I know Jared Harris as that creepy English dude from Fringe. You know, the one in the German jail? Apparently, he’s in other stuff, but I haven’t seen it, so that’s how I know him.

I expect I’ll soon be referring to him as that guy who plays Moriarty. I’m hoping you can follow this trail of bread crumbs.

In case I’m being too opaque, Harris is taking on the role of Moriarty in the next Sherlock Holmes movie—and, yes, that would be a sequel to Guy Ritchie’s Robert Downey Jr.-Jude Law vehicle, the sequel which will have Stephen Fry as Mycroft Holmes.

Since my exposure to Harris is limited, I actually have a hard time picturing him as Moriarty. Moriarty in my mind is Holmes minus ethics and morality. I would imagine that is the entire point. Given that, I can’t see creepy Fringe dude being a doppelganger for Robert Downey Jr.’s Holmes.

However, I am more than willing to put some faith in Ritchie that he’ll pull it off. Just don’t let him write the thing.

How would you like to see how Natalie Portman’s Mathilda from Luc Besson’s the Professional grew up? How would you like to see what she’s doing now?

It’s a possibility, but it’s very, very unlikely.

The fact is that Ms. Portman is ready and willing to do a sequel to the Professional—also known as Leon in international markets. She has one stipulation though. She will only do it if Luc Besson will direct it.

And he has said he won’t direct it. He’s written it. It’s there, it’s ready, but he doesn’t want to direct it. And because he doesn’t want to direct it, Portman hasn’t even bothered to look at the script.

So that ain’t going to happen any time soon.

Personally, I would love to Portman do an action movie, something like the Professional. I rather enjoy watching attractive women get involved in action set-pieces. The thing is, though, that the Professional really doesn’t need a sequel. That is a movie that is self-contained. The story reached its conclusion, and it was a good one.

It would be like making a sequel to Highlander—totally unnecessary and it could be so retarded as to actually damage the lustre of the original.

Again.

Christopher Nolan has confirmed that he’ll be directing Batman 3 (cool title TBA). It may start filming in May of next year, but who knows what kind of release date we’re looking at.

I willing wait quietly for more Nolan coolness.

So apparently the script for a Flash film is moving forward, as is only suitable. However, it might take a direction that might surprise a few people.

Apparently, the Flash movie is going to be darker, and the comparisons made are to Se7en and the Silence of the Lambs.

Seriously? This is a guy who can break the speed of sound wearing a red body glove as tight as a Speedo. No one sees the disconnect there?

I am not a particular fan of the Flash, so maybe there is some aspect of the comics that have led the script down this dark—and might I add odd—path, but for me this just sounds goofy.

I really enjoyed Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes. A huge part of that enjoyment was Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. Those two did an amazing job of bringing a new lens to the Holmes-Watson equation. Ritchie brought a lot of kineticism and excitement to the screen as well. I’m 100% behind a sequel.

Now that is 110%.

First, we’ll be getting Mycroft Holmes in the mix—that would be Sherlock’s smarter big brother. Yes, smarter. Amusing, no?

Second, the smarter brother is going to be played by Stephen Fry.

Score!

Given that the first movie made Holmes a kind of hyper-intelligent James Bond (minus the gadgets which is, of course, a plus), could Mycroft be M?

Sweetness.

There’s a good Collider article on this here.

So with the possible end of the MGM financial issue in sight, we can expect the Hobbit to get cracking. Heck, even Gandalf has said to expect filming in the New Year.

That is, until the labour troubles.

Yes, the Hobbit has run afoul of the union–the Screen Actors’ Guild, in this case. It seems that SAG is considering the Hobbit a “non-union” production and threatening action against any actor working on it. This apparently has something to do with the contracting and with the Australian Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance.

I really don’t know what the fuck is going on. As is so common in labour disputes, both sides are lily white and it’s the other guy who’s being a dick, and if only the other guy would see reason, the world would be populated by unicorns and rainbows.

