Could Christian Bale (American Psycho, Reign of Fire) become the Dark Knight Detective? Could Paul Rudd (Cider House Rules, Clueless) play the Man of Steel.

Those are just two of the names being tossed around as casting choices for the upcoming Batman vs. Superman film.

Bale's agents were asked if he'd been approached to play Bruce Wayne/Batman. "As with any actor, any role involves negotiation so I cannot confirm or deny rumors at this time. If and when Christian lands a role, I announce it on the news section of his web site (http://www.christianbale.org/)," they told Batman on the Web.

Meanwhile, Brendan Fraser (The Mummy) was reportedly being considered to play Superman in the solo film McG is attached to direct.

-Dark Horizons, Batman on Film
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The cast and producers of the upcoming Birds of Prey WB TV series held a press conference recently and gave some insight into what fans can expect.

Dina Meyer (Barbara Gordon/Oracle), Ashley Scott (Helena Kyle/The Huntress) and Rachel Skarsten (Dinah Lance/Black Canary) were joined by Shemar Moore (Det. Jake Reese).

The show, although from the producers of Smallville, will be much darker in tone and content. When asked how much it is influenced by Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, producer Brian Robbins said “Big time. I mean, from a visual standpoint, we sat down and we looked at those books and, you know, when … we were visualizing the show, that's all we did, was look at those comic books and the DP and myself and production leader sat down and said we really want this show to look like comic book, and I spent several months with a story-board artist drawing the show, and the show looks like the drawings. It really does.”

Then Scott was asked how she’s meshing the characters of Batman and Catwoman (her Huntress is their daughter). “A lot of Catwoman's, I think, just kind of -- her kind of catty style and wit, and with the style of fighting we're going to make it more cat-like, yeah. And Batman, whatever I can take from him.”

Dina Meyer on playing Oracle who once was Batgirl: “I found what's super about my character -- I'm just going to answer for myself right now -- is that, you know, being a superhero or being Batgirl, being known as Batgirl, and then, you know, being shot and paralyzed and now confined to a wheelchair, you would think maybe someone like Batgirl would have given up. It's like, ‘I have no legs so I can't kick ass anymore. What am I going to do? How am I going to fight crime?’ And she found a way to master cybernetics and weaponry and she really, you know, came into her own. She wasn't following in Batman's footsteps, she actually found her own calling and she has redefined herself as Oracle, which I think is, you know, fantastic, personally, and together with the help of these two fantastic females.”

On Harley Quinn, co-producer Leata Kalogridis said “Harley is Harley. I mean, Harley is who she is. She's the Batman animated-series character, so she's definitely going to go on and try to fill her Puddin's shoes. For those of you who don't watch that show, that's what she always called the Joker. And Dinah is something of a mystery, I hope, to the audience and that's intentional.”

Harley Quinn will no longer be played by Sherilyn Fenn, who was originally cast. No replacement has been found.

--Comics Continuum
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The official Hulk movie web site (www.thehulk.com) has been updated with a plot synopsis, the official trailer, wall paper, buddy icons and more.

Here’s the synopsis:
Acclaimed filmmaker Ang Lee’s concept for his film adaptation of the classic Marvel Comics series, The Hulk, combines all the elements of a blockbuster visual effects-intensive superhero movie with the brooding romance and tragedy of Universal's classic horror films. In depicting The Hulk as both a superhero and a monster, a wish fulfillment and a nightmare, Lee and his team have stayed true to the early subversive spirit of the character created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, while completely updating The Hulk and projecting it into the dangers and aspirations of contemporary times.

Eric Bana (Black Hawk Down) stars as scientist Bruce Banner, whose inner demons transform him in the aftermath of a catastrophic experiment. Bana plays both the human Banner and – through groundbreaking visual effects technology provided by the Oscar-winning Industrial Light and Magic – the superhuman Hulk. Academy Award winner Jennifer Connelly (A Beautiful Mind) portrays Betty Ross, whose scientific genius unwittingly helps unleash The Hulk; Nick Nolte (The Thin Red Line) plays Banner’s brilliant father, who unwittingly passes on a tragic legacy to his son, and Sam Elliot (The Contender) portrays the commander of a top-secret military research center.

--Super Hero Hype
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Artist Gary Frank inked an exclusive agreement with Marvel and previewed some of his artwork on the upcoming Avengers #61-#62 coming up in December.

