Can’t wait until November for Conan O’Brien’s red-headed mug to appear on TBS? Fear not. O’Brien, his sidekick Andy Richter, and O’Brien’s writers will be part of a one-hour TBS special  to be taped during a Chicago comedy festival next month.

Early reports state that the working title of the show will be “Team Coco Presents Conan’s Writers Live” and will be taped on June 17. Tickets for the show go on sale this Friday.

So, what will “Team Coco” be all about? According to Richter, “the writing staff will create the personality of the new talk show, so the special will give the audience a taste of what the TBS show will be.”

“Team Coco Presents Conan’s Writers Live” is scheduled to air on TBS on June 27.

While Iron Man fans wait with bated breath for the long-awaited sequel to be released in theaters next week, Robert Downey, Jr. recently told MTV’s Splash Page about the future of several Marvel properties in the works (namely The Avengers and Thor) and the future role of Tony Stark outside the Iron Man movies.

Although he hasn’t seen a script for the upcoming Avengers movie, Downey said he wasn’t familiar with the work of Joss Whedon, the rumored director of the upcoming flick.

“I’m not very familiar with the guy, but I will let Marvel make whatever decisions they deem appropriate.”

While Downey didn’t know if his participation in The Avengers was a “done deal,” the actor stated that it didn’t really bother him, because “everything changes in success and everything changes in lack of success.”

Downey did reveal that he has already visited the set of Kenneth Branagh’s upcoming Thor, Marvel’s god of thunder, as he has taken on the mantle of being an ambassador of sorts.

“I take it fairly seriously. As a bit of an ambassador from Marvel, it’s important for me to just show up and let these guys know there’s a presence and an awareness, and a gratitude, and a bit of a commiseration because these are tough movies to pull off. I think between the casting and Branagh at the helm, I particularly feel that Thor is on a really solid page right now.”

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If heading out to the typical summer blockbusters (Iron Man 2, The A-Team, Toy Story 3 and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse) is already a given and you’re looking for other movies to occupy your time, or if you’re looking for film to take the kids to, Disney is hoping that a live action adaptation of a portion of Fantasia will be just what the doctor ordered.

The decision to adapt the iconic moment (and THE image of Mickey Mouse in the minds of fans around the world) into a full-length, live action film has its roots in Cage’s fondness for the film (he watches it every year) and a quick, on-set conversation with a former producer.

“When I came up with this idea, I was on Next. I was talking with (producer) Todd Garner and I said, ‘Man, I really want to play a magician. I want to play a sorcerer.’ He came in the next day and said, ‘Nic, I got it. Let’s do Sorcerer’s Apprentice.’ Then I went to my partner at the time, Norm Golightly and we got a script out of it.

We all thought, ‘You know who would really put this on a fast track, who would give it all the panache and all the big entertainment style, nobody better than Jerry Bruckheimer.’ So we went to Jerry and being the good friend and great producer that he is, he read it and he said, ‘Hey, we’re doing it.’ We just got off of National Treasure 2 and that was a great experience. We thought the only man that could really do it and make this unique, bring the comedy into it and the humor into it and make it really connect with big audiences like kids and adults was Jon Turteltaub. That’s how it happened.”

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Disney made the most of their WonderCon time this weekend, treating fans and curious spectators alike with two exclusive clips from the Prince of Persia‘s fabled world of 1,001 Nights.

I gotta be honest with you, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Newell and Bruckheimer have already spoken at length at WonderCon about their sensitivity to bringing this adaptation to the big screen, and on paper, it doesn’t seem like an odd bet. Bruckheimer certainly struck gold with the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, and given what Newell was able to do with the much beloved world of Harry Potter, I wasn’t as skeptical of his helming as I was at the odds of something getting completely lost in translation.

That being said, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time looks like it’s going to be a fun ride. The debut clip was an attack on a heavily fortified city and clearly shows off Gyllenhaal’s much talked about stuntwork (thanks to his acrobatic and Parkour training). There’s lots of sneaking around, last minute ingenuity and, of course, swordfighting (the hallmarks of any swashbuckler adventure film), but everything doesn’t always go according to plan. Yes, this is an action flick, but this is also a Newell film.

