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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When I first heard Hawaii Five-O was getting the remake treatment I wasn’t that interested. I only vaguely remembered the original series and it was one step closer to rebooting Magnum P.I. (how sacrilegious would will that be?) in my opinion. However, I’ve begun to shift in the other direction regarding this series as more casting news comes out.

The most recent addition is James Marsters. Probably best known as Spike from Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Marsters also played Brianic on Smallville and Barnabas on Caprica.  As exciting as it may be to have him on the new Hawaii Five-O it doesn’t sound like he’ll have a continuing role, at least not yet. Marsters will be in the pilot and appear, “as the nemesis of lead character Jack McGarrett.”

At this point it seems producers Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman (Star Trek, Transformers, Fringe) are trying to capture the geek community for the new show.  Marsters joins a cast that encapsulates geek programming; Grace Park (Battlestar Galactica), Daniel Dae Kim (Lost), Jean Smart (24), and Alex O’Loughlin (Moonlight) are already on deck.  With Scott Caan on board as well suddenly Hawaii Five-O is a show I can start to get behind.

Feeling a little bummed that you couldn’t make it to SXSW this year?  Feeling even worse because the people that did get to go got a sneak peak at Robert Rodriguez’s upcoming Predators film?  Well, you can start feeling a  little better because The Flickcast has you covered!

Fox was nice enough to post the premiere footage online for everyone to see and  it looks pretty darn awesome. Directed by Nimród Antal, Predators follows the same kind of plot as the first film but with a fresh take on the subject matter:

“Official Plot Synopsis: Royce, a mercenary who reluctantly leads a group of elite warriors who come to realize they’ve been brought together on an alien planet… as prey. With the exception of a disgraced physician, they are all cold-blooded killers mercenaries, Yakuza, convicts, death squad members human “predators” that are now being systemically hunted and eliminated by a new breed of alien Predators.”

The synopsis sounds bad ass enough, but when you watch the clip you’ll certainly get that original Predator vibe (which is a good thing in this case). Predator 2 and subsequent films involving these intergalactic hunters really haven’t cut it (no pun intended) in my opinion.  As such, it’s great to see Predators get back to the roots of this interesting character/creature.

Predators are set to invade movie theaters July 7, 2010. Click through to check out the sneak peak.

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Many people were saddened when the comedy/sci-fi series Reaper was taken off the air. Mostly because it was a funny and ambitious show, but also because that meant we wouldn’t get any more of Tyler Labine reprising his role as “Sock.” It looks like that hole will finally be filled, as he’s playing a very similar character in the new Fox sitcom Sons of Tucson.

The show looks to bring in elements of some of America’s favorite family situation comedies. From a Fox press release:

In the tradition of “Malcolm in the Middle” and “The Bernie Mac Show,” SONS OF TUCSON is a family comedy about three brothers who hire a charming, wayward schemer to stand in as their father when their real one goes to prison. What begins as a simple business relationship evolves into a family like no other.

Alongside Labine, the show stars Quarantine’s Benjamin Stockham, Doubt’s Frank Dolce, and newcomer Matthew Levy. Check out an exclusive 7-minute preview of the pilot after the jump, and be sure to catch Sons of Tucson this Sunday at 9:30PM ET on Fox.

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It may not have taken home a lot of Oscar gold, but many might argue that the jangly coins in Avatar’s pocket might mean a lot more to Fox and James Cameron.  But despite the massive success they’ve enjoyed in theaters, Cameron and Fox want a little more of your hard earned cash.

They noticed that the demand in digital 3D immediately went up when the IMAX run was up. They’re concerned that giving up their screens to Alice in Wonderland may have cost them, in Cameron’s words,  “a couple hundred million dollars.” They know people will eat up more Avatar. So they’re planning a summer re-release.

According to The Hollywood Reporter,  discussions are underway to bring the film back this summer with additional footage. Cameron feels that he was forced to rush the film into theaters to make its December 18 date, and had to leave too many scenes on the cutting room floor.

There’s actually some debate as to how much extra footage there is — Cameron claims there’s about 10 to 12 minutes of scenes that he could toss right back into the film, whereas IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond claims there’s 40 extra minutes. However, an IMAX analog theater can’t handle a film over 170 minutes, so even if Cameron has 40 minutes of unused footage, he can only add 10 or 12 to come in under the IMAX limitations.

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Even though Mark and Jay Duplas’ Cyrus was already a hit with audiences at Sundance this year, Fox Searchlight is taking the film to SXSW as well to help build awareness and excitement for the film. Seeing as we’re big fans of the entire creative team involved with Cyrus, we’re happy to bring you info about it right here.

Basically, the film follows the life of John (John C. Reilly) a depressed, recently divorced guy who is pretty much a complete loser, desperate for attention. At a party, he manages to hook up with the hot Molly (Marisa Tomei) who, it turns out, has an adult son: Cyrus (Jonah Hill).

Cyrus and his mom have a somewhat interesting and open relationship and he will go to pretty much any lengths to protect her from anyone, especially John. Before long, the two are locked in a battle of wits for the woman they both love and only one man can be left standing when it’s over.

Everyone involved with this film seems to be at the top of their game, even Hill who seems to finally be coming into his own opposite two fantastic pros like Reilly and Tomei. Plus, it just looks really funny — which, sadly, you can’t always say about some “comedies” these days.

Be sure and check out the trailer after the jump. Fox Searchlight releases Cyrus on July 9th.