"Gary's been doing terrific work throughout the industry the last few years - notably on Midnight Nation - so it's great to see him back at Marvel," Senior Editor Tom Brevoort said. "With his strong dramatic sense and his deft hand at characterization, these two issues of Avengers should make for a nice Christmas present to the fans." Frank is in talks on a long-term project after his Avengers guest pencils.

"It's great to be working again on the characters that I grew up loving. In the first few weeks I've already had a ball doing characters like Captain America and Iron Man," added Frank. "Besides, it seems that Marvel is the place to be right now. Joe [Quesada] has gathered together some great writers with which to work and it looks like there are exciting times ahead."

--Comics Newsarama
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The mutant spider horror comedy Eight Legged Freaks was almost called Arac Attack. But that was before Sept. 11.

"There was some sensitivity after Sept. 11 that it would remind people of 'Iraq attack,'" producer Dean Devlin told Zap2It. "Whether or not that's true, we never for a minute wanted this film to be anything other than what it is and even if it reminded only two percent of the population, why do it? It's not necessary."

Warner Bros. also floated and then rejected Attack of the Killer Spiders which sounded too much like too many other movie titles. Devlin says he got the final name for the film from star David Arquette, who had improvised it during the looping of the film.

--Zap2It
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Dynamic Forces has learned Green Lantern: Brightest Day, Blackest Night artist John Snyder III has been asked to design costumes for a Green Lantern feature film.

Miramax has tapped Snyder, who has also designed costumes for Planet of the Apes and Star Wars.

Stay tuned for more details on this topic as it develops.

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The DVD of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man will be loaded with features when it debuts Nov. 1.

Look for:

• both Pan & Scan and Anamorphic Widescreen with DD 5.1 (no DTS) in English, French and Spanish;
• Two commentaries with Track 1: Raimi, Kirsten Dunst, producer Laura Ziskin & co-producer Grant Curtis and Track 2: SFX supervisor John Dykstra & "Branching Web-i-sodes" including the visual effects crew.
• trailers, TV spots, filmographies, character files, and the "Hero" and "What We're All About" music videos.
• DVD-Rom features including comic/film comparisons, "record your own commentary" feature, and a 'countdown' to Spider-Man 2.
• three documentaries: An HBO Making of Special, E! Entertainment's "Spider-Mania", and the historical-toned "Spider-Man: The Mythology of the 21st Century".
• screen tests for Tobey Maguire, J.K. Simmons & CGI Spider-Man. Costume & Make-Up tests, Outtakes, Conceptual Art, Production Design Gallery and profiles of Sam Raimi and Danny Elfman.
• "Spider-Man" Comic Book Archives, "Rogue's Gallery" and "The Loves of Peter Parker" featurettes, Comic Book Artist Pin-Up Gallery, three exclusive online comics, and two playable levels of the Activision Game with hints.

--Dark Horizons
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Comedian actors Jim Carrey and Garry Shandling will lend their voices to the CGI-animated movie Over the Hedge, based on the comic strip by Michael Fry and T. Lewis.

Antz helmer Tim Johnson will direct from a script by Private Parts scribe Len Blum.

Carrey will play a con artist raccoon named R.J. while Shandling is a mild-mannered turtle named Verne. Hilarity ensues when the suburbs begin encroaching on their woodland home.

Look for the DreamWorks film in 2005.

--Hollywood Reporter
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Comics publisher Dreamwave Productions has three new projects coming out later this year. Artwork and descriptions of the comics are now online.

First off, Limbo City will be written by Brian Augustyn and drawn by Brett and Jessica Ruffner-Booth. The 8-issue limited series starts in September and is set in an otherdimensional urban environment between life and death.

Also, Warlands volume three is planned with writing by Augustyn and pencils by Mateo Guerrero. It’ll be a 6-issue limited series, beginning in November.

Finally, Sandscape is an 8-issue limited series set for late 2002 or early 2003. It’s written by Kato Li and drawn by Lou Kang. The plot centers on dying planet and ancient secrets that may serve to save the world.

A preview book ships tomorrow and features six four-page stories spotlighting the new projects.

--Comics Newsarama
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Director Martin Campbell (Goldeneye) is now working with writer Dan Gilroy on penning a Mask of Zorro sequel.

Pre-production is planned for September. The 1998 original starred Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

--Dark Horizons, Coming Soon
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