With things firmly in turmoil after the end of season two, Starz original series Spartacus has already started production on season three. With that usually comes news of cast additions and that’s exactly what we have for you today.

According to Starz, Anna Hutchison, Jenna Lind and Gwendoline Taylor have been added to the cast of series, now filming season three in New Zealand. Hutchison will play Laeta, the privileged wife of a Roman dignitary who becomes entangled in the struggle against Spartacus. Her life and those of the ones she loves are forever changed by the conflict.

Lind will play Kore, a loyal slave to Marcus Crassus (Simon Merrells), the Roman tasked to bring an end to Spartacus and his rebellion. Her deep feelings for her master will be sorely tested by spiraling events.

Taylor will play Sibyl, a beautiful young slave rescued from Roman cruelty. Now free, she will embark on a journey that will touch the lives of key leaders in the rebellion.

They all look line fine additions to the cast, which up until now has had no shortage of beautiful women. Season three, which debuts on Starz later this year, looks like it will carry on that tradition.

Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis have been offered the lead roles in the Lana and Andy Wachowki directed Jupiter Ascending. The Warner Bros project’s plot has been kept under tight wraps.

This is the first major science fiction film franchise that the Wachowkis have been involved in since The Matrix. Just like The Matrix trilogy, Jupiter Ascending is an original creation by the duo.

Channing Tatum is becoming a formidable leading man, particularly with his back-to-back box office successes The Vow and 21 Jump Street. Mila Kunis is also a strong draw as she is coming off of Black Swan and Friends With Benefits. She is also set to star in two much anticipated films in the Seth MacFarlane directed comedy Ted and  the Sam Raimi directed Oz: The Great And Powerful.

The Wachowskis have just finished production of the film Cloud Atlas. The Wachowskis hadn’t directed a film since the craptastic 2008 film Speed Racer. The duo were trying to find financiers for a different film script last spring. It was for a hard-R drama they wanted to direct about a gay relationship between a U.S. soldier and an Iraqi. Unfortunately for them, they had no luck finding the funding. There is speculation that the Wachowskis are doing this project for the purpose of funding this other project.

The Wachowskis are using the billions of dollars that the Matrix trilogy pulled in to get Warner Bros excited about this new project . The film is on track to start production later this year.

It looks like two horror icons will be working together on a television adaptation of The Knife Man. The exciting part is the harshly grim nature of the subject matter fits right into what David Cronenberg (Scanners, The Fly) and Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead, Drag Me To Hell) are both best known for.

The Knife Man follows John Hunter, a man from humble Scottish origins,  who rose to become the most famous anatomist and surgeon of the eighteenth century. In an age when operations were crude, extremely painful and often fatal, Hunter rejected medieval traditions based on ancient Greek Orthodoxy to forge a revolution in surgery founded on pioneering scientific experiments.

Hunter’s scientific genius led him to become a central figure of the Enlightenment, which led him to be revered by fellow scientists and to become friendly with high society. Unfortunately, Hunter’s experiments required human corpses, and most were not donated. His tireless quest for human corpses immersed him deep in the sinister world of body-snatching.

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Next week sees the return of Spartacus, the Starz original series chronicling the life of the titular slave who rebelled against his Roman oppressors. The show’s official second season, called Spartacus: Vengeance, has been long in coming, and brings with it many questions in the wake of the tragic death of the first seasons’ star, Andy Whitfield.

The Flickcast recently partook in a discussion with series creator/exec. producer Steven S. DeKnight where, among other things, he talked about the transition from his original star to new Spartacus Liam McIntyre (check out our interview with the actor here), where the show is going from here and working with Joss Whedon.

On Liam capturing the essence of Andy Whitfield’s Spartacus -

…that’s really what drew us to Liam is that we didn’t want to try to duplicate (Andy). I mean, that will never happen. He was such a singular, amazing talent. But we wanted to find somebody that had the same base qualities of compassion. And I told all the actors when they auditioned that even though Spartacus may fly into a rage now and then, he never comes from a place of anger, it’s always from a place of a wounded heart. And we really felt like Liam captured that essence.

On no character being safe on the show - 

…on this show characters literally get the ax. I think really ultimately for me it’s always – it comes from the story is how is the story best served by a character death. I don’t ever want somebody to just die. It needs to have ramifications either emotionally or towards the plot. So that’s always the number one driving force of – on who do I kill.

