It’s been a while since we’ve had a Star Wars rumor, and while this one isn’t that crazy, it is still worth a bit of consideration. The 3D-advocacy site MarketSaw is reporting from their sources that director Alfonso Cuaron and actor Simon Pegg are involved, in some unspecified manner, with Disney’s upcoming announced Star Wars films.

Unfortunately, there is no actual information as to what specific capacity each may be involved in but there are a few educated guesses we can make. If Cuaron is currently involved in some manner, I would think it would probably be with the announced spinoff films and not the sequel trilogy currently in development. With J J Abraams at the helm of the first film, I think that Lucasfilm is going to concentrate working with him on the first film. Besides with screenwriter Michael Brandt and writers Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg consulting, I don’t think that the studio is looking to add any more names to the braintrust working on those films. Perhaps best known among genre fans for probably directing the best installment of the Harry Potter franchise, Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, I have to admit that the prospect of a Star Wars film directed by Cuaron is a delightful one.

Meanwhile, it is not hard to see why Simon Pegg’s might be involved. He has already appeared in Abrams’ Mission: Impossible III and Star Trek reboot. Pegg, of course, is a known genre fan and once Abrams’ involvement was officially announced I am sure that he was on the phone.

MarketSaw seems to have a reasonable track record with these types of stories, but if Cuaron and Pegg’s involvement is merely at the discussion phase, there is the possibility that no agreement will be reached and that there actual involvement will never come to pass.

With this past weekend’s screening of director Edgar Wright’s test footage for his long in-development comic book adaption Ant-Man at San Diego Comic Con and Marvel Studio’s release of some title art for the film, I feel safe in saying that we can take that as a tacit admission that the film is actually, finally happening.

But when will it happen? Simon Pegg thinks he has an answer. In a tweet over the weekend, he stated that Wright would be directing Ant-Man next year, after he finishes work on their soon-to-shoot collaboration The World’s End this fall.

As the two have been collaborators for several years, it is safe to say that Pegg may have some inside information shared with him by Wright. Though as the World’s End projected schedule has been in place for a while now, it does just seem logical for Ant-Man’s production to follow it at some point. More than likely, Pegg was addressing fan questions as to whether Ant-Man would take precedence over World’s End.

That leaves us with the question as to how much later will the Ant-Man shooting take place after World’s End wraps. That would probably depend on exactly where Marvel wants to slot it into their release schedule. If Marvel sticks with their two films a year schedule, we won’t be seeing Ant-Man until 2015 at the earliest. Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World already have the 2013 slots and Captain America: The Winter Soldier and the just announced Guardians Of The Galaxy are set for 2014.

Everyone is working under the assumption that we will be seeing The Avengers 2 in 2015, but that has yet to be confirmed. But if so, does Marvel slot Ant-Man in before that film or will it be used to kick off the studio’s post-Avengers 2 “Phase Three?”

Last month, everyone seemed so sure that the mysterious villain of J J Abrams’ upcoming Star Trek 2 was going to be the classic Trek villain, genetically enhanced war criminal Khan with Benedict Cumberbatch stepping in for Ricardo Montalban who originally played the part in an episode of the original series and the feature Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan.

But in an interview with The Telegraph, Trek reboot cast member Simon Pegg blasted those reports not only for what he says is inaccurate reporting but for the need for sensationalism that has driven the reporting.

It’s not Khan. That’s a myth. Everyone’s saying it is, but it’s not… I think people just want to have a scoop. It annoys me – it’s beyond the point to just ferret around for spoilers all the time to try to be the first to break them. It just spoils the film. It masquerades as interest in the movie but really it’s just nosiness and impatience. You just want to say, “Oh f— off! Wait for the film!”

While I am sure that some folks will write this off as just some spin from the production to keep the film’s plotlines secret, I would suggest that in this case, if it were indeed true, it would be a case of closing the barn door after the horses had already gotten out. I think we need to take Pegg at his word that Cumberbatch is not playing the part that everyone seems to want to believe that he is.

And I am fine with that. We’ve talked about why having Khan in Star Trek 2 would be a big, stupid mistake, and I am glad to see that Abrams isn’t making it.

A bunch of images hit the web today from J.J. Abrams Star Trek 2, and speculation has begun as to what they all mean.

First, MTV has two set photos featuring new bad guy (and BBC’s Sherlock Holmes) Benedict Cumberbatch. The first, which you see to the left, features his character facing off against Zachary Quinto’s Spock. While it looks like Spock is getting the upper hand, MTV claims that Cumberbatch quickly get out of the Vulcan Neck Pinch. I did not know that was possible.

MTV sees the outfit Cumberbatch is wearing, and theorizes that his character is a member of the Starfleet Academy who has turned evil. Well, the other picture taken from that set visit might tell another story.