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During the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time press conference at WonderCon this weekend, it was evident that all major players delighted in each other’s company and thoroughly enjoyed bringing the swashbuckling action adventure to life (especially Jake Gyllenhaal, who appears to have developed a fondness for stuntwork). During the course of the interviews, Jerry Bruckheimer (Producer), Mike Newell (Director), Jordan Mechner (Writer / Creator, POP Franchise) and Jake Gyllenhaal (Prince Dastan) all talked about the challenges and joys of bringing the popular gaming franchise to the big screen, and whether or not Prince of Persia will become a franchise.

In preparation for his role as Prince Dastan, Gyllanhaal revealed that he stepped outside his “normal” process for getting into character. “I’ve never done research playing video games. I’ve never played video games as research before. Sometimes I’ve read books, or I’ve hung out with Marines, but you know, playing video games is great fun.” Gyllanhaal also related that he has been a fan of the game since it was first released in 1989, when sidescrolling play was a prominent feature.

“I played the original when I was a kid, and then I only started playing the game pretty intensely when we were doing research, particularly for stunts. I’d be in the middle of shooting and  I’d see a move and then I’d call the stunt guys and say ‘check out this move, can we try that?!’ I continue to play it to this day.”

Although the gaming franchise provided a jumping off point (literally) for the live-action flick, Newell was quick to point out that they weren’t interested in retelling and rehashing what has already been visualized in the game, or elsewhere in movie lore.

“What we wanted to do was based on a storyline, but we wanted to make it emotionally real,” Newell explains.  “We did a huge amount of work at the script stage and at the rehearsal stage to make it absolutely real. Even the fights have an emotional reality. The big pressure was to take it to an area where a game couldn’t go, while not destroying the game side of it. I believe that we went very carefully back to 6th Century Persia. We looked at the style, we looked at the behavior, how cities were made and so on, and I hope that we were faithful to it and didn’t come in and jump all over it without a certain sensitivity.”

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Since WonderCon is basically in Lucasfilms’s backyard, fans should expect some extra love from the company when the Con is on “home turf.” This year, fans who were able to pack into room 103 were treated a discussion led by Lucasfilm’s Pablo Hidalgo, and featured Jamie King (Aurra Sing), Daniel Logan (young Boba Fett) and supervising director, Dave Filioni.

Plenty of time was spent discussing the role of bounty hunters in the series (especially this season), and how it’s not so easy to label them as “villains.” In discussing the character of Aurra Sing, actress Jamie King said that for her character, “it’s always about the money and the power.”

Since we’re dealing with the present and future Boba Fett, of course the topic of Slave 1 came up. King was genuinely excited that it was “her ship” for the moment and that it also looked like “and upside down C-3PO head” from the back.

Logan was giddy with relief on finally being able to talk about his work on The Clone Wars, and publicly thanked everyone who voiced their support of his involvement in the show.

The highlight of the panel, however, was the debut of the trailer, which featured a young, scowling and conflicted Boba Fett; a smirking Aurra Sing; and my favorite bounty hunter Boskk. King also announced that Filoni wrote and directed the three-part finale.

The Star Wars: The Clone Wars season two finale will begin airing on April 23.

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With less than a week to go until the highly anticipated release of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls (prequel to publishing phenom Pride and Prejudice and Zombies), Quirk Books has released a blood-soaked trailer for fans to get a glimpse of how the Bennet sisters became formidable zombie killers.

The terrifying and hilarious prequel is a coming-of-age story details the origins of the zombie plague in early-nineteenth-century England and how the five Bennet sisters go from clumsy country lasses to savage slayers of the undead. Fans of the beloved Elizabeth Bennet will witness her clumsy first attempts at training with nunchucks and katana swords to mastering the placement of a ninja star in a zombie’s neck (tasty!).

Written by Steve Hockensmith, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls will be available at a bookstore near you on March 23.

Catch the gory (well, 19th-Century gory) two-minute trailer after the jump

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Variety is reporting that HBO’s popular undead gothic series True Blood will return for a twelve episode third season on June 13. The return of the series shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, as the series drew more than 12 million viewers per episode last season. The season two finale alone drew a record 5.1 million viewers, making it the cabler’s most watched contemporary show.

