Marvel Studios’ search continues for the perfect actor to don the red, white, and blue suit and spread American ideals in the big-screen adaptation of Captain America. Today’s rumor mill throws G.I. Joe’s Channing Tatum into a mix of 20-something-year-olds that include the known, Ryan Phillippe, Fantastic Four’s Chris Evans; the semi-known, Cloverfield’s Mike Vogel, Gossip Girl’s Sebastian Stan; and the unknown, Young and the Restless’s Wilson Bethel. The studio held lengthy screen tests last weekend for at least four of those actors (Hedlund has not yet screen-tested, though sources believe he is the studio’s first choice), and Marvel is expected to have a decision soon. In the meantime, we’ve got a few plot details to share. Sources tell EW that Captain America, which is set to begin filming in June for a release next summer, will be shot on location in London as the Joe Johnston-helmed movie will feature a stylized 1940s WWII backdrop. And while Cap won’t be fighting Hitler as he did in the very first Captain America comic book, he will battle Red Skull, Hitler’s right-hand man. Probably the biggest challenge with Marvel’s casting challenge is not the Captain America movie, but what comes next. Marvel’s plans include an Avengers film that will bow in summer 2012. And anyone familiar with Marvel lore knows that Captain America is a father figure to the rest of the Avengers. That means Marvel’s casting choice for Cap must be someone who can go toe-to-toe with the likes of Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man, Samuel Jackson’s Nick Fury, and Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, to name a few. “They’re casting two franchises here,” said a source close to the production. “This is no easy feat.”

Channing can do it! He can carry this film and play the integral role in The Avengers movie! While I understand that a lot is riding on the perfect casting, Channing Tatum has proven that he can carry a film at the box office and he’s already got the action hero cred to play a superhero! I’m not a huge Captain America fan (but I did love the 1979 TV movie based on the hero) but I can deffo get behind the film if Channing takes the lead. What do y’all think … who do YOU think should be cast as Captain America?

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Zenescope Entertainment has officially announced they have obtained the comic book and graphic novel publishing rights to the television property CHARMED (1998-2006) created by Constance M. Burge from Spelling Entertainment, under license from CBS Consumer Products. The comic book publisher, known for beautiful, sultry and strong female characters, has now added three more to the mix. The ultra-popular CHARMED television series aired for eight seasons on The WB network and averaged more than 4 million viewers throughout its run. Zenescope’s comic book series will feature a brand new storyline which picks up where the television series left off. The story follows the Halliwell sisters, a beautiful trio descended from a line of powerful but good witches, as they battle against evil beings in modern day San Francisco. Attached to write the new comic book series is author Paul Ruditis, who has written several Charmed novels such as Leo Rising (with Constance M. Burge) and As Puck Would Have It. Co-writing with Ruditis will be Raven Gregory, writer of the acclaimed Wonderland trilogy published by Zenescope. Renowned artist Dave Hoover (Captain America, The Wanderers) will be providing interior illustrations for the series. “The key to this series success is to strike a nice balance in creating a brand new, intriguing storyline for fans of the television show while also not alienating Zenescope and comic book readers who haven’t really followed it before but might want to now that it’s a comic,” said Zenescope Editor-in-Chief Ralph Tedesco. “The great thing is that Paul and Raven have done just that with this story arc. Anybody will be able to pick up this series and follow it whether or not they ever watched the show before. Moreover, fans of the show are going to be thrilled when they see where this story goes.” Issue #0 is scheduled for a June release with issue #1 to debut at Comic Con International in San Diego this July.

Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! I think some of you know that I have been on a HUGE Charmed kick lately (I’ve started re-watching the series, I’ll be finishing season 3 tomorrow) so this is very exciting news to me! Much like the Buffy comic employs writers from the TV series, it’s very smart for the Charmed comic book series to do the same. While the character of Prue Halliwell (played by Shannen Doherty) was NEVER resurrected on the TV series, I’m confident that writers will bring her back from the dead in some fashion in the comic books … mark my words! This is fantastic news … I’m so excited! I might have to make the trek down to San Diego Comic Con just to get the Charmed #0 comic book. Woot!

