It seems like Marvel can do no wrong with casting and news for their upcoming Avengers flick. First, fanboy superstar Joss Whedon is announced as the director, and now it seems fan favorite Jeremy Renner will be taking on the role of Clint Barton a.k.a. Hawkeye.

Speculation started a few months ago that the Hurt Locker actor would join the upcoming Joss Whedon-helmed Marvel pic, The Avengers, but not much evidence came through to make us believe it was going to happen. It seems that it was true all along, as Jeremy Renner is currently finalizing the deal with Marvel Studios to carry the bow-and-arrow. From THR:

Renner’s involvement was initially rumored last fall, although the actor, who was in the middle of the awards derby with his war thriller “The Hurt Locker,” was at the time more taken with Paul Thomas Anderson’s untitled drama and was being heavily courted by Universal for “Battleship.”

Renner never joined “Battleship,” and while he still has definite interest in Anderson’s film, that project is still cobbling financing and has seen its start pushed back several times.

Renner saw a chance to take on work in a role that, while key, is not starring in nature and will allow him to slide into Anderson’s film if it should come together.

The actor will be joining an already full cast of Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Sam Jackson, Don Cheadle, Chris Hemsworth, and Scarlett Johansson. If you are one to believe IMDb’s rumored casting, that group also includes Malin Akerman as The Wasp and Nathan Fillion as Ant Man.

Joss Whedon’s The Avengers is currently set for release on May 4, 2012.

While this is definitely a cool idea, it should be noted that this piece of news is most definitely a rumor as of now and should be treated as such.

With all eyes still on Jon Favreau’s Iron Man 2 as it continues to make money at the worldwide box office, most Marvel fans are already ready for more from the cinematic universe. We’ve got Thor on the way next and then Joe Johnston’s Captain America. But after that, everything leads to Joss Whedon’s The Avengers in 2012.

We’ve heard we’ll see just about every Marvel character in The Avengers the company currently has the film rights to including The Hulk, Thor, Cap, Iron Man, Ant Man, and Hawkeye. Now we’re getting word that the main villains of the film could be the alien race The Skrulls.

The highlight of this insider scoop (DISCLAIMER: which has not been confirmed by the studio itself) is that the shape-changing alien race the Skrulls are being used as the main antagonists for The Avengers. Not only that, but the Skrulls will ‘brainwash’ and use the Hulk in a similar fashion Loki did in the comics.

Don’t expect a full on alien invasion, though; that will have to wait for a sequel. The Skrulls’ role will be largely clandestine, similar to the way S.H.I.E.L.D. operates.

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Since its return in April, Glee has taken a different approach by having an overall theme throughout each song in an episode. One week was saying “hello”, while another week talked about “home.” That theme carries on with this week’s episode entitled “Dream On.”

Not only does the title insinuate that we’ll get some possibly great songs, but fan favorite Joss Whedon is stepping in to direct, and he’s bringing Dr. Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog‘s  Neil Patrick Harris in to play Mr. Schuester’s (Matthew Morrison) arch nemesis.

Whedon is apparently a closet Gleek, and couldn’t wait to take on this opportunity. This can only mean he’ll be stepping up his game and bringing us other Gleeks a truly memorable episode.

Check out his interview with Whedon after the jump in which he talks about his work on the episode, holding in his geekdom for the show while working on set, and working with NPH again. Catch Whedon’s “Dream On” episode of Glee tomorrow (Tuesday) at 9/8C on Fox.

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In case you’re not familiar with the story of actor Steven Baldwin. He’s had a long career, was pretty popular and did some decent movies, including The Usual Suspects. But now, according to reports, he’s broke and needs money.

So, what do celebrities do when they’re broke and need money? They turn to the Internets of course. Although, according to the site established by a Christian ministry for Baldwin he didn’t commission them to put it together, they are just doing it to help out the actor.

What does all this have to do with Joss Whedon and his ass-kicking chicks? Glad you asked. Watch the video after the jump and all will be revealed in a pretty hilarious way.

Enjoy and don’t say we never gave you anything good.

