Commence Head Explosion: Eric Stoltz as Marty McFly!

The new Back to the Future: 25^th Anniversary Trilogy DVD/Blu-Ray won't hit shelves for another two weeks. But THR has video of what we’ve all been waiting to see. For years.

As promised the new retrospective documentary on the home-video will feature footage of Eric Stoltz as Marty McFly. Having seen snap-shots of the actor next to Christopher Lloyd and Crispin Glover, it's the weirdest thing to not see Michael J. Fox there. Hey, some things were just meant to be. Can anyone argue that Fox wasn't born to play that role?

None the less, here's a video excerpt taken from said documentary and our first look at just how...different (read: off) Stoltz comes across.

WB Expecting Flash & Green Lantern 2 Drafts by Christmas

After years of seeing Marvel one-up them, Warner Brothers/DC Entertainment is slowly, but surely, getting the leg up – especially when you factor in Marvel starting to show they're far from bullet-proof in the eyes of fandom (i.e. Iron Man 2 sucking, the Edward Norton situation, the uncertainty of Captain America and Thor next summer, etc.)

Fans will be treated to Martin Campbell's Green Lantern (deep in post-production) next June and 2012 will be their big nut with Christopher Nolan's Batman 3 for July 20, 2012 and the Zack Snyder-directed, Nolan-produced Superman: The Man of Steel for that Christmas.

There have yet to be any concrete plans beyond 2012, although the studio is certainly getting the ball rolling with The Flash and a Green Lantern sequel being commissioned in the writing development stage of the game. "TOLDJA" reports the script for the Scarlet Speedster and a treatment for a potential Lantern follow-up are expected to be turned in by this Christmas at the latest. Both are concurrently being written by Lantern scribes Greg Berlanti, Michael Green and Marc Guggenheim.

Meanwhile, our pals at Movie Hole report that although it's in the early days of The Flash. The studio is, not surprisingly, eyeing actors to potentially wear the red-and-gold suit. Word is through their spies that the front-runner for Barry Allen is none other than Bradley Cooper, star of the studio's mad-money printing comedy The Hangover and its currently-filming Memorial Day 2011 sequel. If you'll remember, Cooper was a leading contender for Hal Jordan before Ryan Reynolds nabbed it.

Spider-Man Versus Rhys Ifans

Within the next couple of hours, we're going to hear nothing but rumors from both the honest-to-Christ people in the know and losers dressed up in costumes from Grandma’s basement on this one.

Sony has officially announced Rhys Ifans (best known as Spike, the idiot roommate of Hugh Grant in Notting Hill) has been cast as the villain in Marc Webb's Spider-Man reboot. Just what Spidey heavy will the actor (also set to appear in Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows) is the big question and the studio isn't planning on answering that anytime soon.

Personally I have no idea, and there are honestly any number of baddies he could be portraying – yes, including Venom, as earlier rumored to be circled around Phillip Seymour Hoffman. I was particularly amused to see in their press release how it was his performance in Roland Emmerich's Anonymous that helped secure him the role.

Martin Freeman Admits to Hobbit Candidacy

It's a moot point, right now, but interesting to note.

A couple of weeks back, The Sun reported an offer had been extended to Martin Freeman for the lead Bilbo Baggins role in The Hobbit, but was forced to turn it down. Few to none of us believed it on face value because the UK tabloids do have that "making shit up" reputation.

So it was a surprise to hear Entertainment Weekly not only confirm the news-item as truth, but state a second offer was sent to the British actor to accommodate both the epic Hobbit shoot (reported to be around 13-14 months long) and a second season of the BBC hit Sherlock next year.

No word on how it was received by Freeman and his representation. But it must not have worked out as the actor confirms to Empire that he did indeed have to reject the initial deal from Warner Brothers, MGM and the key Hobbit decision-makers like Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh. Although he remains upbeat something can be arranged, the fact that he's come out and publicly acknowledged any of this suggests it fell through and we won't see him follow in the foot-steps of Sir Ian Holm.

That is once the dust settles and The Hobbit actually gets made. That isn't exactly a sure-thing at the moment, anyway.

Mad Max: Fury Road Delayed Indefinitely

George Miller's two planned Mad Max sequels (Fury Road and Furiosa) won't be ramping for production anytime in the near-future. According to The Australian (via Movie Hole), filming has been delayed for a second time and the soonest cameras will roll won't be until early 2012.

This comes despite hundred of vehicles having been designed and built, a full cast locked down (headlined by Inception's Tom Hardy as Max and Charlize Theron) and second-unit photography already underway. No explanation for the hold-up was given.

I can only assume financing fell through – I believe they were being independently funded with a distribution lined up with Warner Brothers. If they're not expecting to get up and rolling again until two years from now, I can't honestly expect these Mad Max films to happen at all. That's one Helluva long wait, and it's only a matter of time before people like Hardy and Theron throw in the towel.

