Earlier today, several sites started to report a major spoiler rumor about the role Benedict Cumberbatch will play in the upcoming sequel to J J Abrams 2009 Star Trek reboot. And I have to say that it is one of the worst ideas I have heard of in some time. The rumor and the reasons why it is a terrible idea will follow so continue reading only if you don’t mind a discussion of possible large spoilers for the upcoming Star Trek sequel.

If everyone’s sources are to be believed, Cumberbatch will be playing Khan Noonian Singh, the genetically enhanced, would-be dictator who squared off against Captain Kirk and the crew of the USS Enterprise not once, but twice. First was in the original series episode “Space Seed” and again was of course in the film Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan. He is one of the most famous of Star Trek villains and for go reason. So is that a reason to bring the character back for the upcoming film currently shooting under Abrams’ direction? Of course not. Here are four reasons why-

1. This reeks of total creative bankruptcy. Yes, I know that this sounds harsh, but I really don’t know how else to phrase it. With the reboot Abrams gave himself an entire blank slate with which he could tell any story that he wanted to. So he decides to rehash material from perhaps the most famous story out of any iteration of Star Trek? It feels like Abrams has just decided to throw away one of the most golden opportunities there is for a franchise with the kind of baggage that Star Trek carries with it. If it were a crappy story like, oh say “Spock’s Brain,” then go ahead and see if you can make a silk purse from that particular sow’s ear. But both times that Khan has shown up in Star Trek the stories were told well.There’s no reason to try and tell that character’s story again. Which brings us to my second point-

2. Does Abrams really want to deal with the comparisons? Not only has the story of Khan been told well it is often sited as one of the pinnacle’s of the franchise’s history. It is a story that most non-Trek fans at least have a passing familiarity with. Even if what Abrams has in store for his own film is markedly different, people will invariably draw comparisons to Wrath Of Khan and I don’t think that they will be favorable. Not only that, but people will be going into watching the film with some preconceived notions that the film will have to overcome.

3. Didn’t Abrams already hit a lot of Wrath Of Khan‘s story points in his first Star Trek movie? Think about it – You have a villain from out of Captain Kirk’s past  armed with with a planet destroying superweapon out for revenge because an Enterprise crewmember’s actions inadvertently lead to the death of his family. Sounds familiar doesn’t it?

4. Cumberbatch is a better actor than this. When Ricardo Montalban essayed the role of Khan first in the original series episode “Space Seed” and then again in Wrath Of Khan, he created one of the most conic genre villains. Do we really want to see him try to compete against that performance or would we rather see him take a new character and make it his own? I know which one I would rather see him do.

Hopefully this story turns out to be false, possibly even a fake rumor floated out by Abrams and the production in order to keep the film’s real secrets safe. It is a move that wouldn’t surprise me and in fact, is one that I am hoping he is pulling. Because the alternative just doesn’t hold much appeal.

With The Avengers tearing up the box office around the world and getting ready to do so this coming weekend here in the United States, I would imagine that any studio who still has rights to various other Marvel Comics superhero properties are probably scrambling to get them ready enough to get in front of cameras as quickly as possible in order to ride the wake of the wave of the Avengers’ popularity.

Twentieth Century Fox certainly seems to be doing just that with their new Daredevil film. For a while now they have had Hard Candy director David Slade attached to direct, and Brad Caleb Kane has been working on the screenplay as well. However, the studio must think he needs some help as they have hired David James Kelly to work on it.

Kelly’s hiring comes to us from Deadline who also reports that the film is still set to be based on the 1986 Daredevil comic storyline “Born Again” created by writer Frank Miller and artist David Mazzucchelli. The story features Daredevil’s former girlfriend Karen Page, now a hopeless drug addict, giving up the superhero’s secret identity of blind lawyer Matt Murdoch to his arch enemy the Kingpin for a quick fix of heroin. The Kingpin uses the information to systematically tear apart Murdock’s life. It should be interesting to see how the film deals with the appearance late in the story of several characters whose rights are held by a certain other studio. (I’m being purposely vague here in order to avoid spoilers for those who may wish to read the comics run.)

Via Deadline.

