A lot of the pre-release hate about Star Trek Into Darkness has been directed at the film’s ominous title. How can the film maintain Gene Roddenberry‘s vision of a hopeful, peaceful future when the second film in the rebooted franchise is going to take us “into darkness?”

Well co-screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman took a minute to respond to that very question in a new interview with Star Trek Magazine (which comes to us via Blastr). Apparently, the duo took their inspiration from the film’s villain, John Harrison played by Benedict Cumberbatch.

“He understands Starfleet because he was enlisted in a similar way,” says Orci. “Some might see part of the title coming from the fact that he’s kind of a dark shadow of members of our crew. He too has gone through the process… that some of our crew have gone though, and clearly for some reason it’s failed to bring him over, so I think he represents that part of our heroes.”

As for how Roddenberry, “The Great Bird of the Galaxy,” would feel about these latest developments, Kurtzman says that they had him in mind as he, Orci and Damon Lindelof tapped out the script. “Despite the fact that we are literally going into darkness, I think we all worked very hard to make sure the theme of hope, what hope costs, and what it’s really about, was always alive in how we were designing our story,” he said. “So we’re pretty consistent with the last movie in terms of dark things happening. But holding on to the light that Roddenberry set up as a basic tenet of the ‘Star Trek’ universe.”

In other news, we have a release date for the Star Trek Into Darkness soundtrack, the film’s score by regular J.J. Abrams collaborator Michael Giacchino. According to distributor Varese Sarabande (and out friends at Comic Book Movie), the Into Darkness disc will be released three days before the movie on May 14. No track listing or music samples have been released yet, but I have to admit I’m looking forward to it, the music, to me, was one of the best parts of Abrams’ first Trek.

And speaking of previews, TrekWeb has a couple of new images from the film, one of Spock and Uhura looking at – something- above and one of Peter Weller, in the reported role of Admiral Marcus, below. Anyone else getting a Star Trek: The Motion Picture vibe from those new uniforms?

Finally, the extended preview of Into Darkness that aired during The Walking Dead finale on Sunday has appeared online. If you missed it, or if you want to see it again, it’s embedded below for your viewing pleasure.

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Not for the first time, the artist formally known as Geordi LaForge shares some sour grapes about the J.J. Abrams-led reboot of the Star Trek franchise. Last year, LeVar Burton said that there wasn’t enough reverence for Star Trek: The Next Generation in Abrams’ 2009 film, and now Burton thinks that Abrams is trying to mitigate all previous incarnations of the franchise, and he’s against that!

Here’s what Burton told the Toronto Sun:

“(Abrams’ Star Trek) was a great movie, and he brought a whole new generation to Trek. But I’m a little disquieted by things I hear coming out of his camp, things like he would like to be remembered as the only Trek—which would discount everything before he got there.

“There’s ‘breaking the canon,’ which he did (by re-inventing Star Trek‘s timeline). But there’s also honouring the canon. And to pretend to be the only one is really egocentric and immature.

“I just came from a conference in San Francisco with Advanced Micro Devices, and they’re working on technology towards building a holodeck. That was Next Generation. And that’s part of what Star Trek has brought to the culture. So when JJ Abrams says, There should be no Star Trek except the one I make,’ I call bulls—, J.J.”

OH… snap? Hm, I don’t remember any comment from anyone in Abrams’ camp disrespecting the canon. In fact, Star Trek Into Darkness screenwriters Roberto Orci and Damon Lindelof are both avowed Trek fans, the ’09 Star Trek had the usual Easter Eggs for fans, and all the related Star Trek comic books through IDW have been full of references to both the Original Series and Next Gen. Sounds like someone’s trying to make a mountain out of a mole hill, especially since he’ll do anything for gas money and the promise of free food.

Source: Blastr

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Most people know “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, that classic tale of Ichabod Crane and his night of terror being chased down by the infamous rider known as the Headless Horseman. The tale was adapted into a successful feature film by Tim Burton in 1999 and is now reportedly being adapted again by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, this time as a modern-day take on the tale with a unique twist.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Star Trek writers and producers are developing Sleepy Hollow for 20th Century Fox as a supernatural thriller. It will follow former history professor Ichabod Crane as he partners with Sleepy Hollow’s local female sheriff to “solve the mysteries of a town ravaged by the battle between good and evil.”