The Bourne Vacation

When it was announced a few days ago Tony Gilroy would step into the director's chair for The Bourne Legacy (he was first commissioned to write the script), it still didn't answer the big question on everyone's mind. Will Matt Damon return as Jason Bourne?

He's made it crystal-clear (on several occasions) he won’t return without director Paul Greengrass. But it appears the filmmakers and Universal has found a suitable route to go on the fourth installment: just don't include the Bourne character at all and have an entirely new character as the lead.

Gilroy confirms that's the plan to Hollywood Elsewhere:

"The easiest way to think of it is an expansion or a reveal. Jason Bourne will not be in this film, but he's very much alive. What happened in the first three films is the trigger for what happens. I'm building a legend and an environment and a wider conspiracy...the world we're making enhances and advances and invites Jason Bourne's return [down the road].

Everything you saw in the first three films actually happened, and everyone who got into will be rewarded for paying attention. We're going to show you the bigger picture, the bigger canvas. When you see what we're going and see what we're doing it'll be pretty obvious....but Jason Bourne's activities in the first three films is the immediate trigger."

Creatively speaking, I'm quite intrigued. Can't say audiences will be nearly as interested though. I can already imagine angry movie-goers wanting to know where Jason Bourne is when his name is clearly on the title of the film.

Still No Greenlight on The Hobbit

In the same fashion I ignore Dan Aykroyd chatting up Ghostbusters 3 and everything coming outta Mark Millar's big mouth, The Hobbit is a topic I pay little to no attention to. Despite what anyone claims until MGM settles their mullah-woes (or sells off their share of the rights, and of course, that'll never happen), nothing will become of the two-movie Lord of the Rings prequel.

That's why I just shook my head and opted not to cover the "Hobbit will get the greenlight in a day or so and filming will start in January" story originating at the start of this week. It smelled like bullshit especially when paying attention to what's been going on.

Thankfully, I wasn't the only one as Peter Jackson admitted to Empire that there's no greenlight in sight on The Hobbit:

"We've seen these reports before, reports saying there was going to be a greenlight in a couple of days — well, a week's gone by and there isn’t one. You can't believe everything you read. There is only one thing you want to believe and that’s when the studio announces a greenlight. As far as I'm aware that's not going to be today."

Jackson (who also claims he's not secured a deal to direct – not sure I believe him though) remains optimistic this'll all work out. To be fair, the long-talked about Spyglass deal is inching closer to a reality. If things goes smoothly (and enough creditors approve), the studio could return refreshed from a pre-packaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan as early as Christmas. That's assuming there aren't any more pot holes on the road towards their reemergence.

But that's going to take time either way and this constant insistence of making those December 2012 and 2013 release dates on The Hobbit flies directly in the face of common sense and logic. 2012 isn't doable under these circumstances, folks.

Harry Potter Casts Spell Against 3D!

Let's be honest here. Harry Potter doesn't need that extra 3D bump anyway to bust the $1 billion cherry. Hell, the franchise averages around $950 million per film. And with all the press it'll get about these being the final installments, that'll only help push it past ten digits.

Warner Brothers has officially nipped their 3D plans in bud for Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows – Part I due to hit cinemas next month. THR has the details.

Well, at least they're being honest. They just can't it ready in time for next month. Notice how not a word is uttered about Deathly Hallows – Part II. AKA come Hell or high-water, the final Harry Potter movie will have 3D slapped on it.

Natalie Portman Out; Sandra Bullock In for Gravity

It appears Natalie Portman passed on Gravity, according to "TOLDJA."

But before we're all growing tumors over the future of Alfonso Cuaron's ambitious (both in its intentions and budget) sci-fi drama, the production appears to have finally locked down its lead.

The trades report Sandra Bullock is now in negotiations to star. Robert Downey Jr. has a supporting role as a fellow astronaut. Can one assume Tony Stark won't have a pulse that long in the film?

Bullock (still riding high from her Blind Side Oscar win) was said to be waiting in the wings in case the Portman deal fell apart as first reported by Cinema Blend.

Sam Raimi Secured for Oz: The Great and Powerful

Months after his initial attachment (and subsequent downplaying to the press) is confirmation Oz: The Great and Powerful will be Sam Raimi's next film.

While verifying his directorial commitment, "TOLDJA" also has word Disney has commissioned David Lindsay-Abaire for rewrites on the Wizard of Oz prequel. The two collaborated previously when the Pulitzer Prize was brought onboard for Spider-Man 4 back in late 2008. I don't know if it was collaboration, more than it was a screenwriter being hired with the hopes of helping to tourniquet the bleeding disagreements between director Raimi and studio Sony over direction for the web-slinger.

As for Robert Downey Jr. as the title character, he's yet to sign on the dotted line. But the prospects of his headlining the fantasy/adventure appear good, and he's said to be "warming" as Raimi fine-tunes the material.

The director/actor pairing of Downey and Raimi is too interesting to pass up – even if it's something as questionable as a prequel (or "re-imagination" by the way this sounds) to one of the few genuinely perfect films there is.