Just because a screenplay earns positive and even glowing notices and gets two stars and a director attached to it still doesn’t guarantee that the film will ever get made. Case in point – the 2010 Black List topper College Republicans. Once the Wes Jones-authored script appeared on that list of the best currently unproduced screenplays circulating in Hollywood, director Richard Linklater became involved and Shia LaBeouf and Paul Dano quickly became attached to star as Lee Atwater and Karl Rove, the future Republican Party operatives just at the start of their political careers. A possible November 2011 start date for the project was announced.

But since then… Nothing.

We chatted briefly with Dano this past weekend about what the status of the project was and he did not seem optimistic that the film was going to get made. “I don’t think it is happening,” he stated. “It may happen some day, I don’t know.”

When pressed for a reason, Dano suggested that it was probably the story itself, despite being well told, that made it difficult to get funding. “It’s a tough film, ” he explained. “Is it a commercial film? Is it not? What’s the politics of the film? It’s a tricky one. I’m not sure.”

The College Republicans screenplay covers the first meeting between Rove and Atwater in 1973 when Rove was making a run for national president of the College Republicans organization.

Atwater and Rove have carved themselves a legacy for having engineered political campaigns that used tactics that could be considered legally and ethically questionable. Atwater ultimately rose to become chairman of the Republican National Committee and campaign manager for President George Herbert Walker Bush. Rove would manage George W. Bush’s presidential campaign. By becoming a key advisor to the president during his eight years in office, he earned the nickname “Bush’s Brain.” In 1990, after being diagnosed with brain cancer, Atwater converted to Catholicism and sent apologizes to many of the politicians he felt he wronged with his tactics over the years before dying in March 1991.

Dano was at an appearance in East Stroudsburg, PA where he was doing a question and answer session following a screening of his recent film Being Flynn.

Summer is almost upon us and that means that it is time for the studios to flood theaters with their biggest and often brashest films. At the beginning of each month we’ll be taking a look at what films have us excited about the movie season.

The Avengers (May 4) – Here it is, a film four years in the making. The culmination of Marvel’s rise to dominance in the movie theaters. Wow.

I don’t really have to tell you anything about this film. If you are a fan of the series, then you already know the plot, if you aren’t, you probably still know the plot from the endless amount of publicity this film has received.  But I will say this. I am a long time comic book fan–this year marks my 30th year as a collector–and The Avengers was the comic book that got me started. If you told me 10 years ago if there would be a film inspired by my favorite comic book series, I would have said you were crazy. Yet, here we are. I, for one, can’t wait. – William Gatevackes

Death Of A Superhero (May 4, limited) – No this is not another comic book adaption that is foolhardy enough to go up against the 800-pound gorilla that is The Avengers. Instead, Andy Serkis stars as a therapist who is helping a teenager (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) cope with being diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. It seems that we don’t get to see Serkis take lead roles outside of ones where he is doing a motion capture performance, and this one looks like it can really highlight his acting prowess for those who doubted how much he actually contributed to his motion-capture work. Also, the lead character’s use of fantasy as a means of coping with his situation makes an interesting companion piece to The Avengers. If it is not opening at a theater near you look for it also on most video-on-demand services. – Rich Drees

God Bless America (May 11, limited) – Bobcat Goldwaith has gone from antic stand-up comic to a rather insightful filmmaker with his darkly comic looks at the American underbelly and God Bless America looks no different. From the trailer alone, it looks like it will poke at a number of people’s raw nerves. But I don’t think that Goldthwaite is really setting out to be an agent provocateur. In a recent interview on Chris Hardwick’s The Nerdist podcast he stated that the film isn’t so much about revenge as it is about forgiveness. It should be interesting to see how that plays out in the film. (Also available via various on-demand services.) – RD

Battleship (May 18) – Just like virtually everyone else, I was skeptical about this film pretty much from the moment it was announced. Did a movie about naval warfare really need to be tied to a plotless board game about naval warfare? The first trailer that was released did nothing to alleviate anyone’s fears about the movie. Aliens? There are no aliens in the game. But subsequent trailers have hinted that this may one action packed popcorn movie despite everything else. And ultimately, so what if they are trying to sell this to us on the back of a classic, beloved game. If the movie is fun shouldn’t that be what really matters? -RD

Hysteria (May 18, limited) – So how many reviewers of this film about the development of the vibrator will either inadvertently on on purpose describe it as a “feel-good romantic comedy”? A cheap joke perhaps and the trailer perhaps sells that angle of the film a bit strongly. But supposedly the film actually concentrates on the story of Dr. Mortimer Granville (Hugh Dancy), who just so happened to have invented the vibrator, and his romance with the daughter (Maggie Gyllenhall) of his mentor (Jonathan Pryce). – RD

Men In Black III (May 25)- It seems weird seeing the film open in May. Typically, the franchise (and a number of other Will Smith films) opened over the July 4th weekend. It’s throwing me into a state akin to waking up late on a Sunday, yet thinking it’s a weekday and you’re late for work.

