried about that fact that those in China got to see a longer version of Iron Man 3 than you, put those cares to rest.  As it turns out, the execs in charge have decided that we in the West shall also be graced with the extra footage, albeit sometime in the vague future.  They’re taking the cut scenes from the Chinese Iron Man 3 and putting them together in a short film.  And – bonus! – they’ll be putting in some other cut footage as well, footage that not even China has been witness to.

Tentatively titled The Prologue, this short film is supposed to show some more back-story for Dr. Wu along with all the other stuff that didn’t make the cut.  From what I’ve heard, it’s mostly forgettable, though you never know what other footage they might find lying around that they’ll cram into the film at the last minute to make it even cooler.  So cross your fingers.

Unfortunately, there’s no word on the how and when of it.  So we may all end up having to wait for a Blu-ray release to see any of it.  Whatta scam, you greedy bastards!

Thanks to GeekTyrant for the heads-up.

After much internal struggle, I have decided to come clean with all of our loyal Nerd Readers.  We here at Nerd Bastards are secretly aligned with Michael Bay and have dedicated our souls to helping him destroy both your mind and childhood via spreading the disease that is the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film.  In what we and Bay refer to as “Stage 4”, we’re circulating some more TMNT set pics.  This time around, you can see the actors who play the titular turtles all gussied up in their motion-capture suits, along with what appear to be a few of Shredder’s Foot Soldiers.  Check it all out below.

And now, you will forget everything I have said while still retaining those images in your mind.  Continue your life as normal and don’t forget to buy tickets to Michael Bay’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles when it arrives on June 6^th, 2014.

Thanks to /film for the heads-up.

Ever since filming began, Bryan Singer has been hard at work tweeting pictures of his new X-Men: Days of Future Past.  We’ve been graced with pictures of all sorts of folks thus far, though a few still remain.  Earlier today we here at Nerd Bastards sent you a pic of Hugh Jackman looking a little bit disheveled.  Now, here’s one more pic, this time of young Professor X, AKA James McAvoy.

Seems like they got him all dressed up like a reject from a 90s grunge band.  Either that or the singer of a successful modern-day indie band.  But whatever…  Stay tuned for even more pics as we feed them to you.

Thanks to ComicBookMovie for the heads-up.

Just because the world needs yet another vampire film and fast, Universal Pictures has decided to put together one more adaptation of Bram Stoker’s classic tale of Dracula.  Currently the show has cast Luke Evans and Sarah Gadon and today it looks like they’ve added someone new to the list – Dominic Cooper.

For those of you that don’t recognize the name (i.e.: most of you), Cooper is the guy that played the in-the-past version of Howard Stark in the first Captain America flick.  No word yet on who he’ll be playing in this one, though I do wonder if maybe his involvement in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter may have gotten him typecast.

Given the mediocre talent level that this film is collecting and the predictably recycled subject matter, I’m guessing the new Dracula is going to be one hell of a turkey.

If you feel the need to mark your calendar, it’s scheduled to release on August 8^th of 2014.

Thanks to ComicBookMovie for the heads-up.

DC hasn’t made too many impressive entries into the super hero media wars as of yet.  Sure, there’s the Dark Knight trilogy and a successful television adaptation of Arrow, but that’s about it for now.  Man of Steel is coming out in just over a month, so we’ll see how that one does.  Despite the hit-and-miss nature of DC properties on both the big and small screens, the Chief Creative Officer over at DC, Geoff Johns is hopeful about the future.  In a recent interview with Collider, he had a few things to say on more than a few subjects.  Check out the highlights after the jump.

First, Johns addressed the success of Arrow and what it might mean for future DC heroes:

I’m really happy with the success of Arrow and the team [Greg] Berlanti and [Andrew] Kreisberg and [Marc] Guggenheim really put together this great show. You can see with this season. I thought the season started strong, but it got stronger.  I thought the show really found its place, and the cast found its place. One of my favorite episodes is – I don’t think it’s aired yet – but there’s this big sequence with Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak and Diggle. When I saw those characters in that episode, I thought I could see this show going forever. What the success of the show has done is that it’s helped open up doors for DC and television in a very good way, and for the CW in a very good way.