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Last week, we brought you news that Samuel L. Jackson and Twilight star Kellan Lutz were joining a new sci-fi action project titled Deathgames, from the studio Motion Picture Corporation of America. It seems like the fanboy-friendly names weren’t stopping there, as Lost’s Daniel Dae Kim is now joining the cast.

The film is an interesting take on old gladiator tales, with a bit of science fiction and thriller elements thrown in for flavor. Heat Vision gives the scoop:

The story centers on a young man (Lutz) who is kidnapped by a sadistic mastermind (Jackson) and forced into a modern gladiator arena, where men fight to the death for the entertainment of the online masses.

Kim is playing a fellow prisoner, an artist who happens to be a master of kendo (samurai-style sword fighting), a skill that comes in handy when he competes for his life and his wife’s.

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Well, we’ve had a good week, but things are finally calming down after last weekend’s PAX East convention. We’ve been bringing you coverage of the show since Monday with details on Nintendo’s newest hand-held device, our first impressions on the upcoming Puzzle Quest 2 game, some of our favorite games from the show, and some info on some great new technology coming up in the near future.

With that said, there’s only one more element of the con that we haven’t touched on, which happens to be everyone’s favorite part. I’m talking about Cosplayers, of course! And there was certainly no shortage of them at this year’s PAX East. Inspired by their favorite videogame badasses, the attendees at this con were definitely dressed to impress.

There were some goodies, such as this guy dressed as Nathan Fillion’s “Captain Hammer”, and some less inspired. Check them out after the jump, and be sure to keep it here for future con coverage coming up in 2010!

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As I was watching the new Eclipse trailer, out of sheer boredom and a hint of curiosity, I found myself wondering why in the world two super-powered boys would fight it out over a girl clad in American Apparel who’s a hell of a downer.

How is there an entire film series devoted to one girl’s delusional obsessions of a fairy tale ending with a born-again killer? Sparkely vampires want to kill you, strapping werewolf shape-shifters want to keep you safe.

Do these Edward fans have a death wish and a yearning for abandonment? Is Bella Swan so heavily marketed as mesmerizing that it erases the history of the brazen blonde that came before her?

A long time ago, otherwise known as the 90’s, there was a series called Buffy the Vampire Slayer where a feisty girl from the southland slayed Urban Outfitted demons. This legendary show paved the way for multi-tasking girls who cheer by day, slay by night, and every once in a while hook-up with a tormented blood sucker.

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In the first installment of TV Digest: Canceled, I talked about shows such as Moonlight, Jerico and Studio 60 that were gone too soon. This time I’ve got more shows that were canceled way before their time, and are a testament to both how amazing television can be but also how nearsighted executives can be when making the decision to cancel a show.

While these shows may no longer grace our television sets with shiny, fresh new episodes, they live on in our hearts and on our DVD shelves. These are what I consider to be the most beloved canceled TV shows of our time.

Arrested Development

Produced by brilliant filmmaker Ron Howard and starring a slew of incredible actors, Arrested Development ran for three seasons from 2003-2006. Shot in a documentary style fashion, like The Office, the show is about the wealthy but seriously crazy Bluth family after their father gets arrested and their company faces bankruptcy.

Oldest son Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman) is the glue that holds everyone together while siblings Gob (Will Arnett), Lindsay (Portia de Rossi) and her husband Tobias (David Cross), and Buster (Tony Hale) do their best to make a mess of things. I really can’t say enough about how good this show was.

Other than the incredible casting, this show has some of the best writing and comedic timing I’ve ever seen on television. I have watched all three seasons multiple times and I can watch an episode now and still find something brand new to laugh about, because of how well the writers reference old jokes and spin new ones in their wake.

But the show also can have these incredibly heartfelt moments, in between the insanity, that remind us how important it is to be a family despite how much money you have in the bank. And as the economy continues its slump, this crazy family in the midst of financial turmoil is looking far less eccentric and just plain average. As this show ages it becomes more and more relevant, and it becomes clearer and clearer just how great it is.

Despite all that, as well as numerous Emmy nominations and wins, the show was canceled. Luckily we’ll see more of the Bluth family soon, in a feature length movie that begins shooting this year.

