The DC animated universe is fantastic. Bruce Timm has been masterminding gold standard animation for nearly two decades, and his crew is finally taking on one of the most important Batman stories ever told, Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns.

This epic two-part animated event has already been officially announced, but The Hollywood Reporter has announced the principle voice cast:

Peter Weller (Robocop) will star as Batman/Bruce Wayne and Modern Family’s middle child Ariel Winter will play Robin… Also in the cast are David Selby, the veteran actor who starred in the original Dark Shadows soap opera as well as the classic 1980s soap Falcon Crest; Wade Williams (Prison Break) as Harvey Dent/Two-Face; and Michael McKean as Dr. Wolper, the psychiatrist who releases the Joker from the insane asylum.

Fan favorite Michael Ironside played the role in a classic episode of Batman: The Animated Series that payed homage to the seminal story. While it would have been nice symmetry to have him back, Peter Weller is an amazing choice for the role.

The story is being split into two animated features, the first of which will be hitting shelves later this year, followed by the second part in early 2013.

The Dark Knight Rises looms. As The Avengers makes ungodly sums of money and other potential blockbusters come and go, the true tenor of the season wont be determined until Batman has his say.

Warner Bros. has released a new one sheet for the anticipate super hero conclusion, and it really plays up the ‘fire rises’ motif that has been a constant in the marketing. The ad campaign for the sequel has thus far been much less interesting than for The Dark Knight.

The viral aspects seem to cause less of a fervor among fans, there is nothing like those variant Joker tagged posters that popped up in theaters after a few months of the regular ones hanging on those walls. Just on the whole the marketing for this movie just seems to have less impact. Of course this could be on purpose, you don’t need much impact when everyone and their mother saw the last film.It is still interesting to see the different tactics in play.

As for the quality of this particular poster, it is rather nice. Getting a splash of color in there is a good touch, and I like the symmetry of this design and some of the earlier teasers.

Check out the full poster after the jump.

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If you were a fan of the CW show Smallville you probably already know that the show has continued on in digital comic book form with Smallville Season 11. What you may not know is that, according to DC, once three issues of the digital comic are released, they will be collected in a print version and sold in comic book stores.

That first three-issue printed version is now available. But wait, there’s more. Not only will the printed comic contain the first three issues of Smallville Season 11, it will also include new, bonus content like episode guides and more.

The first print issue is available now with the next digital chapter of Smallville Season 11 coming out on Friday, May 18. Check out the full release schedule after the break.

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There are few stories that have a more interesting life span than Little Shop of Horrors. Beginning it’s life as a low-level B horror film in the 60′s it has managed to gain increasing popularity by bouncing back and forth between screen adaptations and broadway musicals ever since.

Considering the last popular version of the tale was a Broadway revival, it seems like it is time to bring it back to the big screen, and according to the LA Times, some people agree:

Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Warner Bros. are in talks for a movie remake of “Little Shop of Horrors”  — with the help of some Broadway heavyweights behind the scenes. In addition to developing the film, Gordon-Levitt could star as Seymour, the lonely, lovable florist’s assistant who raises a giant alien plant motivated by sarcasm, song and human blood.

Now most of you probably hold the 80′s film starting Rick Moranis and Steve Martin in high regard, and think that this is just another in a long line of needless re-makes. For this particular tale I have to disagree, a new telling with an actor as talented as Joseph Gorodn-Levitt is exactly the next logical step for this story.

Of course that said, we all should pray we get a mostly practical Audrey 2.

Though we know you aren’t dragging your heels to see Marvel’s The Avengers this weekend, one thing you don’t have to wait till then to enjoy is the brand new trailer for Christopher Nolan’s “final” film in his Batman trilogy, Dark Knight Rises.

The trailer is set to hit at the beginning of Marvel’s superhero mashup flick this weekend, but the marketing gurus at WB thought it wouldn’t hurt much if the trailer was released a few days early.

Up until now, we haven’t gotten much of the film’s plot, outside of the fact that we know Bane, Catwoman, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt were all in the film. Now, we’re getting a bit more of the substance, as to what happens to Bale’s Bruce Wayne, what Catwoman’s role is like, and why Gordon-Levitt is always looking so surprised.

Check out the trailer right after the jump, and be sure to catch Dark Knight Rises in theaters just after Comic-Con, on July 20th.

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The Dark Knight Rises is going to be a big film, and now we know that has more than one meaning. The blockbuster is going to be setting a new standard for how much IMAX native footage is released for a Hollywood feature film.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Christopher Nolan’s Bat-Finale will include the most actual IMAX footage of any studio film before it:

When Mr. Nolan’s “The Dark Knight Rises” opens July 20, it will contain the most IMAX footage ever for a Hollywood feature, more than one hour’s worth. There were 40 minutes of such footage in 2008′s “The Dark Knight”—which set box-office records in its opening weekend.

IMAX’s summer slate also includes potential blockbusters “The Avengers,” “The Amazing Spider-Man,” “Men in Black 3,” Tim Burton’s gothic comedy “Dark Shadows,” and Ridley Scott’s 3-D “Prometheus.” Mr. Nolan’s film was the only one shot using IMAX cameras; the others were converted using IMAX’s technology.

Sounds exciting. These Nolan Bat-Films are paving the way for the first truly IMAX movie. Sure the cameras and tech have been around for ages, but up till know it was used for nature docs and educational programming. We want to see what true film-making legends can do with the tech. IMAX is always going to be more immersive than traditional movies, so this can only be a big win movie goers.