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It is in fashion right now to bash on remakes and reboots. That line of thinking may or may not be warranted, but you should hear none of it when talking about the upcoming Evil Dead reboot.

Of all the horror franchise that have been revived in the last decade, none more than the Evil Dead series is more malleable. The franchise has always reinvented itself with each new installment, so a new, modern reboot shouldn’t cause immediate concern.

The movie is going to begin filming in a few months and Bloody Disgusting has the scoop on the first bit of casting:

Bloody Disgusting has learned exclusively that Lily Collins (The Blind Side, Priest, Mirror Mirror) is in final negotiations to play “Mia” in FilmDistrict’s reboot aiming for release on April 12, 2013.

In this version, the story centers on five friends (David, Natalie, Eric, Olivia, and Mia) holed up at a remote cabin where they discover a Book of the Dead with a demonic force unleashed possessing each until only one is left to fight for survival.

Lily Collins is a great young actress who shined in The Blind Side and even in the otherwise horrid Priest. We don’t know which of the characters is going to be the “Ash” archetype, but rumors have bubbled up that Raimi wanted a girl to fill that role. Could that be Lily Collins’ Mia? Only time will tell.

Lists are fun. Lists are, at least in some cases, easy to create. In this case, the list in question for today is The Five Best Movies Adapted From Comics.

I know what you’re thinking. Why five? Well, it sorta works with the word “Flickcast” and we’re fans of alliteration around here, so that’s one reason. Of course, it also means I only need to come up with five items to fill the list, so that might have something to do with it too. I’ll never tell.

I’m also in the process of preparing a list of the worst movies adapted from comics as well because what’s a “best” list without a “worst” list, right? Right.

However, in this case, we’re talking best. And do we have a lot of great “best” ones to choose from. That’s not a question, we do.

The ones I’ve chosen are not only great examples of comic book adaptations done right, they’re also great movies too. From a clever screenplay to expert direction, exciting visuals, to compelling characters and performances, these five films deliver on many levels and also manage to demonstrate a real love for their source material.

Okay, enough setup. On with the listing of the things.

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There are only a few names that pop up every year like clockwork at San Diego Comic-Con. One of the names that has always been on the tips of fanboys’ tongues is Bruce Campbell.

The man’s been on top of his game as the featured sidekick in USA’s Burn Notice and now he’s getting his very own stand-alone film as the same character in The Fall of Sam Axe.

The film stars Campbell as Axe and follows the life of this now wise-cracking, often lazy sidekick. We got the chance to discuss Bruce stepping back into the limelight on TV as well as his problems with the script for My Name is Bruce 2 and exactly what his role is going to be in the upcoming Evil Dead reboot by Raimi and apparently Diablo Cody.

Not only will you be surprised by the role that Campbell has in the upcoming reboot, you’ll hear exactly why we’ll be waiting so long to get that sequel to My Name is Bruce.

Take a look at our exclusive interview after the jump, and catch The Fall of Sam Axe on Blu-Ray and standard DVD now.

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Yes, that’s right, there’s an actual reboot of the classic horror Evil Dead in the works. It’s been speculated since back in 2004 when Raimi and partner Rob Tapert made declarations that this new generation of horror fans needs an updated version, and it seems like progress is finally getting made as the two have found a prospective director to take on the task.

Bloody-Disgusting has the official scoop.

In an exclusive scoop, we’re told that Fede Alvarez (Federico Alvarez) is directing for Raimi’s Ghost House Pictures and Mandate. The remake was announced way back in 2004. No word on casting or if Bruce Campbell will return.

There are several good things about this bit of news. It’s good that Raimi is in charge of the reboot, and it’s not getting remade by a studio that has no connection to the original. Also, it’s great that Raimi is sticking to his “indie” roots by going with super indie director Alvarez, who directed the awesome gigantic robot short Panic Attack! back in 2009.

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Games based on popular or cult classic movies don’t always deliver the goods and often seem more like a cheap grab for cash than an actual attempt at creating a good game. However, there are sometimes exceptions. One of those exceptions is the new game Army of Darkness: Defense game from Backflip Studios and MGM Studios.

Army of Darkness: Defense is a mobile castle defense game designed as a homage to Sam Raimi’s 1992 classic film and takes place during the pivotal castle scene from the movie where Ash and his allies defend the powerful Necronomicon within Lord Arthur’s fortress from the onslaught of the Deadites.