Here’s a quick synopsis of the series:

In the script, Ichabod is described as a captain in the Revolutionary War who has been to hell and back. The former history professor finds himself catapulted to present day Sleepy Hollow, where he’s indicted for the murder of a police officer and forced to prove not only his innocence but make a wary detective believe he’s a traveler from the 18th century.

Shows like Once Upon a Time and Grimm have been using the supernatural element mixed with popular literature for a few years now and have been quite successful in that regard. Although the time travel aspect of Sleepy Hollow may be just the attention grabber that audiences are looking for, if someone loses track of the plot in between flashbacks or character dialogue people are going to lose interest quick.

So far, actors Orlando Jones and Katia Winter have been cast with Jones playing Lt. Frank Williams, a stern professional detective transferred to Sleepy Hollow to investigate a double homicide, and Winter as the wife of Ichabod and a nurse with the 37th Regiment in the Revolutionary War. Total Recall director Len Wiseman is on tap to direct the pilot.

Source: Geek Tyrant

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The new Mummy movie has been in development for about a year under the combined efforts of producers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, director Len Wiseman, and screenwriter Jon Spaihts. But Universal really wants this thing to get made and be released by its 2014 release date, and it looks they’re going to take out a bit of an insurance policy to make sure it happens.

Vulture is reporting that Universal is doubling down on the project by hiring screenwriter Billy Ray, writer of The Hunger Games and State of Play. Ray will be writing his own separate draft as Spaihts continues to toil on his draft. The theory here is that if Spaihts’ draft isn’t up to snuff, then Ray can’s can save the day. Or, if both drafts are a resounding success, the two will be combined to create a “super-script” (my turn of phrase).

No word on whether or not Ray is writing an entire new story or toiling on the same details as Spaihts, but the film is rumored to be taking place in the modern day, and will, obviously, involve a mummy.

More news as it develops.

Source: Collider

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Friday’s final Fringe was very middle of the road in terms of finales to beloved series: it didn’t offend with any out-of-left-field direction (“Starbuck’s an angel,” “Jerry and the gang go to prison,” “the whole series took place in a snow globe”), but it didn’t really surprise with any developments either. But for the fans that stuck it out through the time changes and the consistent on-the-bubble hopes for renewals, Fringe delivered a fine finale that blew them a kiss goodbye and left them with the feeling of having just eaten fresh baked cookies. All’s well that ends well. At least that’s how I see it. (more…)

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A costume is something that all comic book geeks can identify with. It defines a character and sticks in our memory as a part of what that character represents. In the comic books, costume designs for the heroes and villains can go unaltered for decades – until they reach the hands of Hollywood, that is. That’s when things can change for better or worse.

The costumes in Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man have so far been a great example of keeping things traditional. Even with a giant Hollywood budget, the designers tried to stay as close to the original as they could and still kept Spidey recognizable. So imagine our surprise to hear that Jamie Foxx, who will play Electro in The Amazing Spider-Man sequel, will not wear the classic green and yellow we’re all familiar with. It’s almost like telling us Mary Jane isn’t actually a red head.

While doing press for Quentin Tarantino‘s Django Unchained, Foxx brought BlackFilm up to speed on the more “grounded” appearance of former electrical engineer Maxwell Dillon.

“It won’t be green and yellow. It will be a different color. They (the producers) want something for the future. They want to have it more grounded and not as comic bookie, so it won’t be green and yellow. They want to try new things, like a liquid rubber and things like that, and there are all these bolts and stuff in my arms when they are hanging me upside down and trying to figure out what happen. How did he become this way? So, it will be some new stuff.”

As for how he’ll be portrayed in the sequel, Foxx had some words of encouragement on the work of screen writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci:

“In the script, this villain is the first time it’s be written well. Andrew Garfield and Marc Webb both commented on how great the script is, so it should be an exciting time.”

Oh Jamie, your way with words will never cease to amaze us. It’ll be interesting to see what they come up with for the final look of Electro, but maybe the costume department will be smart and avoid all the CGI that their last villain had. The next installment in the yet unnamed sequel to The Amazing Spider-Man stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Sally Field, Dane DeHaan, Jamie Foxx and Shailene Woodley and is set to start shooting in early 2013 in New York. Release is planned for May 2nd, 2014.