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OOOOH man … I am LOVING Season 8 of Buffy. I need to finish this graphic novel so I can get totally caught up again but the whole Twilight thing is just … genius. Joss Whedon, I do love you. I know I should’ve spent my night reading the current Turtle Party: Book Club selection (which I announced yesterday) but the siren call of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was too much to ignore. Wee!!

No plans for tonight … but I’m anxious to get out of the house. It’s cool today but sunny … I’m gonna try and make the most of it. Um, how is it Wednesday again so soon? Oy!

While these beautiful hardbound copies of The Absolute Sandman and The Absolute Death sat on my bookshelf, I re-read my way thru my beloved dog-eared paperback graphic novel books. I should be done with the whole series (again) very soon and then I plan to read Absolute Death. I still have a lot of other reading to get thru (including this month’s selection for The Turtle Party: Book Club) but I’ve been in such a Neil Gaiman way these days. It’s very easy to want to say lost among the Endless:

I’m very happy to report that it is, once again, sunny and warm here in SoCal today … which means, I’m gonna get out there and soak up the sun! Hope it’s sunny and warm wherever you are!! WEE!

I’m delighted to announce, exclusively, that Yen Press will publish Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Vol. 1 on March 16, with a first printing of 350,000 copies. Here’s a first glimpse at the book’s cover, as well as an exclusive peek at one of its panels (for a full ten-page excerpt, and the entire Q&A with Stephenie Meyer, see the issue of EW that goes on sale this Friday). What strikes me, looking at the book, is how faithfully, and how beautifully, artist Young Kim has translated Meyer’s original vision. Kim, who has a fine arts background—in fact, this is her first foray into graphic novels—didn’t just read the book; she absorbed it. Her Bella is the Bella I had in my mind’s eye the first time I read Twilight; her Edward is the Edward I always imagined. It took me back to reading Twilight pre-movie: Kristen Stewart and Rob Pattinson faded into the background.

After the jump, read the rest of this Entertainment Weekly article that includes an excerpt from the interview with Twilight author Stephenie Meyer and check out a page from Twilight: The Graphic Novel vol. 1 …

EW: The text of your original novel is boiled down so carefully that it doesn’t feel like anything is missing. Were you the one who did that?
Meyer: I was definitely involved. I didn’t do the original “script” for the book, so to speak. But when I got the dialogue with the images, I did a lot of tinkering. In a couple of places, I asked for missing scenes to be inserted. For example, the conversation in the car that Bella and Edward have after she faints in Biology.

EW: How does the feeling of reading the graphic novel compare to that of reading the original? Does it bring something new to the experience for you?
Meyer: For me, it takes me back to the days when I was writing Twilight. It’s been a while since I was really able to read Twilight; there is so much baggage attached to that book for me now. It seems like all I can see are the mistakes in the writing. Reading Young’s version brought me back to the feeling I had when I was writing and it was just me and the characters again. I love that. I thank her for it.

EW: When this project is done, are you done with Twilight?
Meyer: I can’t say that I am done with Twilight forever. I’m not working on anything new Twilight-related now, and probably not for a while. But there’s still a possibility that I’ll go back and close some of the open doors.

LOL!! I have no doubt that this will sell … and sell well. Are any of y’all interested in adding this new version of Twilight to your collections?

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I had forgotten how amazing the books are. The first graphic novel, The Long Road Home, tells the story of how the US military (lead by the shadowy Twilight) has decided to make an enemy of Buffy and all the slayers of the world, No Future For You collects the books that tell the Faith portion of Season 8, Wolves at the Gate features the most famous vampire of all Dracula, Time of your Life throws Buffy into the future where she meets up with the sole Slayer in the future Fray and Predators and Prey features a fun segue that revolves around everyone’s fave, ditzy vampire Harmony getting her own reality TV show. Yes, the comics are a bit of a departure from the TV series but they are really fun, written by the actual Buffy writers and are advancing the mythos in such a way that could never be achieved on TV or in (dare I say it) movies. Now that we know who Twilight is, I’m really anxious to see where the story will go from here. It really sucked being sick yesterday but at least I was given the opportunity to bone up on Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8 … which I’ve been really lax in reading lately.

