THE FLASH

Producer Chuck Roven talked to IGN's FilmForce about the scarlet speedster and plans for a certain Gotham City billionaire. "Ryan Reynolds and Goyer have a great relationship," Roven said. "We don't even have a script to 'The Flash, so we're hoping that we're gonna have, you know, the basis of a story. We're working on the basis of the story. David's about to go off and direct a movie for Disney, The Invisible. I think he's going to start doing that in October or November, something like that and so it would be great if we got to a finished screenplay by the time he went off, but I doubt we will."

X-MEN 3

According to the website Camfans.org, creepy juvenile actor Cameron Bright "booked the role of Leech in the next 'X-men' movie. The script is hush hush so I cant say much more as that is all I know. He will be shaved bald though and he is looking forward to that."

There's an interview with special effects guru Mike Elizalde, who talked about what it was like working on the next mutant-themed sequel. "It's a different experience than working with Tim Story," Elizalde said. "Brett Ratner is a very passionate and driven guy, he is very demanding, which again puts us back in that situation where we're reaching a *little* bit further [laughs], 'ok, you're gonna get out of your comfort zone again, and you're gonna come up with something really, really amazing.' It's very stimulating to be in that position. I think it's a good way to really end up with something at the end of the show that is a signature piece for the company that will be remembered, like Abe Sapien was, that was a real crowning moment for us when we achieved that design. And now we're going after this, with the Beast design, and the other characters that we're dealing with, it's a golden opportunity for something really special to happen."

Finally, Superhero Hype has a set report, including an encounter with Professor X himself, Patrick Stewart.

GREEN HORNET

In this weekend's question and answer panel at Wizard World Rosemont, director Kevin Smith said of the project, "I'm not doing it anymore. I was going to, and then as I got closer to it, I just was like I don't wanna make a big budget movie. When you're making a movie for seventy million, you have to make it appeal to everybody. I make movies that don't appeal to anybody, they're for me. $70 million is tough to recoup, there were a lot of factors where I was like 'nah, this ain't for me.' I was excited to be tapped, they made the announcement, the dust settled, and then i was like, 'I don't wanna do this.' It feels great to be chosen, but then when you have to do it, it sucks, it's like 'what now?' I have no interest in making a movie about Green Hornet that everybody would be interested in." The rest, while interesting, gets a little more risque.

SMALLVILLE

Kryptonsite has highlights of an article in the most recent issue of Smallville Magazine, featuring actress Erica Durance. "It's been a really cool ride and a crazy year," Durance said. "It was not expected to be 13 episodes -- it was four and then it went to 13 -- so it was kind of all over the place, but I feel good and I am excited to get on with the new year. I've got a little bit of an idea [of what will happen] and I'm excited to get in there and explore more of Lois and see where they're gonna take her. With the last episode that we shot, showing her watching everything that's happening, you don't really know where she goes or what she does, so for me the excitement is seeing how this moment of tragedy is going to add a new color to her character."

They've also got the title for the next season's sixth episode over on their spoilers page.

ULTIMATE AVENGERS

Also at Wizard World Rosemont, Marvel's Craig Kyle and Lion's Gate's Ken Katsumoto discussed the upcoming straight-to-DVD feature.

FATHOM

Likewise, Michael Turner and his Aspen studio-mates held a panel where the celluloid future of the company's aquatic vixen was discussed. "The 'Fathom' movie is really close," he said happily. "We're getting the script in next week and the studio is looking for directors. Will Staples and Sean O'Keefe are really good, and they're on board. When the movie went to Lightstorm, I had to relinquish control to James Cameron, which was an easy choice. They really are being very respectful, I know we're going to be involved, but whether we have full control, no. With 'Entourage,' it's funny that this has been our life for the last year. If the script is so good that Cameron likes it, he'll do it. But he's been underwater for three years ..."

SPIDER-MAN 3

Actor James Franco chatted up Zap2It about the third web-spinning sequel. "On the past two 'Spider-Man' movies, they really invent a lot of the techniques that go into it and they're coming up with new stuff on each of these films -- so what they do is, they shoot a scene or two months out from the main production, so then the effects team can go in and start, you know, experimenting with how they're going to go about bringing these superheroes to life," he said. "So they'll be a little shoot in September and then everybody will get together in January to do the main shoot."

GHOST RIDER

Director Mark Steven Johnson dropped in on the Superhero Hype message boards to answer some fan questions. "Things are going great on the G.R. front. In fact, today I got to hear the Ghost Rider's voice for the first time!!! My Sound Designer is Dane Davis, who won the Academy Award for The Matrix, and is a true genius when it comes to creating new sounds. To start with, Dane took Nic's reading of all of the Ghost Rider's lines, filtered them through 3 different kinds of animal growls (played backwards, covering three separate frequencies) then played it through a mechanical volumizer, before finally setting the whole thing on fire! It's fantastic. Picture a deep, demonic, mechanical lion's roar and you'll get an idea of what he sounds like. One thing is for sure -- his voice will shake the theatre!"

BATMAN BEGINS 2Superhero Hype caught up with actor Cillian Murphy about whether we'd see Dr. Crane once again. "I'd love to," he said. "Yeah, I'll do another one. I guess it has to hit certain figures. They have options on us."

Producer Chuck Roven talked more about the proposed sequel in both the aforementioned article and in a piece on Sci Fi Wire. "We're waiting for Chris Nolan to declare himself," Roven said. "We will do it after he does that."

MORE COWBELL ...

The Comic Reel was flattened by the madness of the City of Wind, so we apologize for not reappearing until today. 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, and "don't blame me, I'm drunk too!"