Exclusive: Is Aragorn Ready to Return for The Hobbit?

Ever since Guillermo del Toro signed on to direct two movies based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit for producer Peter Jackson, there has been various casting rumors about who may or may not return to reprise their roles from Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

One of the cast members who seemed to be up in the air was Viggo Mortensen who played one of the most popular characters in the trilogy, the warrior Aragorn, a character who didn't actually appear in "The Hobbit" but was included in the supplemental appendices from "Lord of the Rings" that tied the two stories together.

Over a year ago, in fact shortly after del Toro signed on, Variety mentioned that Mortensen had been approached to return, but when ComingSoon.net spoke to Mortensen earlier today, he admitted that the filmmakers are currently more concerned with making the first movie, which would not include his character.

"I think they're just worried about shooting the first part of that movie which doesn't involve my character," Mortensen told us during an interview for his upcoming movie The Road. "My character is around at times--in the middle, but it would only be if they made a second movie or connecting movie that connected 'The Hobbit' to 'The Lord of the Rings' that I might appear, which would be great."

Mortensen did tell us that he would be interested in returning, but as we know, del Toro and Jackson are now planning on just splitting "The Hobbit" into two films and not making the second film a bridge between "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings."

Look for more with Mortensen and others before The Road opens on November 25.

Galifianakis to Voice Puss in Boots Character

Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover) is in negotiations to voice Humpty Dumpty in "Shrek" spin-off Puss in Boots, says The Hollywood Reporter.

Tom Wheeler is writing the screenplay for the prequel, which will feature the voices of Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek in a story about the events leading up to the feline assassin's first meeting with Shrek & Co. in the second film.

Chris Miller, who co-directed and co-wrote Shrek the Third. wrote an earlier draft of the "Puss" screenplay and is directing the DreamWorks Animation movie.

The film is scheduled for a November 4, 2011 release.

X-Men: First Class Shooting in 2010?

Tim Pocock, who played the young Scott Summers/Cyclops in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, has revealed that he will reprise the role in 20th Century Fox's X-Men: First Class.

"Currently shooting Australian TV series till February 2010...then X-men first class," he said on his Twitter account. "Wolverine" producer Lauren Shuler Donner recently hinted that a new "X-Men" movie would start production in 2010.

Written by Josh Schwartz, the film will likely draw from elements of the Marvel Comic of the same name, launched in 2006.

EXCL: Death Race Prequel is in the Garage

The origins of the deadly, fuel-injected game at the center of Paul W.S. Anderson's Death Race are going to be explored in an upcoming sequel.

Tony Giglio (Timber Falls, interview) has been hired to write a script, based on a story by Anderson, to be produced by Impact Pictures (Anderson and Jeremy Bolt's production outfit). Giglio may also direct. The script is said to delve into the past of the driver known as Frankenstein.

Created for Paul Bartel's original 1975 cult classic, Death Race 2000, Frankenstein was played by the late David Carradine. In the film, history said that his face was mangled by so many car wrecks he had to wear an intimidating mask. Carradine returned to Anderson's remake briefly to voice the new Frankenstein before he was replaced by Jason Statham's Jensen Ames.

Anderson and Bolt will oversee the Death Race prequel after they've completed Resident Evil: Afterlife on which Giglio will serve as a second unit director. Death Race grossed over $70 million worldwide in 2008.

Ridley Scott To Direct Alien Prequel

In May, it was revealed that commercial director Carl Erik Rinsch was attached to direct a remake of Alien. We have since learned that it is more of a prequel than a remake. I was one of the few people actually interested in Rinsch’s involvement. Rinsch’s commercials show an amazing sense of imagination, visual effects artistry and composition (we’ve profiled his amazing commercials on the site). But apparently 20th Century Fox wasn’t happy with the Scott’s choice of director, holding out for the original helmer — Ridley Scott.

At the time I believed that would never happen. Why would Scott return to film a prequel of the most popular sci-fi film franchises of all time? Why compete with yourself? Producing the film seems like a much safer bet. Who knows why, but Ridley Scott has signed on to direct a prequel to Alien.