In the game you take on the role of the chiseled chin, one-liner-spouting Ash while summoning familiar troops, spells and weapons from the movie to help in the defense. Gameplay features include over 150 direct lines of dialogue from Bruce Campbell as Ash Williams, and beautifully animated graphics using the well-known “Granny 3D” engine.

Army of Darkness: Defense gives Ash the ability to call upon a wide variety of allies to help preserve the Necronomicon including swordsmen, armored knights, archers and more. In addition to the originally composed sound and music, the app also features many of the famous characters from the movie including Arthur, Henry, Sheila, the Wiseman, Evil Ash, and more.

Check out some screens from the game after the jump. Pick up your copy of Army of Darkness: Defense now in the iTunes App Store for iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad.

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With Andy Whitfield not able to return to Spartacus: Blood and Sand for season two, inevitably the show must go on as it does in Hollywood. So, that means the show’s producers need to find a new leading man to take over the title role. According to Deadline, the search for that leading man has come down to three actors.

Those three actors are: Stephen Amell, Aiden Turner and Liam McIntyre. According to the report, the three have been flown to New Zealand for screen tests and to meet with the show’s cast and crew. A final decision on who will be the next Spartacus is expected as early as this week.

In case you haven’t hear these names before, don’t feel bad. Like Whitfield, Amell (Closing the Ring), Turner (All My Children) and McIntyre (The Pacific) are relatively unknown. They do, however, all seem to have the requisite looks and physicality for the role. Still, in my mind and I’m sure the minds of many other fans, it will be very hard for any actor to replace Whitfield in a role he created and filled so very well.

That said, I’m sure the show’s producers would rather, if given the choice, not have to be facing this decision at all. I’m sure they would prefer to have Whitfield instead, as would we all. Hopefully, any actoir who takes his place will only be doing it for the short term and he will be able to return someday soon and play Spartacus, and many other roles, again.

The Spartacus prequel series, Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, is slated to premiere in January. Season Two of Spartacus: Blood and Sand is expected to begin filming soon with a projected Summer 2011 return.

Sad news indeed as it seems Spartacus: Blood and Sand star Andy Whitfield won’t be able to return to the show for its second season due to health complications. According to Starz, the network which produces the show, the actor’s doctors have advised him to stop training for season two of the series and seek immediate, aggressive treatment for his illness.

The actor was first diagnosed with treatable Stage 1 non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in early March but had been in remission. He was even at Comic-Con in San Diego where we spoke to him and he seemed perfectly healthy and in good spirits, ready to begin season 2 of the series.

Starz is currently in production on a prequel series called Spartacus: Gods of the Arena which it plans to air in January and then was to begin production on season 2 of the main series following that for a planned return in mid 2011. Obviously, with this news on Whitfield’s condition, things have changed.

As fans of Whitfield and the show we are saddened to hear of his condition, We wish him all the best for a full and speedy recovery.

Click through to read the full press release from Starz.

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Make no mistake Spartacus: Blood and Sand is one terrific series. After a slightly rocky start, it has quickly matured and become one of the most popular and successful in premium cable’s history. Obviously, we love it here at The Flickcast and have brought you a whole bunch of coverage to hopefully bring even more fans into the fold.

Helping to achieve that goal will be the series imminent debut on Blu-ray and DVD. Coming from Anchor Bay Entertainment, the four-disk set will include a whole bunch of new features and extras. Some of those include hours of bonus features which take you behind the scenes of the making of the show with interviews and commentaries from the actors and filmmakers, augmented with rare production footage exploring the series’ visual effects, production and costume design.

In addition, the release will feature enhanced digital effects for several of the episodes and as a Blu-ray exclusive, four episodes have been selected as “Directors’ Cut Extended Episodes” and will feature content considered “too risque’” even for cable. Other bonuses include featurettes such as “Gladiator Camp”, “The Hole” and “History Rewritten”, behind-the-scenes footage, audio commentaries, interviews, outtakes and more.

Given all the bonus features and extended episodes it seems like Starz and Anchor Bay are giving this release the attention and care it deserves. If you haven’t had a chance to see Spartacus: Blood and Sand yet, do yourself a favor and pick it up on Blu-ray or DVD. It’s a great show and you’ll be glad you did.

Spartacus: Blood and Sand The Complete First Season arrives on Blu-ray and DVD September 21st. Until then, check out this trailer for the release after the break.

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