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With Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse winding down to its eventual final episode, Fox again will show two episodes of the series back to back tonight. To help whet your appetite for the episodes, we’ve got five, count ‘em, five clips from both of them to show you today.

Because we’re friends, I’m not going to lie to you. These clips do contain a few potential spoilers. Granted, you might want to go into tonight’s episodes cold and not know anything about what might happen — and there’s nothing wrong with that. Ignorance is sometimes bliss.

However, if you do want a bit of info to build the anticipation and make you count the hours until showtime, go ahead and check out these clips.

Dollhouse airs tonight at 8/7C on Fox. At least for now.

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Though there is no word whether or not FOX will air the rest of Dollhouse’s second season, we do still have some things coming up to be excited for. This Friday marks the show’s return after being off the air for nearly two months, and it’s coming back with a bang. Two episodes will air this Friday on the network: “The Public Eye” and “The Left Hand.”

According to IMDb, in the first of the two-parter, Echo is sent to Washington, DC to stop Senator Daniel Perrin (guest Alexis Denisof) before he can expose the Dollhouse’s secrets. Adelle and Topher also travel to the Washington DC Dollhouse where they meet its genius programmer, Bennett Halverson (special guest Summer Glau), a woman with a mysterious past connection to Echo.

Following that episode, in “The Left Hand” Echo and Bennett have a shocking confrontation as Adelle goes head-to-head with the ruthless head of the Washington, D.C. Dollhouse. Meanwhile, Topher sees double when he involves Victor in his espionage plans, and Senator Perrin finds a surprising witness to testify against the Rossum Corporation.

This marks the first time that Denisof has worked with Joss Whedon since Angel went off the air in 2004, and the first time Glau has worked with him since 2005′s Serenity. Check out two exclusive clips from “The Left Hand” after the jump. This is the first we’ll see of both Glau and Denisof, so some spoilers ahead.

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Previously, we had taken you behind the scenes to see how these motion comics are made with some of the production team. This time around we’ve got another look behind the scenes with a different facet of the production. This one, hosted by David Goldberg of Edge Studio, give some insight into how the dialog and sound effects are designed and recorded. It also shows you a few of the voice actors hard at work giving life to their characters.

Also, as we agree to do, here’s the official Marvel description of the video and the motion comic:

Get a behind the scenes look at the chart-topping Astonishing X-Men Motion Comic with this all new video. Based on the acclaimed story by superstars Joss Whedon (Buffy The Vampire Slayer) and John Cassaday (Captain America), the X-Men are faced with a mysterious new villain and a possible cure for the mutant gene. Now Cyclops, Wolverine and all your favorite mutants must face the greatest threats of their lives and, before it’s all done, experience one of the most jaw-dropping moments in Marvel history.

Be sure and check out the video after the jump, especially if you’re a fan of these kinds of behind the scenes things like we are. The Astonishing X-Men MOCO is available now at iTunes and on Hulu.

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Before you get too excited let me say that this post is not about a new Buffy TV series or about the movie that others are making without Joss Whedon’s participation. No, this particular bit of news concerns yet another way in which the characters we all know and love from Buffy can live on in another form. In this case, it is via a series of motion comic webisodes based on Whedon’s highly successful series of Buffy Season Eight comics from Dark Horse.

Based on casting notices highlighted by Sci-Fi Wire, we know that the series will be based on the comics and feature the characters Twilight, the Big Bad of Season Eight, and evil British socialite Slayer Lady Genevieve Savidge, who wants to take Buffy’s place atop the Slayer food chain. The webisodes are also looking for actors to voice some other more familiar Buffy TV series characters as well including Faith, Kennedy and Robin Wood. Plus, they’re looking for a bunch of other new characters including a James Bond type.

Over at the Sci-Fi Wire site, they’ve got the full breakdown of exactly what the producers of this project are looking for. So, if you’re interested in getting involved and pursuing those voice acting aspirations, better get your headshots and tapes ready. Or, if you just want to watch, these webisodes go live sometime early next year.