Here, Cumberbatch faces off against Zoe Saldana’ Uhura. As we recall, a hint of a romance was beginning to form between Spock and Uhura during the last film. Could this be a romantic triangle of some sort? Hmm? Hmm?

Okay, maybe not. But still, there is bound to be more than just a coincidence in the two quasi-lovebirds facing off against the villain at the same time.

/Film runs with the story, but adds another potential plot element. They have taken a screen cap, seen to the left, from Simon Pegg’s Twitter video wishing British comic book magazine 2000 A.D. a happy anniversary. The video is taken on the set and Pegg is in costume.

/Film thinks Pegg’s costume in the shot is that of a member of the Starfleet Academy and not the red tunic Pegg wore at the end of the first film. I don’t know about you, but I can barely make out anything on that uniform. But just because Pegg is wearing a uniform that appears to be a cadets uniform, doesn’t mean Scotty has been busted down through the ranks. I’ll need more information before I speculate on that.

More answers should become apparent as we get closer to the sequel’s May 17, 2013 release date.

Columbia Pictures has dropped out of developing the comic book series The Boys into a feature film.

Created by writer Garth Ennis and artist Darick Robertson, the hyper-violent satire charted the adventures of a CIA black ops team that was tasked with monitoring superhero activity across the globe, and if necessary, deal with them when they would get too out-of-hand. One of the characters, named Hughie, was based on actor Simon Pegg, and though Pegg stated he was flattered by the depiction, he did state he thought he might be too old to actually play the Hughie if the film ever got off the ground. The project was first set up at Columbia in 2009, and at the time Ennis was pretty enthusiastic about its chances of getting made.

Writers Matt Manfredi and Phil Hay were the ones who primarily worked on the screenplay for Columbia, although Seth Rogen reportedly did a draft as well. Russell Crowe circled the project at one point, considering the lead role of Billy Butcher, but not even that kind of interest could get the film a green light.

Producer Neal Moritz is now free to shop The Boys around to other studios. Time will tell if anyone else will be interested.

Via The Hollywood Reporter.

1. The Adventures Of Tintin (Paramount, @3,000 Theaters, 107 Minutes, Rated PG): I believe the main battle for box office supremacy for this Holiday week will be fought between this film and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. If this is true, then Daniel Craig is a very smart man because his has roles in each.

I really don’t know which way this film will go. The character is immensely popular overseas, where it has been published near continuously in Belgium from 1929 until today. But while Tintin has had animated TV series that aired in the US, it is nowhere near as popular.

However, you can’t argue with the talent involved in this production. I have gone to numerous films just because Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson, Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost were involved all by their lonesome. Having them all take part in the same film is a no-brainer. And, from what I’ve seen of it, the stop-motion animation is the closest thing I have seen to a comic strip come to life. If I had money to place on who will win at the box office, my money would be here.

As many fans of Shaun Of The Dead and Hot Fuzz know, those two films were the first two parts of a thematic triptych alternately referred to as “Blood and Ice Cream” or “The Three Flavours Trilogy” and that at some point director Edgar Wright and actors Simon Pegg and Nick Frost were going to reteam for the final installment The World’s End. That time may be upon us as Frost has told Coming Soon that a first draft of the script now exists-

There is a draft out there, which I’ve read, and it’s great, and I think our plan is to crack on and shoot next year. Touch wood. They move and they change but we definitely want to get on with it.

While I would love to see this film moving forward as soon as possible, I think we need to see the caution under Frost’s optimism. Pegg’s availability for a shoot next year will depend on his schedule for J J Abrams Star Trek 2 while Marvel could finally get around to giving Wright’s long in-development Ant Man film the nod. (Marvel still has two dates staked out in 2014 but haven’t publicly committed titles to them yet.)

There’s not much about The World’s End that we know outside of the fact that it will be a genre film much in the same Shaun Of The Dead and Hot Fuzz were genre films and that one of its themes will be about reaching middle age. Beyond that, though – nothing. Does the title refer to Armageddon, the edge of a Flat Earth or something else entirely? No matter what the answer is, I’m sure that it will be a fitting conclusion to the cycle of films that the three have created so far.

You might not have known it by going from just the teaser posters that Paramount has released so far for December’s Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, but there are more people in the cast than just Tom Cruise. In fact, as the new poster put out by the studio today tells us, shows is Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton and Simon Pegg also will be showing up in the film!

The film marks Cruise’s fourth and perhaps final, appearance in the franchise as Impossible Missions Force agent Ethan Hunt. Rumored to being positioned to replace Cruise is Renner as IMF agent Brandt.

The film is the live action debut for Brad Bird, who had previously directed the animated features The Iron Giant for Warner Brothers and The Incredibles for PIXAR.

Note: Burke And Hare was released last year in Great Britain and is just seeing a US release this weekendin theaters and OnDemand this weekend. Our review is a repost of our impressions of the film following a screening at a Lincoln Center Film Society event in New York City on March 3 with director John Landis in attendance for a question and answer session afterwards.