I’m not sure what the plan is for tonight, I’m hoping to get out of the house tho … I’ve been cooped up for far too long. I need to bask in the SoCal sun while I still can. We’re supposed to get 3 big rainstorms starting tomorrow that will bury us under 20 or so inches of rain! OY!!

“Sherlock Holmes” actor Mark Strong is in talks to play Sinestro in the “Green Lantern” movie, according to director Martin Campbell. Speaking with MTV News during the junket for “Edge of Darkness,” his upcoming action thriller opening January 29, Campbell dismissed rumors that “Watchmen” actor Jackie Earle Haley was in talks for the role. “No, that’s completely wrong,” said Campbell of the persistent rumor, which popped up again recently despite Haley denying any involvement with the “Green Lantern” movie. “In fact, we’re in negotiations with Mark Strong to play Sinestro.” “He’s not only a wonderful actor, but he looks like Sinestro,” he added. “If you look up old pictures of Sinestro, he’s very like him. The Jackie Earle Haley thing, somebody told me about it this morning; I had never heard it before in my life.” If negotiations pan out, Strong will have a role in not one but two much-anticipated comic book movies, as he also plays mobster Frank D’Amico in Matthew Vaughn’s adaptation of John Romita Jr. and Mark Millar’s “Kick-Ass.” However, Campbell didn’t stop there — he also offered up a list of characters from Green Lantern’s universe making an appearance in the film. Oh, and brace yourselves, folks — Kilowog is one of them. “Well, Kilowog will be,” said Campbell. “Tomar-Re is in it. Sinestro is in it. Abin Sur is in it. All the origin people. Carol [Ferris], of course, who will be played by Blake Lively. All the main characters are there, and it’s a complex story. The origin story of Green Lantern is complex, probably one of the most complex, which makes it a challenge to get it right.” If Strong becomes Sinestro, he could join recently announced in-negotiations actor Peter Sarsgaard, who’s in talks to play villain Hector Hammond. In the comic books, Sinestro is a former Green Lantern who trains Hal Jordan (played by Ryan Reynolds), only to become one of Jordan’s greatest enemies when he leaves the cosmic police force.

Holy shizzballs! I love it when comic book fans are in charge of turning them into movies, because they know what other diehard comic book fans want to see on the big screen. Jon Favreau did an excellent job bringing Iron Man to life, it really sounds like Martin Campbell is gonna do his best to really do right by Green Lantern. Origin stories don’t always work well on the big screen, there is a fine line to paying homage to the mythos of the character while still making a movie that non-fans will want to sit thru. I’m encouraged that Campbell is not shying away from featuring as many of the important origin characters as he can. As much as I was excited by the prospect of Jackie Earle Haley playing Sinestro, I would be FINE if Mark Strong got the part. He was excellent in Sherlock Holmes, I think he would be excellent in this. I am LOVING all of this Green Lantern talk. Since the movie is slated to get underway in a couple of months, I’m hoping we will be hearing and SEEING more from this flick very soon :)

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And so, to keep the Big Bad’s identity under wraps for those of you who have yet to read the comics and want to remain unspoiled, I’ll keep Whedon’s comments on all of this news behind the cut. Beware, read no further if you wish to remain unspoiled about the identity of Twilight in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8 …

