GLOBAL FREQUENCY

Warren Ellis posted a note on his Bad Signal email list which said, "It's my current understanding that the bittorrenting of 'GLOBAL FREQUENCY' has rendered it as dead as dead can get as a TV series. It seems that people in high places did not take kindly to the leak. I have no further details, so don't ask." Crikey!

ASTRONAUTS IN TROUBLE/HEMOGOBLIN

An anonymous source emailed the Comic Reel to say that the two AiT/Planetlar properties are being closely examined by Rick Austin, the former VP at Sci Fi Channel who made "The Amazing Screw-On Head" possible. According to our source, Austin wants the original author, Larry Young, to write the screenplays with Austin producing and directing.

300

Ain't It Cool News has a (their words, not ours) "juicy succulent rumor" about a new director for the languishing Frank Miller adaptation, none other than "Dawn of the Dead" helmer Zach Snyder on a $60 million budget in Vancouver, starting this fall.

SUPERMAN RETURNSSuperhero Hype has a new set report from Australia, with some photos of the signage for the Metropolis Museum.

ELEKTRA 2/DAREDEVIL 2

A scooper for Comingsoon.net talked to actress Jennifer Garner, who said red leather may be making a comeback. "I haven't heard much yet," she said, "but I know Rob (Bowman) wants another 'Elektra' but isn't sure Marvel is willing for a sequel, but there is a vague story that may be used in the future."

What about her new husband's superhero turn, a possible sequel to "Daredevil? "Ben says it's in the early stages, but not much on that either."

GHOST RIDER

There's a new trailer online over at MatterMusic.com.

SMALLVILLE

Kryptonsite has a rumor that actor James Marsters will make an appearance as Professor Milton Fine as soon as the season premiere, in a teaser-like scene. It's so savory a rumor, even Marsters' own official site is reporting it.

Moreover, lead actor Tom Welling talked to E Online and said, "I'm very interested to see who Brainiac was in his younger years, and I'm very interested to see James without the accent and the blond hair." Welling also said, "It seems the pool is empty as far as directors go, I guess, and so they're bringing me in. It will be [my first directing gig]. I'm very excited. At this point, I'm only doing one. I think they're waiting to see maybe what it turns out to be." He also teased out the upcoming work, saying, "More will happen in season five than what's happened in the first four seasons combined. We have the Fortress of Solitude. And it is season five, so we have to start moving some of these relationships closer to where we know they're going to end up. The Clark-Lex relationship. The Lana-Clark relationship--why isn't she a part of Superman's life? We're gonna find out. The Lana-Lex relationship. I mean, there are some firecrackers there." Gosh!

Finally, Devoted to Smallville has scans of a new article with actress Kristin Kreuk, discussing both the show and her controversial new movie, "Partition."

FANTASTIC FOUR 2

The cast spoke to MTV about what they want in the next movie. "I'd like to see them move onto the business of being superheroes and facing different arch-villains," Michael "Thing" Chiklis recently volunteered. "More villains and more action." Chris "Human Torch" Evans agreed, saying that in the first film "it takes us a while to get used to our powers. We're clumsy, we're testing them out, we're getting used to them, trying to get comfortable in our own skin. The second one, we could really start exploring how cool these powers actually are." Finally, Ioan "Mr. Fantastic" Gruffudd weighed in with the opinion that the second film should feature more lightweight material: "I'd like to see them in their own environment, as in walking around New York City, using these special powers in everyday life. More of those elements of it - we touched upon that in the movie, for example, Reed Richards walking down the street and he can't quite see where he's going and he stretches up and has a look over the crowd or he's able to hail a cab and get there before anyone else. Just fun little elements like that."

That sequel isn't yet on Marvel's development calendar, which Superhero Hype grabbed from the company's 2nd quarter webcast. In 2006 we'll see "X-Men 3," "Ghost Rider" and "Punisher 2." 2007 will bring "Spider-Man 3" and -- the studio hopes -- "Namor," with scores more projects simmering on back burners and four direct-to-DVD features and an FF animated series planned for 2006.

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, forget yesterday's delay because fresh comics reviews are really supposed to be online today (wasn't my fault, I was done at 3AM PST Thursday morning) and "don't blame me, I'm drunk too!"