When John Landis made his last feature film, the virtually direct to video Susan’s Plan, he was in something of a slump. Many fans were scratching their heads, puzzled as to how the director of Animal House, An American Werewolf In London and The Blues Brothers could have made such disappointments as The Stupids and Blues Brothers 2000. But in the time between then and now, he has made two documentaries and a few television episodes, leaving fans wondering if he would return to making features at any time, and if he did, would we see some of that old Landis magic.

Burke And Hare is that return and there is definitely a hint of the old Landis magic to be found. If he was looking for a film with which to stage a comeback, Landis couldn’t have found much better material than what is here. A dark comedy with a tinge of pathos at the end, Burke And Hare is a tonal echo of American Werewolf. But what does one expect from a tale of two fairly inept murderers?

William Burke (Simon Pegg) and William Hare (Andy Serkis) are two Irishmen who moved to Edinburgh, Scotland to seek their fortune in the early 1800s. However, their fortune seems to be elsewhere as they soon find themselves broke and without prospects. However, when they find out that the city’s many medical colleges have an ongoing need for fresh cadavers for educational dissection, they think they’ve found a way to make a fortune. But after their first “sale,” an old tenant who died of natural causes in the boarding house that Hare’s wife runs, they realize that they’ll have to be a bit more assertive in their procurement of bodies for their client, Dr. Knox (Tom Wilkinson).

Though based on two historical figures, there’s not much depth to the roles of Burke and Hare, but Pegg and Serkis infuse them with enough life to keep things moving. Jessica Hynes also does some good comedic work with the small bits she is given as Hare’s wife. Isla Fischer does some nice work as the (fictional) love interest of Burke and it is nice to see her in a comedic role where her character isn’t portrayed as a fool. In his role as a rival doctor, Tim Curry not only shows that he has perfected the art of the contemptuous sneer, but also gives great subtle deadpan reactions to every scene he is in. And as always with Landis, you may also want to keep an eye out for cameo appearances from some his director friends.

Landis would be the first to admit that Burke And Hare is not a perfect film. In fact, at the Lincoln Center Film Society screening, he flat out said so during the question and answer session held afterward. He stated that he had some interference during the editing of the film and one of the producers had an objection to the historical accuracy of one character’s fate versus giving everyone a happy ending. Fortunately, Landis didn’t budge on this count.

A couple of scenes feel disjointed and have no real momentum to them. In one sequence, Burke and Hare are rolling a barrel with a body in it through the cobblestone streets of Edinburg. They lose control and have to chase the barrel down a series of hills and alleyways. Individually, there are shots that contain some slapstick humor but the entire bit doesn’t feel as if it flows organically.

And while Burke And Hare isn’t great, vintage Landis, it is still good Landis. It’s a good first step to rehabilitating his cinematic reputation and fairly enjoyable way of passing an hour and a half.

1. Paul (Universal, 2,801 Theaters, 104 Minutes, Rated R): Seeing Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in any film not directed by Edgar Wright seems to veer a little too close to sacrilege for my tastes (same goes the other way too, it just doesn’t seem right).

But yet, here we are, with the pair joined up with Superbad‘s Greg Mottola as a pair of comic book afficiantos making a pilgrimage to the San Diego Comic Con who pick up a rather unique hitchhiker near Area 51, an alien named Paul (voice by Seth Rogen).

Considering the people involved, it should be impossible that the film is not funny at all. The premise is kind of meh, but the cast is good enough to bring some oomph to it.

2. Limitless (Relativity, 2,756 Theaters, 105 Minutes, Rated PG-13): If it wasn’t for one particular plot point, this film would be your typical high finance thriller.

Think about it. A young skilled hotshot enters a corporation. His talent shoots him quickly up into the highest eschelon, and his ego makes him a lot of enemies on the way up. Once his luck runs out and his talent fails him, the wolves begin to circle. Sound familiar?

The twist is that the hotshot’s talent is brought about by a pill that unlocks the untapped potential for the human brain. That kind of sci-fi swerve does add something to the film, but it only barely makes it more unique than your typical Wall Street clone.

3. The Lincoln Lawyer (Lionsgate, 2,400 Theaters, 119 Minutes, Rated R): This might be opening myself to ridicule, but I believe Matthew McConaughey can be a great actor when he wants to be.

Sure, most people when the first think of him, think of him as a stoner characture who’s acting talents would be strained if he goes beyond the realm of the chick flick.

But this is a man who did some pretty fine acting in Contact and A Time to Kill. These were solid dramatic roles and McConaughey excelled in them.

He returns to the legal-potboiler-adapted-from-a-book genre with this one as he plays a lawyer with a client who is hiding something. Not exactly fresh and unique, but could be something that could remind people that McConaughey can really act.