I don’t care who is at fault or what the issue is: get this shit cleaned up and get us our big budget fantasy movie.

STAT!

A Blastr article gives a good summary of the shit so far here.

Collider has Peter Jackson’s response here.

Christopher Nolan is a busy, busy man. And outstanding.

Right now, Nolan is both working on a script for Batman 3 and interviewing directors for the Superman reboot, Man of Steel. There’s not much to say about the Batman 3 script except that Nolan’s brother, Jonah, has finished a draft that Christopher is now going through.

On the Man of Steel front, looks like Nolan has a pretty nice list of possibles, that includes Tony Scott and Zack Snyder. For me, Tony Scott is very hit and miss, but give him a good script and he’ll deliver something visually stunning. Snyder is a tough one, because while I really liked the Watchmen, it still fell kind of flat for me, and I can’t exactly put my finger on why that is. Everything I see about Sucker Punch gives me wood, so it’s possible he’s another director like Tony Scott, who can bring something visually dynamic to a good story.

Also in the mix are guys I really have no opinion about—Matt Reeves, Jonathan Liebesman, and Duncan Jones. These guys might be absolute superstars, but I wouldn’t know.

I trust in Christoher Nolan to continue to bring the awesome to the party.

I am absolutely not averse to watching more of Scarlett Johansson in a tight, black bodysuit. She can be beating up random security guards or just walking along the street. Heck, she can be reading a book. I’ll watch.

Given that, the news of a Black Widow movie doesn’t fill me with joy. Why, you ask? Aren’t there lots of good stories out there for Natasha? Isn’t there tons of cool, espionage-y type adventures the Widow can embark upon?

Absolutely, yes. However, she’s had her time on the screen and will have more time come the Avengers.

See, Marvel has been saying that they are going to start trying to do small movies with some of their second tier properties. That’s an exciting thought. Those other projects—which could include awesome shit like an Iron First movie—would be shelved should the Widow move forward.

And I would much rather see something different—even if it isn’t Iron Fist . . . though that would make an awesome movie—than see more of a character that is already on the screen. I’d say the same thing about a War Machine movie, or a Hawkeye movie. They have had, or will have, their time on the screen. Let someone else have a chance.

All the talk of Ryan Reynold’s as Deadpool might be for naught. And it certainly won’t be happening soonish.

In a recent interview, Reynolds indicated that Deadpool is one of two comic book adaptations he might be involved in, and nothing is decided right now. The decision will come after two other movies with which Reynolds is involved are completed.

To me, this is insane. Reynolds is perfect for the Deadpool part. He’s even portrayed the character once—the best damn thing about that Wolverine movie. Not having read RIPD, I have no idea how well he could represent the character from that, but, c’mon, Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool! How can you pass on that.

More here.

I’m a fan of Iron Fist, and I’m a fan of Luke Cage. I was also a fan of the most recent version of Heroes for Hire. Now, Luke Cage is still doing his thing as the lead man for the Thunderbolts, but Iron Fist and H4H have lost their titles.

Until now.

Seems that the team behind another favourite comic series that died an untimely death—the Guardians of the Galaxy—will be bringing H4H back to the page, with Iron Fist but lacking Luke Cage. The concept seems to follow on the most recent H4H series, but without as many female characters. The line-up seems to be Iron Fist, Moon Knight, Elektra, and the Punisher (on the cover) and may include Black Widow, Misty Knight, Paladin, Falcon, and Silver Sable.

This does not get me excited.

You know what? Putting Iron Fist together with Shang-Chi, Misty Knight and Colleen Wing would be awesome. It would be a mix of original H4H with the more recent one. It would include iconic H4H characters. It could be street level, even a little pulp or noir.

These days, Elektra reminds me too much of that whole Skrull War thing. And Moon Knight? I don’t know, is he still insane? Possessed by an Egyptian deity or whatever?

But Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning get a lot of leeway from me. I’ll be sure to check out what they’re delivering this time. Fingers duly crossed.

More here.