What do you think? Should there be some reference to the classic Electro or is it time to move on?

Source: Comic Book Movie

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Oh yeah, you thought they had forgot, didn’t you? But no, Len Wiseman is still working towards making the remake of The Mummy his next film, and while out promoting the DVD release of Total Recall, Wiseman had some words about his next project, courtesy of Movie Web:

“There was skepticism. The difference between the two, if The Mummy is to be the next movie for me, is that The Mummy is a completely different film,” he says when asked whether or not his views on remakes has changed since Total Recall. “It is a modern day take. It doesn’t have anything to do with the Brendan Fraser films, and it is not a remake of any kind. The Mummy is one of Universal’s long standing, iconic characters, well before the Brendan Fraser movies… This is such a different thing. What was attractive to me…There is still a script to be written, and all of that….But the pitch was to go with a much different tone. It was a Mummy like I’d never heard of before. It’s nothing like what you would expect, at all, oddly. I was picturing Egypt, and the sand swept settings. The mummy wrappings. When I heard what they were wanting to actually do with it, it was shocking.”

“Shocking?” The film is being scripted by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, authors of Transformers and Star Trek, and Universal is aiming for a 2014 release date. Frankly, I think the only shocking thing for me will be living to see the day that Len Wiseman pursues an original idea, and before you say Underworld let me add, “Worlds of Darkness.”

So what do you think, Bastards? Interested in seeing Wiseman/Orci/Kurtzman’s new take on The Mummy?

Source: Comic Book Movie

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Star Trek Into Darkness has been one of Hollywood’s best keep secrets. Their villain is both known and unknown at the same time, the script is under heavy wraps and J.J. Abrams‘ has managed to get away with showing a measly three frames of footage.

As of next month, fans of J. R. R. Tolkien and Peter Jackson who happen to be watching The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (in IMAX) will be treated to 12,960 times the amount of footage Star Trek then we’ve seen all year.

With Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, and Bruce Greenwood all reprising their roles from the last film alongside newcomers Alice Eve and Benedict Cumberbatch, Paramount Pictures wants to get people in the seats. So what better way then to announce a nine-minute prologue for J.J. Abrams‘ sequel that will air ahead of the Jackson trilogy on approximately 500 IMAX screens?

Check out more in the jump.
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IDW‘s Locke & Key is a wonderful series for any reader to dive headlong into, but its live action pilot left something to be desired. What’s that? You don’t remember a pilot? Us neither, but that hasn’t stopped Universal from eyeing the property for a feature film trilogy.

An ongoing series since 2008, Locke & Key is the brain child of writer Joe Hill and illustrator Gabriel Rodriguez . It deals with a different story arc every couple of issues. The first arc, Welcome to Lovecraft, was acquired by 20th Century Fox TV and produced by Dreamworks TV and K.O. Paper Products. Locke & Key was greenlit, filmed, and ready to air, but ended up being shopped around to other networks to no avail.
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Star Trek into Darkness is one of the more highly anticipated movies of the 2013 early summer and to help market it even further IDW will be releasing a prequel comic – Star Trek: Countdown to Darkness.  This is the same thing they pulled with the first flick although this one will be filling in some of the gaps between movie one and movie two.

Mike Johnson is set to write the four-part mini-series.  He will be working with Roberto Orci - writer and producer for the new movie – and the artwork will be taken care of by David Messina.

Here’s the official blurb:

STAR TREK COUNTDOWN TO DARKNESS #1

(W) Mike Johnson (A/CA) David Messina

The countdown to the motion picture event of 2013 begins here, in this blockbuster 4-issue prequel mini-series that sets the stage for the upcoming STAR TREK film! Like the best-selling STAR TREK: COUNTDOWN in 2009, this all-new series leads directly into the next movie, with a story by STAR TREK writer/producer Roberto Orci and Mike Johnson (STAR TREK ongoing series), and drawn by the original STAR TREK: COUNTDOWN artist, David Messina! STAR TREK 2013 PREQUEL is the can’t-miss lead-in to the new adventures of the Enterprise crew!

$3.99

Expect the digital comic to be available online in January of next year, followed several months later by Star Trek into Darkness on May 17, 2013.

Thanks to BleedingCool for the heads-up.

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