“Brad Meltzer is the master at taking what’s before you and peeling it back to show what’s beneath,” Whedon told MTV News of the big reveal and the role it will play in Meltzer’s run, which kicks off next month with the penultimate arc before Whedon himself takes the writing reins to close out “Season Eight.” “In this case, that applies to characters, assumptions, motivations, mythos, masks, and most spectacularly, clothes,” added Whedon. “Season Eight officially goes into high gear in Brad’s extraordinary arc. Try to keep up.” Now, just in case you haven’t been following at home, the news first broke last week when the covers to Dark Horse Comics titles shipping in April were posted online — including a pair of covers for issue #34. The covers featured Buffy in the arms of her former lover, the vampire with a soul, Angel… who just happened to be wearing Twilight’s costume, sans mask. And to say that the ‘Net caught fire could be the understatement of the year. However, MTV reached out to “Season Eight” editor Scott Allie for more thoughts on the big reveal. “So, yeah… Twilight is Angel,” said Allie after a long pause. “You know, I’ve gone four years not letting myself say that.” However, Allie was quick to indicate that the identity of Twilight is only the first of many big surprises in store for the big “Season Eight” finale. “The fact that his identity is out there now actually tells you very little about what’s going to happen,” he said. “This has been the plan from the very beginning of ‘Season Eight,’ and it does make sense, believe me.” With Angel currently the subject of an entirely separate series at IDW Publishing, Allie explained that just because the character has only made “silly little cameos” in Dark Horse’s “Buffy” universe thus far, that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been able to play a more significant role if the right story presented itself — and this is that story. Additionally, despite the dual series unfolding in the Buffy-verse, Angel’s appearance in “Season Eight” doesn’t clash with the timeline of his solo series at IDW. “The timelines don’t overlap yet,” said Allie. “The ‘Angel’ series at IDW picks up at end of ‘Angel’ television series, but ‘Buffy: Season Eight’ started up a significant amount of time after the television series ended.” “These continuities will be made to jibe, which doesn’t cancel out IDW’s continuity or what they’re doing with the character,” he added. And lest we overlook one of the other notable elements of the whole Twilight saga, Allie noted that the newly revealed identity of the character should add an interesting element to discussions of how Twilight (the “Buffy” character) relates to “Twilight” (the book and movie franchise). While Allie noted that the name Twilight had been in place for the “Season Eight” villain since well before Stephenie Meyer’s novels became the phenomenon they are today, he did note some irony in how the coincidence played out. “The irony that you see in the villain being named Twilight is only made stronger when you realize that Twilight’s identity is Edward… I mean, Angel,” he laughed.

Oh man, all this Buffy comics stuff is sooooo damn good … and has been since the books went into publication … but the revelation that Angel is Twilight is just incredible. What a shot in the arm for a comic book series that still so many Buffy fans do not know about. For those of you who are a little confused and have yet to read the comics, here are a few synopses from a fan blog that explains a bit what’s been happening in the comic book world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer thus far:

The Long Way Home (Issues #1-4): Twilight was first revealed to be a group of folks who gave Buffy and her slayers a big problem. They rescue Amy and a skinless Warren from the crater formerly known as Sunnydale and subsequently use them to give Buffy a lot of problems. They send an army of zombies to Buffy’s castle in Scotland, kidnap Willow, kill Ethan Rayne, and shoot at Buffy and Satsu before being defeated. They’re being headed by Twilight… again, Angel, so one assumes this is all under his orders.

No Future For You (Issues #6-9): Twilight himself appears. Masked. And in a super villainous costume. He reveals that he, for this whole arc, had been manipulating Giles and Faith, as well as two of his own soldiers, Roden and Gigi. He says, “…it was about manipulating our enemies into waging this ugly war for us. A tactic crucial for bringing the age of magic to a close. By pitting watcher against warlock and slayer against slayer, we have pushed even the ‘victors’ to remove themselves from the chessboard.” Pretty evil, eh? Aso, he’s wearing three belts and what appears to be a skintight body suit under his armor and duster. Angel’s fashion sense seems to have went the route of his heroicness and left the building.

A Beautiful Sunset (#11): Twilight reveals himself to Buffy. Not in the, “Hey, whattup, I’m Angel, gotcha bitch!” kind of way. He appears to Buffy, in costume, for the first time… and kicks her ass. Also, he throws a church at her. Through all this, he says that he just came to talk and that he’s not going to try and kill her. He pretty much tells her that the world was fine when there was one slayer, but that her activation of all the potential slayers in Chosen (7.22) disrupted the balance, and that it “falls on (him) to avert (disaster).”

