Variety are reporting that Sullivan Stapleton (Animal Kingdom, The Gangster Squad) is in final negotiations to star in the forthcoming prequel to Zach Snyder’s ’300,’ ’300: The Battle of Artemisia.’ Stapleton would join Eva Green, who’s portraying Artemisia, a ruthless, gold-covered goddess who persuades Xerxes to amass his army and helps lead them into battle. While Variety’s report doesn’t give details regarding the role Stapleton would be playing, Deadline bring word that the actor will be portraying Xerxes (portrayed in the original ’300′ by Rodrigo Santoro). UPDATED: Deadline has updated their story saying Stapleton will in-fact play Themistocles.

’300: The Battle of Artemisia’ is based on Frank Miller’s upcoming graphic novel that takes Xerxes, the Persian leader who is an antagonist in ’300,’ and turns him into more of a pivotal figure. He’s a man in search of godhood after the death of his father, battling an Athenian warlord named Themistocles. The story takes place over the course of several years, but the focal point is the battle of Artemisium, which occured in 480 BC. Previous reports had Snyder – who in my eyes done a fantastic job with ’300′ – pegged to direct until Warner Bros and producer Christopher Nolan signed him up to helm ‘Superman: Man of Steel.’ Noam Murro (five-time DGA nominated commercials director) is on board to direct the film. Look out for ’300: The Battle of Artemisia’ sometime in 2013.

Closely following the release of the films first trailer and poster, this new image has emerged online of Nicholas Hoult (displaying a Gollum-esq facial expression) in Bryan Singer’s (The Usual Suspects, X-Men 2) upcoming fantasy adventure flick ‘Jack the Giant Killer.’ ‘Jack the Giant Killer’ is said to be a darker spin on the classic fairy tale of “Jack and the Beanstalk.”  In the film, Nicholas Hoult (A Single Man, X-Men: First Class) will play a farmer who leads an expedition into the giants’ kingdom to rescue a kidnapped princess (Eleanor Tomlinson). Bill Nighy, Stanley Tucci, Ian McShane, Ewan McGregor, Eddie Marsan and John Kassir also star. ‘Jack the Giant Killer’ is scheduled for release June 15th.

“Jack the Giant Killer” tells the story of an ancient war that is reignited when a young farmhand unwittinglyopens a gateway between our world and a fearsome race of giants. Unleashed on the Earth for the first time in centuries, the giants strive to reclaim the land they once lost, forcing the young man, Jack, into the battle of his life to stop them. Fighting for a kingdom, its people, and the love of a brave princess, he comes face to face with the unstoppable warriors he thought only existed in legend–and gets the chance to become a legend himself.

Summit Entertainment have unveiled these six new clips from Jonathan Levine’s (The Wackness) upcoming comedy drama ’50/50.’ I’ve got high hopes for this, from the trailer ’50/50′ looks touching, candid and at the same time full of warmth and humour. Inspired by screenwriter Will Reiser’s own story of his battle with cancer, the film features a fine cast in Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard, Anjelica Huston and Philip Baker Hall. ’50/50′ is set for release September 30th in the US, and January 6th in the UK.

Inspired by personal experiences, 50/50 is an original story about friendship, love, survival and finding humor in unlikely places. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen star as best friends whose lives are changed by a cancer diagnosis. Rogen also serves as producer, along with Evan Goldberg and Ben Karlin. Jonathan Levine directs from a script by Will Reiser. “We worked with Will on Da Ali G show, and it was shortly after that we learned he was sick.” Rogen recalls. “As shocking, sad, confusing and generally screwed up as it was; we couldn’t ignore that because we were so ill-equipped to deal with the situation, funny things kept happening. Will got better, and when he did, we thought the best way to pull something good out of the situation was to get him to write a screenplay. Ideally we wanted to make a film that would be as funny, sad, and hopefully as honest as the experience we went through. As soon as the script was completed, it quickly became a passion project for all of us. It helped us come to terms with Will’s struggle as well as our own experiences.” 50/50 is the story of a guy’s transformative and, yes, sometimes funny journey to health. 50/50 draws its emotional core from Will Reiser’s own experience with cancer and reminds us that friendship and love, no matter what bizarre turns they take, are the greatest healers.

Warner Bros have unveiled this new poster for Steven Soderbergh’s highly-anticipated adventure thriller ‘Contagion.’ I’ve been eagerly awaiting this film, I was chuffed with the trailer, the film looks incredibly tense. The top-notch cast includes Jude Law, Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Marion Cotillard, Lawrence Fishbourne, Bryan Cranston, Demitri Martin, Sanaa Lathan and Elliott Gould. First-rate cast + Steven Soderbergh = ticket bought. ‘Contagion’ hits cinemas September 9th.

“Contagion” follows the rapid progress of a lethal airborne virus that kills within days. As the fast-moving epidemic grows, the worldwide medical community races to find a cure and control the panic that spreads faster than the virus itself. At the same time, ordinary people struggle to survive in a society coming apart.

Deadline are reporting that British actress Julia Ormond (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Temple Grandin) is in talks to play Superman’s Kryptonian mother Lara Lor-Van in Zack Snyder’s upcoming Superman flick ‘Man of Steel.’ If Ormond puts pen to paper she would join Henry Cavill as Superman/Clark Kent, Russell Crowe as Superman’s biological father Jor-El, Amy Adams as the plucky journalist Lois Lane, Michael Shannon as General Zod,  Antje Traue as Faora, Kevin Costner as Superman/Clarke’s adoptive father Jonathan Kent, and Diane Lane, who plays his wife Martha. Look out for ‘Superman: Man of Steel’ swooping into cinemas December 2012.

