This week on The Flickcast Matt and Chris return from a week off with way more energy and sense of purpose. Or, they do their best and just try to get through the show by bringing you even more interesting and exciting topics for discussion.

Some of these topics include Batman: The Dark Knight Rises casting rumors, Captain America photos, TV programs getting canceled, potential Superman casting, The Walking Dead, Matt’s love for all things Nic Cage and much more. The team also made some picks this week including Matt’s pick of the movie Hellboy and Chris’ pick of season one of the original The Bionic Woman starring Lindsay Wagner.

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques, offers of sponsorship or whatever, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter, at Facebook and MySpace or via email.

If you are one of the dozens of people who sat through the entirety of Nic Cage’s Ghostrider back in 2007, here’s a statement you probably never made afterwards. “I loved that film, I really wish we got more Nic Cage.” If you were crazy enough to actually think that, then this bit of news is for you.

It’s been announced that Cage wants a bit more meat this time around, and will be portraying a bit more than just a stunt man with a curse. Co-director Brian Taylor recently sat down with Collider for the full scoop.

Zarathos is the spirit of vengeance that inhabits john blaze when he becomes ghost rider.  unlike the 1st movie, where the rider was stiffly acted out by a various stunt guys, nic will be playing all the ghost rider stuff himself – and we are creating a whole physical language for the demon that is different from the human blaze.

Taylor comes from the team of Neveldine/Taylor, who most people know as the madmen who brought us the Crank films. If you’re saying “there’s no way these guys can make a campy comic book film NOT awesome”, just remember that they wrote the first script for Jonah Hex.

This sequel puts Cage’s Blaze in Eastern Europe, fighting to hide his curse, when he is recruited by a sect to take down the devil. Let’s see just how Cage does when the crew actually sets his skull on fire.

Even though, for whatever reasons, the Ghost Rider movie wasn’t, shall we say, very good, that hasn’t stopped people from moving forward with plans for another one. Nor has it stopped Marvel from continuing to feature the character in comic book form which, as you will see from this preview for the upcoming comic book Shadowland: Ghost Rider #1, is a pretty cool way to do it.

Written by Rob Williams with art by Clayton Crain the “red-hot comic blockbuster of the summer, Shadowland, continues.” In the book, the spirit of Vengeance makes his debut after being summoned by the Kingpin. In an attempt to change the tides of war, Ghost Rider must travel to Japan and take on the unrelenting might of the secret ninja organization known as The Hand.

So let’s get this straight: Ghost Rider goes to Japan to take on Ninjas? Sounds pretty awesome to me.

Can’t wait until this book goes on sale which, by the way, is on September 15th. In the meantime, check out some preview pages for it after the jump.

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Just two weeks  before filming was to begin,  Nicholas Cage has pulled out of Joel Schumacher’s Trespass. According to reports, Cage is on vacation and will stay in the Bahamas.

Rather than waiting for the star, the studio plans to keep the film on schedule and will move forward without Cage. The studio is currently scrambling for a replacement. The rumored forerunner for the role is Liev Schreiber.

In the film, Cage was set to play opposite Nicole Kidman as a husband who is kidnapped with his wife by a group of thugs looking for ransom. The problems began when Cage decided that he rather play one of the kidnappers instead of the lead male role.

One thing is for sure, Cage isn’t known for pulling out of projects or turning down roles. Even with a recent streak of wins such as Knowing and Kick-Ass, Cage has taken on some horrible roles in films like The Wicker Man, Next, Ghost Rider, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Astro Boy, Bangkok Dangerous and the upcoming Season of the Witch.

How bad could a role be that the man who was the “star” of The Wicker Man remake decided to drop out? Could it be that Schumacher is past his prime and is making a film that even Cage knows is horrible? Or is it another bad move by Cage who may end up regretting it? Only time will tell.

According to the Little Big Planet website,  the worlds of Marvel and Little Big Planet will be colliding on July 7th. Starting on that day and continuing each week, there will be four costume packs for a total of 20 of Marvel’s greatest heroes and most despised villains.

It hasn’t been revealed which characters will be getting paired up for the packs as of yet. It is possible that they may be grouped by team such as an Avengers or X-Men pack or it may be a complete free for all where players can get Captain America, The Punisher and the Human Torch all in one oddball purchase.

In addition, there will be a Marvel Level Kit which contains four missions pitting the Sackboys and Sackgirls against Magneto. Beating these four stages will unlock Marvel music, objects stickers and a “Rooftop” background for your own level creations.

