Bryan Singer explains the logic behind X-Men: First Class. Plus tons more crazy Doctor Who hints and clues!S

Bryan Singer talks at length about the new X-Men movie, while we deal with some wonderfully crazy (and possibly true) Doctor Who rumors. Plus casting news for The Hunger Games and the Total Recall reboot. Spoilers ahead!

Top image from Green Lantern.

X-Men: First Class

Here's a slightly different UK trailer with more special effects footage.

Producer Bryan Singer explains what Charles and Erik's relationship is at the start of the movie:

I think that because of their mutual respect for each other's intelligence and powers, they are attempting to build a friendship, but they both come from completely different backgrounds. Xavier is very privileged and wealthy and as a result a bit naive and a bit idealistic. Whereas, Magneto is a product of the holocaust, he's hell-bent on vengeance, and his view of humanity and his hope for mutant-kind is seen through a much narrower prism. They both care for the same things, but in this movie you see the different ideologies fermenting.

He also explains why the Hellfire Club plays a big role in this movie:

The Hellfire Club is actually something that [producers] Lauren Shuler Donner and Simon Kinberg had mentioned to me early on. It's something that we had discussed years ago, to incorporate them into an X-Men film, but we never quite found a way to do so. So Lauren brought it up again and I thought great, because it again plays into the idea of them being underground. Because the whole idea of the Hellfire Club is that they are an underground club, and that's perfect because we're dealing with a time when the world doesn't know that mutants exist. What better villain element than one that exists under the surface of society? And to have the mutants intertwine with the geopolitical events of the time.

He also says that the chronology more or less works with the earlier movies, and that's actually a key reason why the only returning mutants other than Professor X and Magneto are Mystique and Beast, as their exact ages were never established in the original X-Men trilogy. Finally, Singer explains why this movie is different from the other superhero flicks coming this summer:

I think it's an edgier movie than the others. It's the first Silver Age Marvel movie, so I think the period aspect of it, and this particular period, is really exciting. And a lot of these other superhero movies are driven by a single character, and what we have with X-Men is numerous characters, and each character is different and interesting. There isn't just one protagonist — there's a group of protagonists, and that's what we have that none of the other pictures have.

There's much more at the link. [IGN]

Green Lantern

Angela Bassett discusses playing Amanda Waller in this interview.

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Here are some new high-res stills that Warner Bros. sent out.

Harry Potter

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Warner Bros. also provided some new high-res Harry Potter images, too.


The movie will be released in IMAX 3D. []

The Hunger Games

District 1 tributes Glimmer and Marvel will be played by Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles' Leven Rambin, and Jack Quaid, the son of Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan. Newcomer Willow Shields has been cast as Prim Everdeen, the younger sister of Jennifer Lawrence's Katniss. [Facebook and]

Total Recall Reboot

Kate Beckinsale has reportedly been offered the part of Douglas Quaid's wife Lori - played by Sharon Stone in the original. There's probably a decent chance Beckinsale will indeed come on board, considering she's married to director Len Wiseman. [Deadline]

Spy Kids 4

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Here's a first official look at new star Jessica Alba in Robert Rodriguez's latest entry in the series. A lengthy plot synopsis has also been released. []

On the surface, Marissa Cortez Wilson (Jessica Alba) has it all...married to a famous spy hunting television reporter, a new baby and intelligent twin step kids. But in reality, trying to mother Rebecca (Rowan Blanchard) and Cecil (Mason Cook), who clearly don't want her around, is her toughest challenge yet. Also, her husband, Wilbur (Joel McHale), wouldn't know a spy if he lived with one which is exactly the case - Marissa's a retired secret agent.

Marissa's world is turned upside down when the maniacal Timekeeper (Jeremy Piven) threatens to take over the planet and she's called back into action by the head of OSS, home of the greatest spies and where the now-defunct Spy Kids division was created. With Armageddon quickly approaching, Rebecca and Cecil are thrust into action when they learn their boring stepmom was once a top agent and now the world's most competitive ten year olds are forced to put their bickering aside and rely on their wits. With a little help from a couple of very familiar Spy Kids, Carmen (Alexa Vega) and Juni Cortez (Daryl Sabara), and some mind-blowing gadgets, they just may be able to save the world and possibly bring their family together while they're at it.


Star Jason Momoa explains he's not trying to recreate Arnold Schwarzenegger's iconic performance:

"A lot of people are like, 'What's it like being in the shoes of Arnold?' but it's not a remake of the 1982 film. There's just such a bountiful amount of Robert E. Howard stories. So it's taking a couple of Robert E. Howard stories, the same legendary character and throwing him through that." He also looked to another famous interpreter of the Cimmerian for inspiration. "Both my parents are painters and I grew up doing that and being an artist and I saw the Frank Frazetta paintings when I was a boy. They're just badass, you know what I mean? He's got a chick on his leg and he's standing on a bunch of skulls with this sword and he's just ripped. It's cool! I'm a big kid inside."