As a fan of the first MIB (and one who hasn’t seen the second MIB), I’d be lying if I didn’t say I wasn’t concerned about this film. That’s mainly because it didn’t have a complete script before it started shooting the film. For any movie, this is troubling. But MIB III‘s plot involves time travel (Smith’s character goes back to 1969 to save a younger version of Tommy Lee Jones’ character, played by Josh Brolin), a story that is tricky to work out even when you have a script set in stone once filming begins. But it does look like Brolin is doing a dead on Jones imitation, though- WG

Yesterday at the Las Vegas Cinema Con trade show, Twentieth Century Fox announced their intentions to have a sequel to last year’s surprise hit Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes in production by the end of this summer for a presumable 2013 release. I have to wonder if anyone has told director Rupert Wyatt or star Andy Serkis?

Given the film’s box office last summer (nearly $482 million worldwide according to Box Office Mojo), it is a natural that Fox would want a follow up. And screenwriters Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver stated that they have ideas of how to flesh a sequel out into a middle installment of a trilogy. Presumably, they are currently working on that right now.

Although he has often mentioned he is looking forward to directing a follow up, there has not been any official word that Wyatt has been signed by the studio. He just got Universal to pony up the money for his project Agent 13, which will star Charlize Theron, but that will probably take some work before it is able to go in front of cameras. Meanwhile, star Andy Serkis is off in New Zealand directing second unit and reprising his role of Gollum for Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit.

Now if this isn’t just a case of Fox talking big without anything concrete to back up their plans, then hopefully there has been some behind-the-scenes, hush-hush talks going on to line up the talent to make their hoped for schedule.

Will Smith has finally found a director for his long in development remake of the 1974 comedy Uptown Saturday Night. Adam McKay is the man picked to be the on calling the shots behind the camera and is currently in negotiations with Warner Brothers for the job. This project has been a long time in coming together. Smith has been developing in for what seems like forever and it was a little over two years ago that Denzel Washington became attached to co-star. Role Models scripter Tim Dowling is the most recent screenwriter to have worked on the project.

The original film starred Sidney Poitier and a bearded Bill Cosby as two friends whose night out at a popular nightclub is interrupted by a robbery. The next day, one of them realize that their stolen wallet contained a winning-lottery and the pair set out to track down the thieves. (Check out the trailer for the original, below.) Smith originally purchased the remake rights to comedy back in 2002, but has not been able to get the project in front of the cameras. Previously, Smith had approached Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence about co-starring in the film.

The plan seems to be for McKay to move over to this after he finishes the recently announced Anchorman sequel. Paramount is pushing for an early 2013 production start for that comedy.

Via Deadline.

Without a doubt, Black Dynamite is hands down the funniest film I have seen in the last five years. Can a sequel the lightening in a bottle that was the first film? We will get an answer to that at some point in the future as a sequel to the 2009 comedy is being prepared.

The Playlist caught up with Black Dynamite himself, Michael Jai White, at a press event at the Tribeca Film Festival and the actor stated, “We hope to shoot Black Dynamite 2 at the end of the year.” There’s no word of what the plot might be, but I’m hoping that it is titled something like Black Dynamite’s Big Score or Black Dynamite In Africa.

To hold us over, though, we still have the Black Dynamite cartoon series that is set to premier on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim later this July. The pilot appeared briefly online last year and promises to have the sense of humor as the film.

1. The Pirates! Band Of Misfits (Sony/Columbia, 3,358 Theaters, 88 Minutes, Rated PG): Kind of a busy week for the movies. I guess the studios are dumping all their leftovers before the summer movies season begins next week, a month and a half before the official start of summer.

Maybe “leftovers” is a bit too cruel. This film is by Aardman Animation, the folks who brought us Chicken Run and Wallace and Gromit, so they have a pretty good track record.

The film follows a band of pirates who are trying to win a “Pirate of the Year” contest who somehow get involved with Charles Darwin and run afoul of Queen Victoria. Wackiness ensues, voiced by an all-star, international cast.