The film will be a direct prequel to Scott’s original 1979 film. This leads me to believe that the film will tell the story of the crew of the empty ship that is discovered in the first film. In a 2002 interview, Scott wanted to return “to where the alien creatures were first found and explain how they were created.” Chances are this idea would also be incorporated into the reboot. Jon Spaihts will write the screenplay, a job he earned after pitching the studio and production company Scott Free. Spaihts has no produced credits, but has written Shadow 19 and Passengers, both of which are also sci-fi space thrillers.

Strangely, I feel a lot different about this project now that Scott is at the helm. Not only is Scott experienced, but he has done this before. So why is it that I feel less comfortable with Scott at the helm than an experienced commercial director? Maybe it is fear that Scott won’t be able to create something better than the original. Maybe it is fear that the film will be too much like the original, and I would have liked to see a completely different take. And maybe it is that I just don’t understand the idea of a filmmaker returning 30 years later to film a reboot.

And maybe it is that I fear that a Body of Lies-era Ridley Scott won’t produce anything close to the level of the original feature. I don’t think I’d ever want to see Martin Scorsese to film a prequel/reboot of Goodfellas. I expect a lot of the /Film commenters will disagree… so please explain to me why I should be excited about this.

New King Kong Movie in Development

Variety reports that Spirit Pictures is looking to breathe new life into King Kong and a project initially developed by effects legend Ray Harryhausen.

Producers at the company have picked up the rights to the book "Kong: King of Skull Island," a prequel to the well-known tale of the big ape.

Written by Joe DeVito and Brad Strickland, the book focuses on the backstory of Skull Island and how the giant gorilla became king there. It introduces other giant gorillas and dinosaurs only hinted at in the previous films.

The plan is to produce the film using motion-capture technology such as Robert Zemeckis used to make The Polar Express, Beowulf and the upcoming Disney's A Christmas Carol.

Spirit also is developing War Eagles a project original King Kong co-director Merian C. Cooper and Harryhausen had developed together and were nearly set to produce before the outbreak of WWII. The period actioner is set in 1939 and revolves around an ace fighter-pilot who tests a new jet and winds up crash-landing in the arctic, where he encounters a lost civilization that's been thriving there for centuries.

Andy Briggs is working on the scripts for both films.

And here I thought the Blade franchise was dead in the water after Blade Trinity’s abysmal failure. Stephen Dorff, who played the villain Deacon Frost

And here I thought the Blade franchise was dead in the water after Blade Trinity’s abysmal failure. Stephen Dorff, who played the villain Deacon Frost in the first film, mentioned to the Sunday Mail last year that a prequel trilogy spearheaded by Blade director Stephen Norrington was in the works:

It will be a prequel to the Blade movies, Deacon’s story. It’s a new trilogy the director has created. It will be cool. We hope to shoot the first film next year. Frost is a character I have never been able to shake.

Without further confirmation from Norrington, we’ve pretty much treated the news as rumor, but today he admitted to Comics2Film that a prequel film is indeed in the works (as soon as he finishes his Crow reboot). Norrington mentions that the project isn’t exactly like Dorff described, but it’s close. He goes on to say that it “has evolved into a very interesting story,” and that “the linkage to Blade is still big in the equation.”

Norrington has had it tough since the first Blade in 1998. He went on to direct The League of Extraordinary Gentleman, an experience that turned him off of the movie making business for several years. His remake of The Crow will be his first project since 2003. Dorff has appeared in various roles since Blade, but nothing has been as successful with mainstream viewers.

While this project is in such early stages that it could probably fall apart at any moment, it’s an interesting prospect. Norrington managed to turn what could have been a throwaway comic adaptation into a memorable action film that also helped jump start the comic book film frenzy. I’m not the only fan that came away soured by Blade Trinity, and this sounds like a good chance to reboot the franchise. I don’t suspect we’ll see much of Wesley Snipes, though given Blade’s connection to Frost I wouldn’t be surprised if we see the character in child or teenage form.