Just so we are clear, the new script by Wanted writers, Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, will have nothing to do with James Harriot's novel, All Creatures Great and Small -- although it does make a little confusing since they have the same title. The Hollywood Reporter announced that the duo have signed to complete a script for Sony and Original Films producer, Neil Moritz. According to Brandt, he and Haas came up with the idea after securing a blind deal with Sony, and Creatures was the first project they wanted to pitch to the studio.

Creatures centers on a future where humans are vastly outnumbered by animals. Brandt describes a pretty bleak future for us bipeds in the script: "... where people are literally living in forts, and the animals are running free."

Sure, we're getting more Bourne, according to reports from February, but that doesn't mean we can't get more Robert Ludlum action thrills with a new leading man -- with or without more Jason Bourne. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the next leading Ludlum man will be played by Denzel Washington. There's a package creating buzz in studios that would bring the writer's The Matarese Circle to the big screen, with Washington attached to play Bradley Scofield and Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, who recently penned 3:10 to Yuma, attached to write the script.

As THR describes it, the film focuses on "two secret agents -- an American and a Russian -- who must work together to fight a mysterious group of killers known as the Matarese. The twist: The agents, Bradley Scofield and Vasili Taleniekov, have been nemeses for years, with each responsible for killing someone close to the other." I like that -- two men who have to come together when they have a really good and solid reason not to -- it's not just professional distaste, a stolen lover, or a battle of egos.

Most of the major studios have heard the pitch, but as of yet, none have bitten. I'm sure it will only be a matter of time. How could they say no?

Picture a studio, desperate for new script idea. (What? This is news about The Twilight Zone; I couldn't help myself.) The Hollywood Reporter announced that Summit Entertainment (Resident Evil) has put the sci-fi thriller Countdown on the fast track to production. The movie is based on a classic episode of The Twilight Zone titled Death Ship, by Richard Matheson (I Am Legend). Michael Brandt (Wanted) will adapt the script along with Derek Haas, and also take over directing duties. Some of Brandt and Haas' other projects include 3:10 to Yuma and 2 Fast 2 Furious.

Death Ship centered on three astronauts who discover a mysterious spacecraft while exploring the galaxy for hospitable planets. When they stumble upon a wreckage of a ship identical to their own, they are left to try and discover what exactly has happened. If you ever spent a lot of time watching TV late at night, or you are a Zone aficionado, then you can probably guess what happens next. If not, I won't spoil it -- especially since, at this point, we have no idea how much Brandt and Haas are planning on changing in the original story.

The film had originally been slated for production in 2005; Summit was planning on producing the film along with Mandalay Entertainment. Now that Summit has become a fully functioning and independent studio, they will be producing Countdown on their own and the deal with Mandalay has gone out the window. Countdown is tentatively scheduled to go into production later this summer. They have already projected a budget of around $30 million, but so far no names have been attached to star. Stay tuned to Cinematical for any updates that come our way.

You've seen the sexy photos of Angelina Jolie in Wanted (if you haven't, check 'em out), and you've watched the behind-the-scenes video. Now it's time to see the action-packed trailer that goes with them. The movie, another in a long line of assassin/hitman movies coming out these days, stars Jolie as a gun-toting, fast-car-driving woman called "Fox", who must team up with a novice called "Wesley" (played by James McAvoy), who has been dragged out of his cubicle to be trained as an assassin. Why? Because that's what his estranged father did for a living -- in fact, his father was the best in the world until he was recently killed. And like father, like son, even without experience, Wesley must have the goods. Well, even if he hasn't, he's at least got Morgan Freeman, always playing the God-like, wisdom-filled mentor, to guide him.

So, what makes this different from any other movie you've seen? I mean, it's got Jolie looking straight out of Mr. and Mrs. Smith (though maybe a bit skinnier), Freeman from anything he's ever been in, McAvoy acting clueless as if he were still in Uganda, some comedic scenes involving a greenhorn with a gun, and the always-recycled gag of having a shoot-out in the toilet paper aisle of a supermarket. With all that, do you even need something new? Well, there does appear to be a cool sequence involving the destruction of a train. And that sideways-shooting machine gun is pretty neat. Is that enough? Oh, and a strange kiss between the extremely mismatched Jolie and McAvoy (he looks so small next to her). You've never seen that before.

Wanted is the English-language debut of Russian filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov, who is still in the midst of giving us his Night Watch trilogy. Based on a comic book, it was adapted by 3:10 to Yuma's Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, with a rewrite from Dean Geogaris (Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Crade of Life), In addition to those named, it co-stars Terence Stamp, Common and the versatile German actor Thomas Kretschmann (he was in The Pianist and King Kong and Baby Geniuses 2!). It hits theaters March 28.