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In what must surely come as a relief to many of you (especially our own Matt Raub) we will be seeing a sequel to 2007′s Ghost Rider. But wait, there’s more. Nicholas Cage will reprise his role in the film and the directors of Crank and Crank 2, Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, are in early negotiations to direct the new film.

The sequel, known currently as Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance and based on the Marvel Comics character, will continue the story of stunt motorcyclist Johnny Blaze who, in order to save the life of a loved one, makes a deal with the devil. Because of this he becomes half-man, half-demon (complete with flaming skull) and rides his motorcycle delivering justice the old fashioned way.

Plot details for the sequel are currently not known but what we do know is none of the original characters from the first film are probably going to be coming back for the sequel, except Cage’s of course. However, as negotiations go forward, that may change. We also know David S. Goyer is working on a script and that Neveldine and Taylor may also take a crack at a rewrite.

As much as I’m not personally very excited for this movie I do think Neveldine and Taylor are talented guys. Maybe they can do for Nicholas Cage and Ghost Rider what they did for Jason Statham and Crank? Let’s hope so because if the sequel is anything like the first movie, it will be a sad day indeed.

Marvel has a long list of comic-to-film projects that didn’t pan out so well. Ghost Rider is one of them. That may be the most diplomatic way I’ve ever put that. Ordinarily anything having to do with Ghost Rider has elicited a rage in me that leaves me angry. . . Hulk angry. So why am I so calm this time?

Well, as we’ve already covered here at The Flickcast, Ghost Rider is getting a sequel which could have been as craptastic as the first film. However, the script for the new movie is from one of my favorite writers David Goyer (Batman Begins, FlashForward).  Recently, MTV caught up with Goyer and asked him about the Ghost Rider sequel:

“It’s not exactly a reboot,” said Goyer, “I hate to say it’s more realistic, because he’s got a flaming skull for a head, but it’s a bit more stripped down and darker. It’s definitely changing tone. What ‘Casino Royale’ was to the Bond movies, hopefully this will be to ‘Ghost Rider.’”

I’m not sure Casino Royale is the best comparison to make, but I understand what Goyer is trying to say. Dropping all the baggage like Mephistopheles and his minions and focus on Johnny Blaze and his curse.  That’s definitely the way to go as there was way to much attention paid to peripheral nonsense in the first movie.

There was one other thing I found interesting about the interview.  Goyer states Ghost Rider 2 isn’t really a reboot but then says: “You don’t have to have seen the first film. It doesn’t contradict anything that happened in the first film, but we’re pretending that our audience hasn’t seen the first film.”

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With the Marvel/Disney deal looming, the race is on for studios to secure properties. Variety is reporting that Columbia Pictures is working on a sequel to Ghost Rider, with David Goyer reportedly in talks to create the story, as well as supervise additional writers for the film. Nicolas Cage is expected to reprise his starring role as Johnny Blaze.

The resurrection of Ghost Rider as a franchise comes in the middle of negotiations with other Marvel characters at Sony, Fox, Universal and Paramount. Studios must move on these properties now if they want to retain the rights to their Marvel superheroes.  If the properties languish, Marvel Entertainment can reclaim the rights to those characters. This is exactly what happened with the Dr. Strange, Black Panther and Iron Man properties. Iron Man languished in development hell at New Line before Marvel turned the property into a self-financed blockbuster last year. And we all know how well that went.

Although Goyer stated through a spokesman, that he has not officially signed on to a second Ghost Rider, plans are already under way to base the sequel on a script Goyer penned years ago. Goyer’s, superhero work includes successful screen transfers of DC’s Batman Begins and Marvel’s Blade franchise.

Columbia isn’t the only one getting in on the properties action. Fox plans to reboot Fantastic Four with Green Lantern scribe Michael Green; develop a Wolverine sequel and other X-Men spinoffs; a Silver Surfer film; and a revamped version of Daredevil.

Sony recently tapped James Vanderbilt to pen the fifth and sixth installments of the Spider-Man series, and Universal is continuing work on Sub-Mariner. Paramount will continue to be the distributor for Iron Man 2 and are also expected to distribute the upcoming Thor and Captain America flicks.

Even with the just announced sale of Marvel to Disney, its still business as usual at the comic book company. And that means, of course, brand new comics coming out this Wednesday.

So, for those of you who eagerly await new comics each and every week, here’s the list of titles coming out from our friends at Marvel, via the official press release. We’ve also got some of the cool covers for you after the jump. So be sure and check those out as well.