Remember back before we had multi-billion dollar movies in theaters showcasing our favorite heroes doing the things we had them doing with action figures in your garage decades ago? Just me? Probably, but that doesn’t mean most of you didn’t want to do the same, and now DC and LEGO are giving you the chance to do it in style with their brand new app, LEGO Super Heroes Movie Maker.

The app is to celebrate the new marriage of LEGO and Warner Bros.’ famed DC list of characters, in the DC Super Heroes line of toys and video games. The app works pretty simply, but is also perfect for those with a good amount of time and patience. Here’s how they break it down.

Bring the LEGO DC Universe Super Heroes to life with the LEGO DC Super Heroes Movie Maker. The free app lets you bring your blocks to life using simple tools and guides that make it easy to shoot, edit, even score your movie with music. Add one of the customizable title cards and share your directorial debut online.

You can get the app now for free in the iTunes App Store, or just wait for it to hit your non-iPhone sometimes soon. In the meantime, check out their trailer for the app after the jump.

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Remember way back in 2009 when we told you Guy Ritchie was going to direct the big screen adaptation of the DC comic series Lobo for Warner Bros? Well, as you probably know, that never happened and the project was put on the back burner. . . until now.

What sparked this resurgence? The project has a new director attached and that man in Brad Peyton, who’s previous credits include the recent hit  Journey 2: The Mysterious Island. The deal was reportedly finalized just today for him to rewrite and direct the movie.

In case you’re not familiar with Lobo, the character first appeared in Omega Men #3 and was created by Roger Slifer and Keith Giffen. The story concerns a seven foot, blue skinned, heavily muscled anti-hero and interstallar bounty hunter who comes to earth in search of some fugitives intent on destruction. Once here, he teams up with a small town teenaged girl to help stop the mayhem and in the process learns a little something about humanity.

With Peyton now on board, we can expect to see the Lobo adaptation hit multiplexes late next year or in early 2014.

There are a few certainties in life, death, taxes and a Danny Elfman score for the next Tim Burton movie. Their creative collaborations have always been among the high points of each new Burton film, even if sometimes the music can sound overly familiar.

In recent years the Elfman music associated with the last few Burton films has been quite exceptional. Elfman’s ‘Burton’ style has been perfected to the point that it sounds effortless. So of course we are excited to hear what Elfman has in store for Dark Shadows in a few weeks.

Well, wait no more, says Warner Bros. as they have put a very expanded preview of the score up on their official website. On the site you will get a full minute and a half of each track, which is more than enough to get a really good sense for what type of music we have in store for us.

Having listened to the expanded preview, I can happily report that this score does not seem to disappoint. The trailers for the movie suggest the film has a bit of a goofy tone, but for the musics part it is all dark and moody. The likely juxtaposition between the music and the tone of the movie feels very right considering the filmmakers involved.

So go check out the expanded preview now and be on the look out for a full review here on The Flickcast when the film is released in early May.

There is a new Superman movie on the way folks. It may not arrive for over a year, but the film is coming and director Zack Snyder hopes to put his visual stamp all over it.

The first of many changes that Superman will have in Man of Steel is his logo. Not a terribly huge alteration on the classic “S “shield, but a change none the less. This S has all sorts of swooshy textures going through it. As well as some hints of some type of rock. I guess the texture of steel didn’t pop as much.

We here at The Flickcast try to look past the general fan boy gripes and judge elements of movies based on the context of said movie. That said, this new logo presents some troubling portents of things to come.

One, it is dark and gritty. The one thing Superman should never be is dark and gritty. He is hope, optimism, justice and faith all wrapped up in a single package. That certainly can be corny in this day and age, but when done right Superman can be a beacon of fun in an otherwise dreary era of DC cinematic adaptations.

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Big franchises have a unique set of problems. Shepherds of large, established franchises have to worry about their brand and how it is exposed to the world.

One of the biggest global franchises is The Lord of the Rings, or more specifically the whole of Middle-Earth. It is such a huge franchise there is an entire division of The Saul Zaentz Company set up devoted to Middle-Earth. The division, Middle-Earth Enterprises, is in charge of the license, and it is up to them to maintain it’s integrity.

That’s all well and good, but some times the desire to protect the franchise ends up hurting it. One such instance is the recent attempt by Middle-Earth Enterprises to shut down a popular pub in Southampton, England called The Hobbit.

This Tolkien themed bar is a long established pub that was set up as an homage to the works of Tolkien. The intention was to bring positive new attention to the work in it’s own small way. The folks over at The Saul Zaentz Company have decided enough is enough and wants the bar to stop using the likenesses or pay up.

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One of my favorite things to cover in my weekly film score review is compilations. These sets are the most easily digestible forms of film music, and represented my entry into the world. It was the combined ‘Best Of’ albums of John Williams, James Horner and Danny Elfman that captivated me so much as a child. Now I take great pleasure in shining a light on these sets today, hoping that some non film score fans give them a shot.

In the world of film music compilations there is a top dog who has been releasing stellar sets over and over again. Silva Screen Records has been nailing it with re-recorded compilations of some of today’s most recognizable franchises. Mostly using the excellent City of Prague Philharmonic, these sets have been some of the most fun I have been able to review in my many months of writing about film music.

Today’s set is no exception, The Complete Harry Potter Film Music Collection is a well crafted, well performed and generally a great listen from start to finish. The set smashes together musical highlights from the eight film series that takes you on a journey from the optimistic sense of wonder in the first film all the way through the dark and dangerous end. It is a musical time-capsule that follows the decade long franchise.

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