Fans should be prepared to expect some new faces around Bon Temps, as  Alfre Woodard and Kevin Alejandro (Southland) have both signed on for the season. Michelle Forbes, who played Maryann Forrester, Bon Temp’s seductive and deadly maenad, will not be returning for another season (which isn’t too surprising if you paid attention during season two’s finale).

Based on the hit series of novels from Charlaine Harris,  True Blood stars Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer and Sam Trammell.

Marvel fans who have been dreaming about future sequels to Iron Man, X-Men, The Incredible Hulk and Spider-Man might be entering into a creative nightmare. According to The Hollywood Reporter the children of comic book icon Jack Kirby have officially sued Marvel to terminate copyrights and gain profits from such lucrative comic creations as Iron Man, X-Men, The Incredible Hulk and Spider-Man.

The suit, officially filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, is a follow-up move from the 45 notices of termination the estate sent out to Marvel, and owner the Walt Disney Co., as well as Sony, Universal, Fox in September of 2009. Marvel responded in January, filing its own lawsuit, claiming the creations were “work-made-for-hire” and that Marvel was the real “author” of such works under the 1909 Copyright Act.

Kirby’s heirs are seeking declaratory relief, including copyright termination and profits, focusing on Kirby’s chief creative period, from 1958 to 1963, when Marvel existed in a tiny office with few employees and relied upon “freelancers to which they had little or no obligation.” As such, they are disputing Marvel’s claim that all creations were “work for hire.”

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Smallville fans have a lot to be happy about these days. The CW has officially renewed the show for its tenth season after strong performances on Friday nights and a creative resurgence due in no small part to the airing of “Absolute Justice,”  the two part Justice Society episode by Geoff Johns. Here’s one more reason to jump on your couch and get excited. The JSA will return to Smallville before the season 9 finale.

MTV’s Splash Page reports from last weekend’s Emerald City Comic-Con at Comics Alliance, Johns said that “[The JSA] do appear again at the end of season on Smallville.” Additionally, Johns stated, “The hope is for every DC character to appear outside the comic books. Correctly.”

This isn’t the only hint that the JSA would bbe back soon. In November, Michael Shanks (Hawkman) hinted to fans he might be returning in future episodes to mentor Clark Kent.

“Clark and his friends are figuring out what their destinies will be, so there is a ripe opportunity for the Justice Society who had been there done that to offer some tough love teaching,” said Shanks.“The way things land at the end of it all, there’s an open door for Carter Hall to be revisited and possibly be part of further mentoring Clark down the road.”

Additionally, Johns has also hinted that Darkseid and the dark gods of Apokolips may appear in season ten of Smallville.

Fans who have been sulking over the cancellation of yet another series featuring Summer Glau (Angel, Firefly, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Dollhouse) won’t be crying in their beer for much longer. The Hollywood Reporter has exclusively announced that Summer Glau will be joining NBC’s superhero drama The Cape in a leading role.

The Cape centers around a former cop (David Lyons) who is set up as a criminal and becomes a masked hero to clear his name.

Glau will play Orwell, an investigative blogger who isn’t afraid to aggressively go after corrupt cops and bad guys in costumes. So, yes, expect her to be kicking some serious ass on the show.

In the latest The First Avenger: Captain America news, HeatVision is reporting that Hugo Weaving (Matrix, Lord of the Rings) is Marvel Studio’s first choice to star as the film’s villain, Red Skull. In the comic books, Red Skull is Captain America’s archenemy, engaging in espionage and sabotage as Adolf Hitler’s right-hand man.

If Weaving is tapped, it would reunite the star with director Joe Johnston, whom he worked with in this year’s The Wolfman. In other casting news, the list of Captain America contenders appears to have thinned.

We recently reported that five actors were in the running. However, HeatVision and Deadline New York have both reported that John Krasinski is no longer in the race for the coveted role. According to the sites, Marvel is now considering Wilson Bethel (Generation Kill), Mike Vogel (Cloverfield), Chris Evans (Fantastic Four) and Garrett Hudlund (Tron Legacy), who have all either read, tested, or received test offers.

The First Avenger: Captain America is slated for a July 11, 2011 release.