COMIC REEL: Gordon-Levitt on "Sandman"; "The Walking Dead" Spinoff Status

STAR WARSThe Hollywood Reporter has posted a fresh batch of "Star Wars" rumors for J.J. Abrams' upcoming "Episode VII," including a new round of names said to be in talks to join the franchise, including Michael Fassbender, Adam Driver, Hugo Weaving and "Breaking Bad's" Jesse Plemons. THR also reports that the original trilogy character -- Luke, Leia and Han -- will likely be the focus of "Episode VII" while the next generation will take a backseat with an intent for them to get the spotlight in "Episode VIII" and "IX."

THE SANDMANJoseph Gordon-Levitt discussed the upcoming "Sandman" project with IGN, stating the project was "Early days. Very, very early days," with not much to add in terms of production updates.

"I love just the basic concept of it - just the concept of personifying Dream, along with all of his brothers and sisters, the seven Endless personifying Death, personifying Destruction and Delirium and Destiny and Desire and Despair," Gordon-Levitt told IGN. "I mean, that's just a fascinating and, I think, a really cinematic concept. You look at the art of 'Sandman,' and it just looks spectacular. I love big, spectacular movies, but oftentimes big, spectacular movies sort of get stuck in a rut. They go down certain paths that end in big explosions or whatever. 'Sandman' has so much opportunity to do something that's on a grand, grand scale, but really unlike your average big, grand-scale, spectacular movie. I guess that's the tip of the iceberg."

AGENT CARTERZap2It spoke with Dominic Cooper about possibly reprising his role as Howard Stark for the rumored "Agent Carter" television series.

"I would like to do any way possible that Howard Stark can make a return. He's such a fun character to play, and I really believe that he could make quite an exciting character to watch more of," Cooper told Zap2it. "The flawed entrepreneur, the kind of crazy playboy, from that era is an exciting concept. I saw Hayley recently, and I think that the 'Carter' thing is possibly going to happen, so yeah. I'd love to. I wouldn't hesitate."

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXYChris Pratt spoke with MTV News on the Golden Globes red carpet over the weekend, and spoke briefly about "Guardians of the Galaxy."

"'Guardians of the Galaxy' was absolutely the experience of a lifetime. I feel like it hasn't even really started yet because we've got a big publicity push that's going to happen where we fly around the world and introduce the movie to different people who are watching it, so that's going to be really exciting for me on a grand scale -- but the movie-making process was really unlike anything I'd ever experienced before, truly mind-blowing. James Gunn did a great job. ... This character's definitely close to my heart. An adult and a man, but also a kid on the inside. It was really fun, and I didn't have to stretch too far to play that, because I feel like that's who I am."

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AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.Bill Paxton is set to join "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." for a four-episode stint as Agent John Garrett, a "rough-and-tumble former cohort of Agent Coulson."

"[W]hen Garrett got his promotion to Level 7, he refused to sit behind a desk and doesn't like the formalities of S.H.I.E.L.D. He's going to help Coulson solve some mysteries and is not afraid to rig an explosive or two," showrunner Jed Whedon told TV Guide.

Also, Marvel has released the cold open for tomorrow's episode.

Airs Tuesdays on AMC

THE WALKING DEADVulture spoke with AMC head Charlie Collier and programming head Joel Stillerman to discuss the network's programming slate, which included the highly anticipated "The Walking Dead" spinoff series.

"That show is not as far along. Robert [Kirkman] has some things on his plate. He continues to write every issue of the comic and hasn't finished season four of 'The Walking Dead,' which he is very intimately involved with and will continue to be," Stillerman told Vulture. "That's really in the incubation stages. The one thing that I'll share is just an anecdote that Robert shared with us. He has such a specific vision that he laid out really clearly in the first issue of the comic book. And I encourage anybody who's interested in the show to go read the note that he wrote in the first issue of the comic. His motivation for telling that story was so clear and so powerful, and it served as such a great north star for the show. We kicked around a few ideas, but primarily what he's working on is, what is the idea that gives [him] as clear a mandate to make another version of this show as [he] had for the first one? What is going on [now] is a more philosophical discussion over why there should be another version of the show. Once we answer that, we'll zero in on the specific creative."

Airs Sundays on AMC

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIERCheck out a new photo from "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" featuring Captain America and the Falcon on a team-up.