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As we previously reported, NBC has given new season order for 30 Rock, The Office and Community while, according to a recent interview with NBC network president Angela Bromstad, a fifth season of the beleaguered Heroes is still undetermined. In addition, the CW has ordered a 10th season for Smallville.

Now, Fox has officially renewed the J.J. Abrams sci-fi procedural Fringe for a third season. The show had perfoemed reasonably well but was not a ratings powerhouse. Still, it’s hard to believe it wouldn’t get renewed, especially given its J.J. Abrams connection and the fact that Lost is ending this season.

Two big reasons for Fox to keep it around for another year. Plus, any show with the great John Noble, the hot Anna Torv and the cool Leonard Nimoy should be on the air as long as it wants to be.

The fate of Jack Bauer and the CTU team of 24 is still up in the air due to falling ratings and the show’s considerable expense to produce. Fox president Kevin Reilly recently told The Live Feed:

“It’s a very tough call. It’s a huge part of our legacy, and there’s not a lot of shows that could do a 9 share against the Olympics. Tremendous sales asset for us still; a show we’re so very proud of creatively. So it’s not an easy call.”

Well, if our own Shannon Hood has anything to say about it, that call should be an easy one.

There’s a lot of interesting stuff on the radar this week. An Avatar alumni could face off against Conan, Modern Warfare developers bring a fight to Activision, and director Guy Ritchie may be breathing new life into the heroes of Camelot.

Fox finds its shadow for $1 million and David Slade may be the man

Fans of the comic book series The Shadow rejoice as it seems the reboot continues to move forward.  While it was thought Sony and director Sam Raimi (Spider-Man, Army of Darkness) would bring a new version of the character to the big screen things have changed somewhat.

After Raimi began shopping the property around Fox decided to purchase the rights. Sadly, it sounds like Raimi may no longer direct, possibly replaced by David Slade.  Slade directed the vampire film Thirty Days of Night which, unfortunately, felt just that long in the theater. Here’s hoping he can put a little more adrenaline into The Shadow.

How I Met your…Smurf?

Neil Patrick Harris will be venturing to the land of blue, three apples tall creatures in Smurfs: The Movie.  The How I Met Your Mother star won’t be playing a Smurf though.  As this film will be a mix of live action and animation, Harris will be playing the lead live action character.  Too bad, I would have liked to know just which Smurf he’d play.  ”Awesome” Smurf maybe?  Let us know your picks in the comments.

‘Wolverine 2′ starts shooting next January

X-Men Origins: Wolverine was pretty good, but it was missing one thing: ninjas!  Hopefully that will be rectified in the sequel which is set to begin shooting next January.  Delving into Wolvie’s Japanese mythos the script follows stories penned by two pretty big names:

“Based on a story cycle by Frank Miller and Chris Claremont, Wolverine’s adventures in martial arts will be a love story featuring a Japanese actress, I am told. ‘It’s a beautiful story,’ says a source, ‘and will be very different than the first film.’”

Okay, I’m not really sold on the “love story” angle but considering the number of women that went to see Wolverine (pretty much for mutant hunk, Hugh Jackman) at least this will be one you can take your girlfriends to.

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Are you a fan of the hit Fox series Glee? Do you live near Phoenix, Los Angeles, New York, or Chicago? If so, you just may be in for a rare opportunity to catch some of your favorite stars and songs from the show live, as Fox and creator Ryan Murphy present a special live Glee tour for those major cities in the U.S.

From the Fox press release:

Beginning Wednesday, May 18 at the Dodge Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona, “Glee” stars Lea Michele (Rachel), Cory Monteith (Finn), Amber Riley (Mercedes), Chris Colfer (Kurt), Kevin McHale (Artie), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina), Mark Salling (Puck), Dianna Agron (Quinn), Naya Rivera (Santana), Heather Morris (Brittany), Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike) and Dijon Talton (Matt) will perform in a singing and dancing celebration of the Golden Globe Award winning show.

The four-city exclusive engagement, “Glee Live! In Concert!,” is a unique concert experience conceived by Murphy that will include live performances of some of the show’s most memorable musical numbers including its anthem “Don’t Stop Believin,” fan favorites “Somebody To Love” and “Jump” and hits “Don’t Rain on My Parade” and “Sweet Caroline.”

Tickets will be available on March 12th for the Phoenix show, and March 13th for the shows in LA, New York, and Chicago. A special presale to American Express cardmembers will be available this Friday, at ticketmaster or gleetour2010.com. Check out the official concert dates after the jump.

Glee returns with it’s second season on Tuesday, April 13th at 9/8C on Fox and will feature loads of new guest stars such as Neil Patrick Harris, Olivia Newton-John, and more.

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With Glee getting nominated for tons of awards since it’s premiere last spring, they’ve delivered time and time again with performances and guest spots. Many feel that the Kristen Chenoweth guest appearance last year was one of the best episodes of the season, and it may get even better next season.

E! Online is reporting that Neil Patrick Harris has been confirmed for a guest stint on the upcoming season, and with his ever growing popularity of Joss Whedon’s Dr. Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog, you can expect his appearance on the Fox series to be a memorable one. From E!

Hold on to your track pants, Sue Sylvester! ‘Cause one solid Glee insider tells me that Neil is playing a character who is “really funny and really mean.” I’m told he will be “much more of the Dr. Horrible variety than Doogie Howser, M.D.”

So not only will we get the How I Met Your Mother star to sing and dance on the show, but he’s going to be evil like Dr. Horrible? Not sure how this could get any better. The Glee writers are currently penning the episode, so expect more details to hit soon.

Glee returns to Fox on April 13th.