Then spoke a bit about his opinion on the new Man of Steel:

I’m very anxious for everybody to see Man of Steel. I’m very excited about people seeing Man of Steel.

Superman’s very active in this movie. People will be happy. If people want to see Superman in action, they’ll be very happy.

He could not, however, be convinced to discuss Justice League and had only this to say:

Can’t really talk about it, sorry.

A brief blurb on the potential Booster Gold TV series:

Booster Gold TV series: still in development, Andrew Kreisberg is working on it right now.

The future of Green Lantern in some form or another:

There are plans.  There are plans.

And finally, about the chances of Wonder Woman getting her own long-awaited adaptation:

Very, very good.

Well, I certainly would never accuse the man of being verbose.  There’s not much more than hints and teases there, but he did state that DC plans on letting everyone know a lot more once Comic-Con hits.  Sorry DC fans, but you’ll just have to hold onto your hats for another couple of months.

Thanks to collider for the heads-up.

If you’re a Dungeons & Dragons geek like I am, then you probably remember the horrible pain that struck your chest when you watched that god-awful movie that was produced around the title back in the year 2000.  Even though the property provides tons of material to work with, the makers of the film managed to screw it up so bad that it literally left people with a bad case of the runs.  Now, however, D&D may be getting a chance to redeem itself, as Warner Bros. has just purchase the rights and plans to make a new Gary Gygax-inspired flick.

Of course, if you look at the details, your hopes may be crushed.

A man by the name of David Leslie Johnson is currently in charge of the script.  Some of you may know him for his work on the action-splat dud, Wrath of the Titans.  Others may know him as the writer of some mediocre episodes of The Walking Dead.  He’s not the worst, but he’s not exactly a creative genius.  To add to the doubt, one of the producers has a history of being involved in that 2000 D&D movie fiasco.

So the project, while it definitely looks to be in the works, is up in the air creatively.  It may come down to who wants to take on the role of director of the film.  Can we get someone as passionate as those who have been jumping onboard the super hero movies as of late?  Or will this just end up being yet another Lord of the Rings copycat flick with zero brains behind it?

I remain optimistic, because there’s seriously a lot you can do with D&D if you put your mind to it.  The success really depends on whether or not they can find people that are willing to put themselves into it.  Btw, if anyone at Warner Bros. is reading this, I’d write a D&D script in a heartbeat and it would be way better than that shit movie made in 2000.  Feel free to message me.

Thanks to /film for the heads-up.

Writer Neil Gaiman has done some amazing work on Doctor Who thus far, and he’s only had one episode aired thus far.  Another one is coming up and personally I’ve got a serious nerd boner about what he’s going to put together this time.  The rumor mill has been talking lately about the potential departure of Steven Moffat from the role of showrunner for the series, so naturally people have been wondering who is going to be taking over.  And, of course, some have been gravitating towards Gaiman and bugging him with questions about whether he’d be willing to take over or not.  Check out Gaiman’s response below.

I would love to do more Doctor Who. There’s so much stuff I’d love to do. Right now, it’s impossible. Right now I’m looking at it with that kind of horrible feeling that you genuinely can’t stop and raid the sweet shop. You’re on the bus and you’re going past and you’re going to be late for school if you go… so I tend to laugh when people say “Would you like to be the next showrunner after Moffat?” I don’t even have time to write an episode! You want me to be showrunner? Nothing else will happen in my entire life!

So there you have it folks, Gaiman has a shit-ton to do and couldn’t possibly devote all the time necessary to running a huge project like Doctor Who.  He’s not going to sacrifice his career (and his Amanda Palmer sexy-time) to appease fans, no matter how brilliant he might be.  So stop bugging him already.

Thanks to blastr for the heads-up.

It may seem like a pretty simple thing, playing the part of a zombie on The Walking Dead, but those that get to don the rotten flesh make-up and take swipes at the show’s heroes have some serious training to do before they’re let on the set.  Production for the fourth season of Walking Dead has just gotten underway and in order to remind us that October will bring more show, the folks over at the show have release the following zombie training video.  Check out the extras as they get put through the paces of what makes a successful walker.

No doubt marketing will be feeding us stuff like this all summer, so check back in periodically with the crew at Nerd Bastards and see what new bright and shiny objects we have for you to play with.

Thanks to ComingSoon for the heads-up.