Time of Your Life (#16-19): Twilight… and, this time, it breaks my heart to call him Angel… hires Warren to build a mystical missile that takes out Buffy’s Scotland base and some of her slayers. It’s never established how many died, but it looked to be a devastating blow. Also, he reveals that he’s working with Riley Finn against Buffy.

Predators and Prey (#21-25): Angel presumably orchestrated the public acceptance of vampires and the outcry against slayers, using Harmony as a tool. Because really, is Harmony smart enough to turn the entire world against its own protectors? Not so much. Angel… well, now, that’d be more believable.

Retreat (#26-30): Twilight discovers Buffy’s location and sends an army after her. Buffy escapes to Tibet, where Oz had been living peacefully after having discovered a way to send magic (and, thus, his lycanthropy) into the earth. Twilight eventually finds them and sends a massive army of human soldiers to fight them, after Buffy, Willow, and all of the slayers have been persuaded to send their own magic into the earth, leaving them vulnerable. Twilight stands by, watching the fight, refusing to pull their men out when Buffy’s actions cause Tibetan goddesses to rise from the Earth and start killing… well, everyone. When the battle is over, Twilight captures some of Buffy’s friends.

See what you’ve been missing? I cannot WAIT to read how Angel reveals himself to Buffy … nor can I wait to see her response. Things have just gotten SO GOOD in the Buffyverse, all y’all BtVS fans gotta get the books and follow along!!

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The Hollywood Reporter tonight broke the word that actor Peter Sarsgaard has been cast in Warner Brothers Films’ adaptation of DC Comics’ “Green Lantern” landing the role of Hector Hammond, the movie’s first major villain who is best known to comic fans for his colossal cranium … Originally in the Green Lantern comics of the ’60s by John Broome and Gil Kane, Hammond was a grossly exaggerated figure whose massive head granted him telepathic powers after coming into contact with a strange meteor. The villain was recently revived by writer Geoff Johns, particularly in the “Secret Origin” arc of “Green Lantern” where Hammond beings as a possible suitor Carol Ferris, the eventual girlfriend of hero and test pilot Hal Jordan. Sarsgaard’s casting makes the third actor to sign on for the project set to hit theaters June 17, 2011. Both Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively are already on board to play Joran and Ferris respectively under the direction of Martin Campbell. However, casting lists indicate that the film will also feature the villain Sinestro when it finally bows in theaters. Written by Greg Berlanti with Marc Guggenheim and Michael Green with a rewrite by Michael Goldenberg, “Green Lantern” is set to begin filming this March in New Orleans.

Excellent, excellent casting. As you can see in the side-by-side photos of Sarsgaard and the comic book villain Hammond that they look very similar. I seem to recall that Dr. Hector Hammond’s head was even bigger than it appears in this graphic so I wonder just how big they’re gonna go with Sarsgaard’s head. I’m glad to know that the villain Sinestro (who ultimately becomes Green Lantern’s main nemesis) will be introduced in this film … my guess is that he will be introed at the end of the film must like the Joker was introduced at the end of Batman Begins and Moriarty was introduced at the end of Sherlock Holmes. All this Green Lantern news is great … I can’t wait to hear and SEE more!!

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With Dark Horse’s “Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8″ nearing its fortieth and final issue, it’s time for the Big Bad to reveal himself. Throughout the comic series, a direct continuation of the “Buffy” television show, a mystery villain named Twilight has worked in the shadows, orchestrating complex and nefarious schemes to topple Buffy and her organization of Slayers. In the Jane Espenson-penned arc that wrapped with issue #30, now on sale, Buffy, Dawn, Xander, Willow, and their paramilitary team of Slayers and Wiccans retreated to the mountains of Tibet, where they reunited with Oz and hatched a plan to go under the radar by shedding their powers. This gambit proved to be for naught, however, as Twilight’s forces found them anyway, putting Team Slayer at a significant disadvantage. Redirecting their discarded Slayer and Wiccan energies to summon the help of some old gods, Buffy’s crew thought they might even the odds, but instead their actions seem to have forced both sides into retreat.

