Smallville, Mort the Dead Teenager, Wonder Woman, Fantastic Four: June 24th Comic Reel Wrap

CBR

By Hannibal Tabu

Published Jun 24, 2005

We check in on Kansas' weirdest town really early, with spoilers aplenty. Plus, Daisy Duke's got a zombie boyfriend, Joss Whedon waxes poetic about Princess Diana, you can get up close and personal with Reed and the gang, and just who will be the Joker? We take some shots in the week's last look at links, legends and lies.

SMALLVILLE

Wow. Kryptonsite has a practical play-by-play set of spoilers for the season five premiere episode, including the title and air date.

MORT THE DEAD TEENAGER

According to MTV, the Marvel adaptation is moving ahead with singer/actress Jessica Simpson. "The singer and 'Dukes of Hazzard' actress shot some sample footage for a big-screen adaptation of the cult Marvel title 'Mort the Dead Teenager,' which tells the story of a slacker teen who reluctantly returns to haunt his old friends. Now, according to Marvel Studios chairman and CEO Avi Arad, plans are moving forward on a full-length movie. 'We absolutely love 'Mort,' and these eight minutes, unedited, tells you why we should make the movie,' Arad said of the teen-oriented film, which will have a 'Beetlejuice' sensibility. 'This guy [who directed the test footage] should make the movie, but he's a first-time director. He got Jessica to do it. He basically wanted to show the tone and his understanding of the 'Mort' idea, and he nailed it. Everyone who sees it loves it.'"

WONDER WOMAN

Joss Whedon dropped a tidbit about the adventures of Themyscria's Finest to USA Today. The article said, "'I said yes, because in the process of trying to say no, I thought about her character and fell in love with her,' says Whedon, who will direct and is currently writing the adventure based on the lone female equal to Batman and Superman in the DC Comics universe. 'She is a warrior in a world of complicity and compromise who will never lay down her sword.'" The article also features a quote from Jessica Alba about playing the Invisible Woman in "Fantastic Four."

FANTASTIC FOUR

Speaking of the Tim Story-helmed film, Comingsoon.net has five new character featurettes in both QuickTime and Windows Media format.

BATMAN BEGINS SEQUEL

According to rumormongers at Batman-on-Film, actor Paul Bettany (who, coincidentally, is the husband of "Hulk" actress Jennifer Connelly) is in the running to play the Clown Prince of Crime in the next Christian Bale-fueled Bat-flick. They also allege that District Attorney Harvey Dent will be played by "Scream" star Liev Schreiber. However, Ain't It Cool News claims that Oscar winner Sean Penn is in the running for the role as well.

THAT'S A WRAP

If you have the scoop on anything related to comic book movies, TV adaptations or just want to give us a briefcase full of cash, no questions asked, drop us a line and let's coordinate. You can choose an alias if you'd like, or be mentioned by name -- we honor requests for anonymity. Broadcasting live from Los Angeles, this is your humble scribe Hannibal Tabu saying thanks for your time and indulgence, I had a really bad romantic week for a distinctive change, and "don't blame me, I'm drunk too!"