UPDATE: Will Scott Summers Kick-Ass in X-Men: First Class? Nope.

UPDATE: Good thing I wasn't a betting man on this one, I guess. Entertainment Weekly says Aaron Johnson won't be appearing despite all those rumblings suggesting otherwise. Maybe it will be Josh Hutcherson after all as CHUD had suggested?

Yet another appears to have jumped on the "Aaron Johnson for X-Men: First Class" bandwagon.

That's not to say or imply it's an unfounded cause. Plenty of evidence has surfaced since the hiring of Matthew Vaughn to suggest his Kick-Ass star would participate in some capacity – most likely as the teenaged Scott Summers/Cyclops.

Long story short, this all originated from a snap-shot taken of Vaughn, Johnson and James McAvoy (weeks prior to the Wanted star being officially hired as Professor Xavier) bullshitting together in London. Filmonic were the first ones to use "connect the dots" logic figuring it out.

A tipster has informed AICN that Johnson will be sporting the visors and is "one percent locked at this point."

Nothing has been made official as of this publication and look at what happened to Benjamin Walker. But if I was betting man, I'd say Johnson is definitely onboard.

About A Beast

Even despite the problems of hiring, firing then trying to rehire Benjamin Walker, 20^th Century Fox has resolved their issues over casting Hank McCoy for X-Men: First Class.

Word coming "TOLDJA" is Nicholas Hoult (who first appeared in About a Boy, hence my ill-fated attempt at a clever title) has snagged the role. He joins a growing cast that includes James McAvoy (Professor X), Michael Fassbender (Magneto), Alice Eve (Emma Frost) and possibly Aaron Johnson (Cyclops).

After he completes work on this, he’s expected to appear in George Miller's two Mad Max reboots/sequels/whatever the Hell they are at the moment movies.

Production is expected to start next month overseas with the prequel locked in for a June 3, 2011 release. So more casting announcements should be hitting the presses between now and when cameras roll.

Meanwhile, it looks like Latino Review's scoop last week (which we reported here) has been confirmed by the trades. Caleb Landry Jones has been cast as Banshee. As per usual, the trade publication (who you have to pay to read, kids) doesn't give them their due credit for breaking the news-item. Fuckers.

The AIM Chronicles - 007

One of the features that we opted to carry over since our TMT return are the AIM Chronicles. Basically we just bullshit via AOL Instant Messenger (or "AIM" as you mortals call it) over a particular topic. This time, it's me and my Movie Moan partner-in-crime Phil talking about…what else… the current predicament over the James Bond franchise.

It should be noted this was done yesterday afternoon. Well before the subsequent denial of the next installment impending death. Something I don't believe for a fucking second. Of course, people within MGM are going to deny this news. Anyway, hope you enjoy...

Jamie: Somewhere right now those "CraigIsNotBond" dipshits are doing victory dances – all five of them.

Phil: I remain completely optimistic this will be made. The film industry can be such a fickle thing sometimes. I know it’s going to take a miracle to bail MGM out but I cannot see how Bond can just be locked away in a vault forever because of that.

Jamie: Eventually? Yes we'll see another Bond movie. But this is probably the end of the Craig reign. MGM is showing no signs of giving 007 up. Even though they don't have the dough to make the next one, they don't care. They're willing to let the franchise (and fans) rot.

Phil: How long are you giving this until you completely rule Craig doing another one or are you already there?

Jamie: I walked out of Casino Royale saying, "WOW. Craig is going to end up rivaling Roger Moore for number of installments." When they put it on "indefinite hiatus," I thought Craig was good for one more - if that. With this development though? It's over. This is going to drag out for years, his contract will lapse and he'll be smart and say "Thanks. It was a blast and I got everything good outta it without the downside. I'll head towards the door..." I don’t care what bullshit they’re publicly stating to the contrary and I hate that this is happening.

Phil: What pisses me off is that I want to see a Bond film directed by Sam Mendes and written by Peter Morgan. I want to see two top-quality artists giving their talents to a series which, after nearly 50 years, still has so much potential and so much to give audiences. It would kill me not to get to see that.

Jamie: Honestly. I hate seeing this go down more so than The Hobbit.

Phil: It isn't fair for Craig to go out on Quantum of Solace in my opinion. I know it sort of closed the story but to me it was building to a crescendo. We need the grand finale of the "Quantum trilogy" where Craig really tears these fuckers down. It's not going to feel right to have some new guy doing that instead (if they even carry that storyline through).

