DOCTOR STRANGE

"The Exorcism of Emily Rose" director Scott Derrickson is reportedly in talks to helm the film in which surgeon Stephen Strange either becomes -- or begins his journey to become -- the Sorcerer Supreme. Of course, the nature of how committed he is to the project depends on who you ask. Various sites are claiming it's anywhere from a done deal to early talks, but the director did offer his own statement on the matter:

My next movie will be STRANGE: pic.twitter.com/5pdbO6Op6j- Scott Derrickson (@scottderrickson) June 3, 2014

Meanwhile, Badass Digest fills in some more details and a possible casting choice. According to that site's Devin Faraci, "I had heard that Derrickson wanted to take a swing at the script, and it's interesting that there is no writer announced in the Variety story. I have also heard that Marvel likes (or liked, I don't know what the current status of this is) Jared Leto for Stephen Strange. God help us all if that's true." Yeah, not sure how I feel about Leto, either, but then I'm still sore about the whole Jordan Catalano thing.

Release date: TBA

SUPERMAN VS. BATMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE

Batman-on-Film suggests that here may be some rumblings of a certain CGPD Commissioner making his way to Metropolis -- or at least the filming on the DC megafilm. Their source is an unnamed "FOBOF" -- which I assume is "Friend of Batman-on-Film" -- and with nothing else to back it up, they're calling it a rumor. Big week for "Dawn of Justice" rumors, don't you think? Could the plot accommodate Jim Gordon for more than cameo? Do we even want that many cameos in this thing? Considering the amount of named DC characters in it so far, I don't know I necessarily need to see Jim Gordon, just to see who Warner Bros. can get to play him.

Release date: May 6, 2016

ANT MAN

And the saga continues as multiple sources are quoting this report from This is Infamous which states, "As sources tell us ["Dodgeball" director Rawson] Thurber has indeed passed on the film, sending the studio right back to the drawing board to find someone actually willing to touch this movie with a 10-foot pole." Earlier reports stated Thurber was under consideration, but it seems Marvel's conditions on this film are making it poisonous to any director they approach. With the release date a year away, it turns out Hank Pym and Scott Lang are the first real threats to Marvel Studios' dominance of the movies.

Release date: July 17, 2015

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

Vulture offers some insight into the amount of screen time Thanos might have in the picture. It's kind of spoilery, so I'll be gentle with the news. While he will make some appearances, his presence will be felt throughout the film, kind of like Harry Lime in "The Third Man." The article does present a few specific details, but you'd rather watch the movie, right? It's only a couple of months away.

Release date: August 1, 2014

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2

Deadline reports that the critically maligned Spidey sequel has passed the $500 million mark worldwide, surpassing the previous film and joining "Spider-Man 3" as one of the most internationally successful films to feature the webslinger. Though its performance stateside is perceived as a somewhat lackluster outing, that worldwide number is nothing to sneeze at. At the very least, it'll keep "The Amazing Spider-Man 3" on track.

Out now!

THE FLASH The gang at DC All-Access talk with the cast of the upcoming CW series:

Premieres: Fall 2014

PYM PARTICLES

Well, here we are at the mid-week point and the "Ant Man" news has, somehow, taken an even further unfortunate turn. Could it just be the curse of Hank Pym working its way out of the Two Dimensional Ideaspace and into the inner workings of corporate machinations in our reality? Maybe that's too much of a Grant Morrison idea for the Disney lot. You almost have to wonder if they might pull up stakes and shuffle "Doctor Strange" -- or make a quick-n-dirty "Hawkeye" movie based on the Matt Fraction book -- into the July 17 slot. But as this article from Grantland suggests, Marvel has to prove it is the intellectual property, not the individual creator, that matters. Funny how Marvel has to fight this battle every few years.

Meanwhile, got any rampant rumors or weird comic book stuff? Be sure to drop us an email or sling us a webline on Twitter!