Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
Harry's been gone ten minutes and suddenly the incoming e-mail goes crazy with rumors of all sorts of sequel madness. Let's do a real quick rundown of a few of the big ones, shall we?
BATMAN: YEAR ONE
Evidently, sites like Ananova and Dark Horizons have picked up the story that teen magazine J-14 (which I've never heard of) is reporting that Freddie Prinze, Jr. is Darren Aranofsky's first choice to play Batman.
How shall I put this?
B U L L S H I T !
Yeah, that should do it.
This is hogwash. Nonsense. Stop sending it to me and relax. It ain't gonna happen. Let's see what Warner does when Freddie kills their SCOOBY-DOO family franchise dead. Let's see how eager they are to slap a Batsuit on him. Sounds to me like Prinze's publicity team is working overtime again to remind people how much Freddy likes superheroes. Hey, I like women. Doesn't mean I'm ever going to be one, Freddy. Get the picture? I seriously wouldn't give this one another thought, no matter how many teen magazines insist it's true.
BACK TO THE FUTURE 4
Credit this one to the Herald-Sun in Australia, according to a half-dozen readers this morning. They're reporting that the sequel is looking for a replacement for Michael J. Fox. I know a script was developed for a made-for-television follow-up to the Robert Zemeckis/Bob Gale trilogy, BACK TO THE BEGINNING, but I'm betting this goes the way of INDY 4. They'll talk about it. They'll pour money into it. And they'll never, ever, ever make the damn thing. From time to time, Universal just wants to remind people they own the franchise. Any other serious discussion of this one still falls under "wishful thinking."
X-MEN 2
Sites like Comics2Film.com keep mentioning recent reports from someone who's seen a treatment for the film.
Well, which one?
The one with human Sentinels?
The one David Hayter's writing from?
The one someone else is writing from?
There's a number of X-MEN scripts in development right now, and although they share story elements, they are different films, and there's no telling which way Bryan Singer is going to swing once all these drafts are turned in.
One thing I know for sure: Fox needs to make sure Tom De Santo is aboard this film as a producer immediately. He and Singer are gearing up on their BATTLESTAR GALACTICA revival for television, and De Santo's going to be a busy man. He was the heart and soul of the first X-MEN film, though, and without him attached to the new one, there's all sorts of potential for disaster. Don't let him get too busy, Fox. You'll be sorry if you do.
HALLOWEEN 8!!
It's got another title! It's HALLOWEEN 8: THE HOMECOMING! Jamie Lee's officially signed! I read the script and it stinks! Why is everyone talking about this low-grade cinematic dogfood like it's a major project? It's Rick Rosenthal, returning to the franchise like a dog to its vomit. Busta Rhymes is in it. I'll let you chew on that one for a while. Believe me... once it sinks in, you'll be back here crying.
ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO: DESPERADO 2
"MEXICO," everybody. Not "AMERICA." Sergio Leone already made ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA. If the other half of the title that Dimension and Columbia just announced is right, it's interesting. I guess the whole DESPERADO 2 thing is a way of drawing a direct line for the casual audience, the ones who didn't hear this news here on AICN weeks ago and who don't know what this is. I hope Robert pulls off the film it sounds like he's trying to make. Casting Mickey Rourke is a real provocative step, that's for sure.
"Moriarty" out.