Hey there True Believers, here’s your official list of comic books, collections and posters arriving in comic stores on September 2nd, 2009. For more information on any of these titles, and on upcoming mighty Marvel releases, please visit http://www.marvel.com/catalog/?date=2009-09-02 or contact your local comic book retailer at 1-888-comicbook.

Stay tuned each week for a brand new list of Marvel releases so that you’ll never miss your favorite heroes in action!

Comics On-Sale:

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Pull of the Week:

War of Kings #6 – Marvel – $3.99

Score: 8.5

Wow. That’s the first reaction after reading this issue. Any sort of recap of the events in it would unfortunately be spoilerific due to that fact that so much happens of consequence in its pages. And with an issue this good, spoilers would take away from so many of the great moments upon reading through it. What can be told is that as expected, the war itself comes to a conclusion in this issue.

War of Kings #6 starts off with Vulcan and Black Bolt squaring off inside the t-bomb ship, Black Bolt’s weapon that if detonated would release terrigen mists throughout the universe transforming all its people in to Inhumans. The book goes back and forth between this fight and gives glimpses of others who have been pulled in to the conflict like the Inhuman royal family, Havok and Polaris, and Gladiator.

This issue revolves around emotion. Vulcan’s insane rage and overconfidence is contrasted by Black Bolt’s cold and calculated silence. The king of the Inhumans knows he was going to be on a mission there’d be no coming back from by setting off the t-bomb and the determination and fervor he fights with shows he has full intentions of following through on this.

The Inhuman royal family is filled with anger of their own as some members applaud Black Bolt’s actions while others who were unaware of his intentions violently plead to know why they were not brought up to speed. Havok, Polaris and Gladiator all look at the war in mourning, seeing what once was a great empire of the Imperium before Vulcan defiled it and the Inhuman’s assault ravaged it to a point that it may never recover from under anyone’s leadership.

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Lots of news has been coming out recently about the Seth Rogen project about a green-wearing crime fighter who wears a mask. First, Kung Fu Hustle star and director Stephen Chow was set to play Kato and take the helm as director of the film. Later, Chow backed out and now the eccentric director of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Michel Gondry, has stepped in and taken over the project.

No word on who will fill the shoes of kung fu kickery, but last week Cameron Diaz became attached as Rogen’s love interest and now word comes that Nicolas Cage will be taking the role of the main “gangster villain.” Plenty can be said about Nicolas Cage and his over-the-top acting style, or even his ability to act at all.

But if there’s one thing he is, it’s a self-proclaimed nerd. He named one of his sons Kal-El after Superman, and the other after Luke Cage. He was in the lead contention for the part of the Man of Steel when Tim Burton was attached, and he’s currently filming in the role of Big Daddy for the big-screen adaptation of Mark Millar’s Kick Ass. Also, who could ever forget his turn in Ghost Rider? Not this writer, sadly.

With Nic Cage being cast in this pulp/satirical film, does this mean we will see more over-the-top acting like in The Wicker Man? Or will this be another attempt by Cage at a serious role like in Next — which was pretty terrible. No wa to know yet, but with Rogen and Evan Goldberg, the creative team behind Superbad, involved, you can probably expect this film to be more on the comical side.

It’s funny, even though the major (and minor) Hollywood studios seem to be cranking out as many comic book movie adaptations as they can, most of them don’t really end up being much of anything to write home about. And some others, such as Daredevil, Batman & Robin, Ghost Rider and Catwoman really suck.

In fact, last year I did two articles for ComicMix about the what I considered, up to that point, the Best and Worst comic book to film adaptations. Since then, we’ve had several more movie based on comics. But for the most part, I think my picks still stand as they are. In a similar vein is Zac Bertschy new article over at Topless Robot. In the article, Bertschy outlines what he feels are the five things comic book movies need to stop doing.

I don’t want to take anything away from the article by talking about it too much here. However, here’s some highlights that I particularly like. First, according to Bertschy, Hollywood needs to stop trying to cram so many villains into each movie. Second, he feels comic book movies need to stop wasting awesome side characters like they do, for example, in the X-Men movies.

Finally, he feels strongly that Hollywood should stop making feature-length origin stories because most people either already know where Batman comes from or don’t care — they just want to see him in action. Its a great article and covers a lot of ground.

I agree with almost everyting he says in it as well. Although, I did enjoy X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Batman Begins and Iron Man, all of which are origin stories. I guess Hollywood can get it right sometimes.