Jamie: Craig will probably wind up ending his tenure on the best note possible when you think about it. The two highest grossing ones, well-received, popular, people loved his characterization of Bond and that's it.

Phil: I suppose part of my optimism comes from the fact that Bond has been down and out before, quite a few times actually. The series didn't die when they were hit with lawsuits. The series didn't die when Connery quit. The series didn't die when other types of action movies like Die Hard and Lethal Weapon seemed more popular. The series didn't die when other spy franchises like Bourne and Mission: Impossible came along. Bond is still at the top of the heap and people still get excited about it. It's just the hard fucking thing is casting the part. Finding Craig was such a long drawn out thing that I stopped caring (starting to remind me of Spider-Man) and I don't want to have to sit through that again.

Jamie: Yeah it was over a year of casting I think.

Phil: Well that's what I'm going to give it then, starting from now. I'm giving them a year to pull this together and re-start movement on Bond 23. If that happens, I believe we can keep going and pretend nothing ever happened. Craig will do at least one more, Sam Mendes will direct. And the film will be called "The Lion Sleeps Tonight!"

Jamie: At least we have the title song. Whatever ends up happening, one thing is guaranteed. James Bond will return.

Chris Columbus Directing Superman?

Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's...Chris Columbus?!?

Warner Brothers and Legendary Pictures has been keeping developing on Superman: The Man of Steel down to a faint pulse. All we really know is Christopher Nolan and his wife Emma Thomas will produce and David Goyer is writing for a Christmas 2012 release.

If Superman Homepage is to be believed, Columbus (whose career went from being Spielberg's Golden Boy screenwriter in the 80s to kick-starting the Harry Potter franchise a decade ago) is WB's helmer of choice. Well he certainly fits the "type" of filmmaker they’d be going after – more inclined to take orders from the studio than say a Michael Bay or Bryan Singer type.

Assuming this is legit; would he do the material truth, justice and the American way? He's an admitted comic-book fan – his name was attached to Daredevil and Fantastic Four during the 90s.

Not to mention, it'd truthfully be an upgrade from his post-Potter filmography – the "Eh..." received film-version of Rent, the abysmal I Love You, Beth Cooper and his most recent ill-fated attempt at launching another fantasy series-turned-effects heavy franchise Percy Jackson.

The sooner they finalize a director (Remember that court ruling mandated they have to be rolling cameras next year), the closer we can get to finding out the identity of our new Last Son of Krypton.

Third Daniel Craig James Bond Film Cancelled - Is His Reign Over?

Walking out of Casino Royale four years ago, my initial reaction (beyond how great the film itself was) was how long Daniel Craig would occupy the role. "Craig’ll end up doing four or five movies!" I remember telling my friends. The franchise found itself creatively rejuvenated in a way I can't recall in awhile. Not since the original Connery reign, could I think of an actor who fans wanted to be themselves.

So when the news hit a few months back of the next installment being placed on "indefinite hiatus," many of us fans worried. Was this turning into a repeat of the early 90s for 007? We remember the on-going legal troubles all but killed the Timothy Dalton reign. Sadly it appears MGM’s financial woes may very well have claimed Craig's tenure.

AICN says all work on the third film (written by Peter Morgan and to be directed by Sam Mendes) has been cancelled. But before anyone can blow this off as Internet bullshit, Eon Productions released this statement to the UKs Daily Mirror:

"We do not know when development will resume and cannot comment further at this stage."

Alas, the longer this turmoil drags out, the less likely it appears Craig will return to the role. Who knows how long his contract says he has to wait till it expires.

Christian Bale Headlining The Last Photograph

The Last Photograph was announced last year with Sergey Bodrov (Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan) attached to direct. Cut to today and it appears the Russian helmer is off. But that's not to suggest the project itself is DOA.

Our pals at Pajiba (as per their mole The Hollywood Cog) say Christian Bale is set to headline the film, originating from Zach Snyder and being written by his 300 screenwriter Kurt Johnstad.

We've had some much-needed cooling off time from Bale since his duo of high-profile under-performers Terminator: Salvation and Public Enemies last year. I think it's been long enough now for us to see the Welsh actor again.

Although it's listed in the "Rumor" bin, they're also hearing Niels Arden Oplev (director of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) could wind up directing.

When Photograph gets going is another question. Bale has a third trip to Gotham City and second collaboration with Terrence Malick on this "To do" list.

Sir Ian McKellen's Hobbit Participation In Doubt

It seems as though even Sir Ian McKellen too is growing tired of the issues over The Hobbit. When that man (having been the lone cheerleader for awhile now) sees the writing on the wall, you know this project is in deep do-do.