So as to keep the identity a secret for those of you wishing to remain unspoiled, I’ll keep the reveal behind the cut. I think it’s safe to say that those of you who have been reading the Season 8 comic book series all along are in for a BIG surprise. I, for one, could not contain myself and had to be spoiled … and I’m glad that I did. This Big Bad opens up a HOST of ways for the series to end. I’m dying. If you so desire, read on to find out who Buffy’s ultimate nemesis is in this Season 8 series …

HOLY CRAP!!! It’s Angel!!!

Now, those of you who don’t read the comics may not be too shocked to learn that Angel is the Big Bad (much like he was in Season 2 of the TV series when he had sex with Buffy and became Angelus). But to the comic book readers, this is a big shock because Angel has his own comic book series titled Season 6 (which, as you may imagine, picks up where the season 5 finale of the TV series ended) so it never occurred to me (at least) that he would be the baddie in Buffy’s comic book world. Here is some info about Angel’s reveal as “Twilight” and what it may mean for the series overall:

Twilight is none other than Buffy’s former love, the vampire known as Angel. “We knew from the get go. It was back in January of four years ago when I found out that Angel was Twilight,” “Buffy” editor Scott Allie explained to CBR in an exclusive first interview. “It sounds funny saying that. I’ve kept that secret for four years, so it feels funny saying out loud to a reporter from CBR that Angel is Twilight. I’ve tried so hard not to let those words slip!” And while one day in the reveal certainly has Buffy fans worked up across message boards and on Twitter under the hashtag #twilightisangel, Allie is more than happy to breath a sigh of relief that he doesn’t have to sit on the secret any longer. “At the Baltimore convention this past year, I had driven there overnight and hadn’t slept in like 36 hours. Then I did a panel with [artists] Jo [Chen] and Georges [Jeanty,] and somebody asked a question about Twilight. I replied by saying, ‘Yeah, well An…’ and then I caught myself! Instead of saying ‘Angel’ I said ‘Another’ and just started vamping and trying to come up with a sentence to cover the fact that I just spilled that Angel was Twilight. But I covered and was able to conceal the secret. Georges looked at me like he was going to kill me. That was the closest I came to blowing it.” Though the editor was quick to note that while the secret was out there, plenty more twists and turns lie ahead for superstar novelist and comic writer Brad Meltzer’s superhero-centric arc on the series (starting in February’s #32) and right on into Buffy creator Joss Whedon’s return to the series after that. In fact, Allie stressed that assuming a flat out battle between Buffy and Angel was the next step in the story would be wrong. “‘The Big Bad’ is a phrase that originated from Joss in ‘Buffy’ – this idea that in a season you might have a whole lot of people to fight, but there’s one Big Bad, one major villain that you have to defeat at the end. But this is not like that,” he explained. “Right now it feels to everybody on the outside like, ‘Oh, the cat’s out of the bag! Twilight is Angel!’ but the question [of how the end game rolls out that] all the fans are asking is not really the right question. If this was any other book and Twilight was any other villain, that would be the question to ask. But the question right now is ‘How does Buffy react to the fact that Twilight is Angel?’ It’s not as simple anymore as ‘Now we’ve got to deal with the bad guy.’

Fans of the Season 8 series *must* read THIS full article on the Angel reveal, it’s crazy fascinating and well worth your time. I, for one, LOVE this idea and am super anxious to see how it all plays out. While it’s not entirely the same as having a TV show to watch, the Season 8 comic book series really has kept the Buffyverse going strong in a very entertaining way. All of our fave characters are featured (Tara, Willow’s love who was killed at the end of season 6 of the TV series even showed up in ghost form in a recent issue) and the story is an engaging one. I’m gonna have to go back and re-read a few issues to prepare for Angel’s reveal. I’m also happy that the Buffy series and the Angel series will be melded into one Buffyverse series. Buffy and Angel together again … as they should be. If you are not reading these comic books and you are a Buffy fan, you are missing out. Issues can be ordered from Things From Another World or can be found at your local bookshop … you need to be reading these comics. They are amazing!

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