2. The Five-Year Engagement (Universal, 2,936 Theaters, 124 Minutes, Rated R): Jason Segel has developed a career on film as a sad sack who always has a difficulty in the relationship department (usually in films he has a hand in writing). Emily Blunt has failed to fully capitalize on the big splash she made in The Devil Wears Prada. Now, they are together in this film, one which–surprise–Segel co-wrote and–just as surprising–produced by Judd Apatow (he’s the said “producer of Bridesmaids” on the poster to the left).

They play a couple whose engagement stretches to a five-year span through some incredible and extreme circumstances.

I’m a big fan of the Apatow school of comedy, and liked both The Muppets and Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but this one just seems kind of eh for me. I’ve seen Segel playing someone who has fate screw up his happy romantic ending before. Do I really need to see it again?

3. Safe (Lionsgate, 2,266 Theaters, 94 Minutes, Rated R): The initial premise of this film reminds me of one my favorite “acquired taste” films, Shoot ‘Em Up. Both films feature a man who stumbles a group of thugs meaning to do harm to an innocent child. The man, skilled in the art of combat, defends the child from its attackers and acts as its protector until he can figure out what the bad guys want with the kid.

From there, the paths diverge. Shoot ‘Em Up was a live-action cartoon that pushed its violence to an absurd level. This film seems to be more of a conventional thriller.

Jason Statham’s films remind me of the kinds Chuck Norris and a early Steven Segal used to make. The films might not be Oscar worthy, but if you’re in the mood for a tough guy hitting bad guy in the face with his foot, you’re bound to be entertained.

4. The Raven (Relativity, 2,203 Theaters, 111 Minutes, Rated R): Just noticed that three of the four films out this week are Rated R. That hardly ever happens anymore.

As dismissive as I was at the start of this column about the week’s new releases, I’d probably have a hard time picking which one I would like to see first. I can see value in all of them (yes, even The Five-Year Engagement). But if I had to choose, I’d choose this one, if only for the premise alone.

I’m a big fan of Poe. That man has the market cornered on macabre wit. To build a period piece about a serial killer using Poe’s writings to kill his victims and Poe having to be called in to try and catch him is brilliant. While I do think that John Cusack looks a bit too healthy to play

The Avengers are becoming the superheroes to beat at the box office this summer. Not only is the superhero franchise mashup currently tracking to have an opening weekend that could knock 2008’s record-breaking The Dark Knight opening off its perch, but the Marvel Studios film has already reached another amazing milestone.

According to MovieTickets.com, with just a week to go until it opens, The Avengers has pre-sold more tickets than Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Captain America and Thor did combined! Additionally, 56% of Avengers pre-sales are from those wanting to see the film in 3D while 37% are to see the film in IMAX 3D.

Normally, we don’t talk too much about box office here, but this report is kind of exciting. Not only does it show that Kevin Feige made a brave, but ultimately right decision back in 2008 when he first announced Marvel Studios’ plans to launch individual superhero film franchises that would also dovetail into one big feature. But it also shows that the detractors’ claims that The Avengers could be a flop due to people being tired of seeing those characters summer after summer.

And the Avengers isn’t the only high–profile superhero film we have coming this summer with Sony’s The Amazing Spider-Man rebooting that franchise and Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises, the concluding installment of his Batman trilogy. Personally, I think it is moviegoers who win when we get great movies like this, no matter what kind of business they wind up doing. But the studios will certainly be looking forward to the box office rumble if only for the bragging rights.

Via Deadline.

Michael Bay vowed that he would never return to the Transformers franchise after completing the third film and yet he is signed on for the currently in development fourth installment. Might star Shia LaBeouf, who made a similar vow, have a similar change of heart?

If he does then he may be out of luck. The Hollywood Reporter spoke with Paramount film group president Adam Goodman who explained that the screenplay is currently being written by Ehren Kruger and as of right now there are no plans for an appearance of LaBeouf’s Sam Whitwhicky character.

The story is going in a different direction now. Ehren Kruger [who wrote the past two Transformers movies] is writing it for us, and we’re starting to engage, but I can’t say anything more.

Bay will be back to work on his fourth film about giant robots beating the crap out of each other just as soon as he finishes his current project Pain & Gain, a dark comedy about boxers, human beings who beat the crap out of each other.