Hot on the heels of the fantastic trailer that was released last week, Marvel have liberated these three behind-the-scene images from ‘Captain America: The First Avenger.’ The film stars Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving, Tommy Lee Jones, Neal McDonough, Sebastian Stan, Dominic Cooper, Hayley Atwell, Derek Luke and Toby Jones. ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’ comes to cinemas July 22nd, 2011 in the US, and July 29th 2011 in the UK.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER will focus on the early days of the Marvel Universe when Steve Rogers volunteers to participate in an experimental program that turns him into the Super Soldier known as Captain America. Born during the Great Depression, Steve Rogers grew up a frail youth in a poor family. Horrified by the newsreel footage of the Nazis in Europe, Rogers was inspired to enlist in the army. However, because of his frailty and sickness, he was rejected. Overhearing the boy’s earnest plea, General Chester Phillips offered Rogers the opportunity to take part in a special experiment… Operation: Rebirth. After weeks of tests, Rogers was at last administered the Super-Solider Serum and bombarded by “vita-rays.” Steve Rogers emerged from the treatment with a body as perfect as a body can be and still be human. Rogers was then put through an intensive physical and tactical training program. Three months later, he was given his first assignment as Captain America. Armed with his indestructible shield and battle savvy, Captain America has continued his war against evil both as a sentinel of liberty and as leader of the Avengers.

iVillage have got their hands on these four new images from Wes Craven’s ‘Scream 4.’ Fingers crossed this film brings some magic back to the Scream franchise, the third film can best be described as a turd epic fail, an obnoxiously large turd epic fail. To be fair though I loved the first two Scream films so I’m trying to keep my hopes up. Look out for this in cinemas April 15th, 2011. The film stars Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Hayden Panettiere, Rory Culkin, Emma Roberts, Ashley Greene, and Nico Tortorella amongst a whole host of others.

“Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), now the author of a self-help book, returns home to Woodsboro on the last stop of her book tour. There she reconnects with Sheriff Dewey (David Arquette) and Gale (Courteney Cox), who are now married, as well as her cousin Jill (Emma Roberts) and her Aunt Kate (Mary McDonnell). Unfortunately Sidney’s appearance also brings about the return of Ghostface, putting Sidney, Gale, and Dewey, along with Jill, her friends, and the whole town of Woodsboro in danger.”

Worst Previews have given us our first official look at Rowan Atkinson in Johnny English: Reborn, the sequel to the predictable and unfunny 2003 film Johnny English, which sees Atkinson reprise his role as blundering British spy Johnny English. The film is directed by Oliver Parker, and co-stars Rosamund Pike, Gillian Anderson, Dominic West, Burn Gorman, Daniel Kaluuya and Mark Ivanir.

In his latest adventure, the most unlikely intelligence officer in Her Majesty’s Secret Service must stop a group of international assassins before they eliminate a world leader and cause global chaos. In the years since MI-7′s top spy vanished off the grid, he has been honing his unique skills in a remote region of Asia. But when his agency superiors learn of an attempt against the Chinese premier’s life, they must hunt down the highly unorthodox agent.

Now that the world needs him once again, Johnny English is back in action. With one shot at redemption, he must employ the latest in hi-tech gadgets to unravel a web of conspiracy that runs throughout the KGB, CIA and even MI-7. With mere days until a heads of state conference, one man must use every trick in his playbook to protect us all. For Johnny English, disaster may be an option, but failure never is.

With Tron: Legacy’s release just under two months away now, Walt Disney Pictures have been really cranking up the promotional campaign for the film of late. This motion poster is certainly the pick of a fine bunch of banners and posters that have been released for the film over the course of the year. December couldn’t come any sooner for me – I’m psyched! Click on the image to see the poster in motion. Tron: Legacy is released in cinemas December 17th.

Sam Flynn (Hedlund), a rebellious 27-year-old, is haunted by the mysterious disappearance of his father Kevin Flynn (Bridges), a man once known as the world’s leading video-game developer. When Sam investigates a strange signal sent from the abandoned Flynn’s Arcade—that could have only come from his father—he finds himself pulled into a world where Kevin has been trapped for 20 years. With the help of the fearless warrior Quorra (Wilde), father and son embark on a life-or-death journey across a visually-stunning digital universe—created by Kevin himself—which has become far more advanced with never-before-imagined vehicles, weapons, and landscapes and a ruthless villain who will stop at nothing to prevent their escape.

The second trailer for David O. Russell’s The Fighter has hit the interwebs and I’m glad to say it’s a step up from the previous one. It truly looks like we’re in for a treat, the film looks fantastic! I’m sure this will be the film that Christian Bale finally gets his Oscar nomination, his dedication to his roles are remarkable. Both him and Mark Wahlberg look like they went all out with their respected parts, Bale has lost a tonne of weight to play an addict (as he also did in Rescue Dawn and more extremely in The Machinist) and Mark Wahlberg has beefed up to play former Welterweight Micky Ward. I’m a sucker for a good boxing movie as it is. This looks like it could be one of 2010′s finest.

Starring Christian Bale, Amy Adams and Mark Wahlberg and Directed by David O. Russell. The film centres around the life of professional boxer “Irish” Micky Ward (Wahlberg) and his older drug addicted brother Dickie Eklund (Bale).