[Digital Spy]

The Crow

Relativity Media's new Crow movie is facing a lawsuit from the Weinstein Company, and this may be enough to stop the project entirely. Check the link for the details. [Deadline]

Doctor Who

A fresh batch of spoiler-y hints have hit the web, mostly focusing on the opening episode "The Impossible Astronaut." Here's the first set:

1. The rumors are true - one of the lead characters really does die. It's not a trick. And it happens within the first ten minutes.
2. When we first see the Doctor, he's in a… compromising position.
3. For Amy and Rory, it's been a while since the events of A Christmas Carol. And for The Doctor? Possibly even longer.
9. One character makes a Star Trek reference. Several times.

You can read the rest at the link. [Digital Spy]

Here's another round-up:

- It is not revealed in the first two episodes who River Song is, and will be an ever-present question throughout the series.
- An old favorite is coming back in episode 12.
- They meet Laurel and Hardy.
- Rory eats a lot of explosives at one point and The Doctor has to pick up his parts from around time and space.
- The Silence have been on earth for thousands of years, their secret weapon is the ability to make people forget they have seen them, and they kill anyone in their path, they have been working since the dawn of time to undermine the Doctor.
- The Silence have made the Doctor come unstuck many times.

Some of these are particularly interesting. The old favorite might well just refer to James Corden's "The Lodger" character Craig Owens, although whether someone who appeared in last year's eleventh episode can really count as "an old favorite" is an open question. The Rory rumor is just bizarre probably just a joke by Arthur Darvill, and the bit about the Silence apparently having lots of past encounters with the Doctor is intriguing. [Life, Doctor Who, and Combom]

Shady time travel tech dealer and blue-skinned alien Dorium Maldavar will be back for episode 13 as well as episode 7, according to actor Simon Fisher-Becker's CV. [Doctor Who Spoilers]

This is super random and deeply weird - for some reason, the BBC's official Doctor Who website has added an entry for the Drahvins on its list of monsters. The Drahvins, if you don't know - and really, why would you? - were the baddies in William Hartnell's third season opener "Galaxy 4", a story that is now almost entirely missing. (Which, based on the story's reputation, generally isn't considered any great loss.) The other monsters listed all appeared either in the last series or in one of the tie-in computer games, with the partial exception of the Sea Devils, who at least were featured in archival footage in "The Eleventh Hour." The Drahvins were mentioned in "The Pandorica Opens", but there are plenty of more iconic classic series aliens like the Terileptils and Draconians who were also mentioned, but none of them have their own entry.

So what's going on? In all likelihood, probably nothing at all, but some filming reports involving tall blonde children could be considered a vague match for the Drahvins, who were themselves a race of tall blonde women. It's not an exact match, admittedly, but I suppose it's at least possible that the Drahvins might actually make a return 45 years after their first and only appearance. By the way, that sound you hear is Zygon fans everywhere screaming at the heavens, wondering why inferior villains like the Macra and Drahvins keep getting called back when their beloved aliens are still waiting for a return engagement. [BBC Doctor Who]

Finally, it's been confirmed that the show will include some form of tribute to Elisabeth Sladen in an upcoming episode. This may or may not be the same thing - we're guessing it is - as the recent announcement from the BBC that "The Impossible Astronaut" will include a dedication to Sladen at the start of the episode, similar to how there was a closing dedication to original producer Verity Lambert on "Voyage of the Damned." There's also no word yet on what, if any, memorial there will be for Nicholas Courtney, who died two months ago. [Digital Spy and @DWMTweets]


Here's a sneak peek for "6:02 AM EST."

Jeff Pinkner emailed the short message that "Peter and Bolivia's story is FAR from over." One might take that to mean that Peter (and alt-Olivia) are not among those killed in the season finale, but I suppose neither has to actually be alive for their story to continue. [TV Line]

Wonder Woman

The original TV Wonder Woman, Lynda Carter, suggested she could be involved in the show:

"I've talked to David E. Kelley, who's a brilliant writer, a number of times and we're hoping to plan something."

[Monsters and Critics]

And here's a very short set video.


Executive producer Bob Singer says that, now Sam has his soul back, the familiar brotherly love will be completely restored by the finale:

"Dean is willing to trust him completely. And by season's end, they are in total lock-step with each other, saving each other's lives and having that relationship the fans crave."

[TV Line]


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Here are some photos from episode 20, "Prophecy", which is the last episode before two-part finale. [SpoilerTV]

Executive producer Kelly Souders teases Chloe's role in finale:

"Chloe's definitely still a reporter in Star City, but she has really got her hands full as she comes back for the wedding. She's got a lot going on."

[TV Guide]

Additional reporting by Gordon Jackson and Charlie Jane Anders.