While speaking to the New Zealand talk-show Good Morning (via Blending Cool with video below), the actor made it crystal clear he won’t be waiting around forever till cameras roll:

"Well, I’m not under contract and my time is running out, and I’m enjoying working in the theatre. And frankly, I would like to race after doing Waiting For Godot, get on with doing another play, but we’ll have to see. I don’t give the producers the impression that I’m sitting waiting."

He also revealed of an "imminent" announcement. Whether it’s ya or nay remains to be seen. Until MGM sells its share of the property (as earlier speculated) or gets bought out by a bigger company (not looking likely given their vast amount of debt), there's nothing to suggest it’ll a positive.

And we’ll all be here to twiddle our thumbs waiting for that inevitable Hobbit movie.

Will MGM Bite the Bullet & Sell Its Half of The Hobbit to WB?

Reports coming out of THR state MGM might end up selling their half of The Hobbit rights to co-owner Warner Brothers in an effort to get some cash flowing their way. Such a decision (far from confirmed and speculation at the moment) would bring an end to this mess and get J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings precursor into your multiplex within the next couple of years.

Granted Christmas 2012 is out of the window, at this juncture and this doesn't resolve who will direct. Despite those reports of Peter Jackson agreeing to direct, that has yet to be confirmed with Harry Knowles and David Poland separately saying no deal is in place for him to return to the director's chair – yet.

There's also the chance MGM executives opt to continue holding out. Hey, they let this whole thing drag out this far, right? It’s basically the reason why we won’t see "Directed by Guillermo del Toro" in the credits.

I haven't been optimistic about The Hobbit for the longest time. This latest update isn't suddenly changing my tune. When we see leaked photos from the set on Day 1 of principal photography, then yes.

Has Benjamin Walker Been Expelled from X-Men: First Class?

Originating from the UKs Daily Mail, rumor has it Benjamin Walker has been handed the pink-slip from X-Men: First Class. The actor was set to play the young Hank McCoy in 20^th Century Fox's fast-tracked, Matthew Vaughn-helmed prequel.

Assuming this is legit, what the Hell happened? Long story short, his age is viewed as a hindrance – especially standing next to co-stars James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender as Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr/Magneto. They’re playing McCoy's teachers, but putting them next to each other they look like they should be sharing a beer together instead. So it was off with Mr. Walker despite the studio's love for the actor.

That is until three unnamed thespians recently screen-test for the role. None of them were said to be particularly good. So now the tide's quickly turned and Fox might actually go back to Walker with a new deal.

First Class has a June 3, 2011 release locked with an August start-date looming. Everything has to be pushed to the 11 in order to make that date. Thus even the most rational of people might lose their composure to get this done on time. This sounds crazy enough to be true actually.

Whether Walker accepts this new offer (He's already being paid for his original deal) remains to be seen.

Kevin Williamson Is Off Scream 4? Ehren Kruger Stepping In?

The last thing Scream fans want to hear is this (already questionable) fourth installment turning into another Cursed.

By that, I'm referring to the 2005 fright-flick reuniting director Wes Craven and screenwriter Kevin Williamson. It was supposed to do to the werewolf genre what the Scream trilogy did for slashers. With its highly-publicized production woes (restructuring the original plot, throwing out tons of footage with actors whose characters were ultimately written out of the final product, delaying its release over a year, etc.), that didn't happen needless to say.

But it's looking more and more likely the case with each passing news-item of another actor leaving and being replaced by another. And all these talks of on-set rewrites (a normal routine for your average production, true) are only adding fuel to that fire.

Zap2It says those rewrites aren't even being handled by series-creator Kevin Williamson who penned the first two installments and this newest effort. That responsibly is instead planted firmly on the shoulders of Ehren Kruger – no stranger to the franchise having written 2000s Scream 3 (working off a treatment by Williamson).

Furthermore in what confirms the suspicions of our very own Peter Georgiou, there appears to be a conflict over who will be the resident pop-culture centric film geek. Heroes star Hayden Panetierre was set to play that character in the form of Kirby, the sidekick/best friend to lead character Jill (played by Emma Roberts). However Erik Knudsen was among the new actors brought into the production with his character described as the new Randy.

Making matters worse is Panetierre is still a part of the production and her character hasn't been written out. Instead it sounds like she's going from the second-banana comic-relief (i.e. scene-stealer) to just another teenager for Ghostface to gut. She's reportedly pissed over the rewrites.

So I wouldn't be surprised if she vacates her role not unlike Laura Graham just did. Honestly, who could blame her if she does?