Earlier today, Paramount and Marvel Studios announced an agreement for the former to distribute (worldwide) Marvel's next five self-produced flicks. In addition to this news, tentative release dates were given for Iron Man 2 (moved to May 7, 2010), Thor (moved to July 16, 2010), The First Avenger: Captain America (May 6, 2011) and The Avengers (July 15, 2011). The agreement is said to also cover Iron Man 3. All I'm gonna say is what the hell will we do in 2009 without Superman, Batman, Spider-Man ... or any of these new Marvel films? Perhaps we should create Government Bailout Man and ask Oliver Stone to whip up the flick in about three months or so .... (not funny Davis).

But back to Marvel. It was announced earlier today that Kenneth Branagh is in talks to direct Thor (a ballsy move, but certainly one that comes with a lot of promise) while word is still out on filmmakers for The Avengers and Captain America ... and what's up with Ant-Man? Obviously folks are really looking forward to seeing what Jon Favreau and Robert Downey Jr. do with Iron Man 2, but ... honestly ... Thor just shot up past Iron Man 2 on my must-see list. C'mon ... we're looking at a three-hour Shakespearean epic -- one that must include Jeremy Irons playing someone we immediately hate. What's not to look forward to?

But seriously, which upcoming Marvel film is at the top of your must-see list ... and why?

The Geek Beat is taking a late-September vacation to Middle Earth -- but it will be back next month and those of you suffering withdrawels can always check the archives. In the meantime, you can relax with a daily round-up of nerdy news bites. (They taste like coconut!) This is relaxing for me, too -- I get to catch up on my reading, my Halloween shopping, and my yoga. I can stay up all night re-reading Preacher (you know I will) and not waiting for an X-Men Origins: Wolverine story. A good way to end summer!

Now, onto today's news ...

• According to The Hollywood Reporter, Jeffery Erb and Robert Robinson Jr. have launched Framelight Productions with an eye to producing edgy comic and graphic novel adaptations. They already have options on Larry Hama's Dr. Death with Kip and Muffy, Gary Reed's Deadworld, Ralph Tedesco and Joe Tyler's Sins of the Fallen, as well as their 1001 Arabian Nights. (Clicking on any of those links will take you to previews of the books.) All of their productions aim to do one thing in particular -- involve the creator in all aspects of movie making. "We weren't the only producers wanting to make movies based on these creators' babies, but we were the only ones inviting them in as co-producers," says Erb.

• Edward Norton told MTV News that he's uncertain about the future of The Incredible Hulk and his role in it. There's been no word on whether they will be a solo sequel, or if Norton will be playing the Hulk in The Avengers. "The minds of Marvel are sometimes opaque. I won't say [they're] obtuse, but I don't have any idea what they want to do." Perhaps they're considering Matthew McConaughey, who had no idea he was rumored for Captain America -- but revealed to MTV that Hulk is really the only Marvel character he would like to play. (They could save on the budget -- all they have to do is dye that muscled dude green.)
  

Just when you thought Marvel was trying to get a blue-eyed, blonde-haired muscle head to play Captain America in their upcoming live-action flick, MTV sneaks onto the scene with one whopper of a rumor. While speaking to Derek Luke about Miracle at St. Anna up in Toronto, the actor let slip that, as far as he knows, Will Smith was offered the part of Captain America. Bet you didn't see that one coming.

Now keep in mind this is just a rumor right now -- and Luke could either have the wrong info or he could be screwing around; we don't know. However, I wouldn't put it past Marvel to switch things up and throw Smith into the role. Not only did Smith do a fine job as a homeless, alcoholic superhero in need of rehabilitation in this summer's Hancock, but the dude would guarantee a gigantic opening box office. As MTV points out, Marvel has changed the color of characters before; most notably with Nick Fury (who used to be a middle-aged white man, and was recently played by Samuel L. Jackson in Iron Man).

Hey, I'm all for it. We're close to electing the first African American president in the United States, so why not bring on the first black Captain America*? Just makes the eventual Avengers flick that much more interesting, huh?

The First Avenger: Captain America is due in theaters in May, 2011.

*Actually, Smith would technically be the second black Captain America; Isaiah Bradley (name of character) was the first.

UPDATE: AICN tells us that Marvel has debunked this, saying they've never offered Will Smith the role.

Everyone seems to have superheroes on the brain this summer, so it's the perfect time for Edgar Wright to pop out of the woodwork to remind us about Ant-Man. In an interview with PiQ magazine about the DVD release of Spaced, the topic drifted to Ant-Man on the big screen.

Wright confirmed that the second draft of the script is still underway, and that the film will be a, "different way of seeing a superhero origin, because you've seen so many of them and we really tried to figure out a fresh take on that story. So it's definitely a Marvel film but it's got a little twist on it in terms of the way that it plays out."

Over at USA Today, they did a little feature on the Avengers movie, and while most of it is old news (Tony Stark at the end of The Incredible Hulk, Nick Fury at the end of Iron Man, who they are, what this means, etc.), there was one new item for fans to chew on. Jon Favreau revealed the Avengers line-up Marvel was currently toying with: "The ones Marvel is talking about now are Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Ant-Man and Iron Man. I would love to see that." (And no, he hasn't been confirmed as The Avengers director. The possibility isn't even brought up in this article.)

Of course, what this means for Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish's Ant-Man movie is anyone's guess. Marvel's goal is to get The Avengers in theatres by 2011, by which point Thor and Captain America will have gotten their solo origin movies. But will Ant-Man have gotten his? Wright is busy with Scott Pilgrim, which is due to be released in 2009. Could he get Ant-Man off the ground in time for him to join Earth's mightiest heroes? So many questions!

With the pending release of the new version of Get Smart, and many fond childhood memories of the original series, I thought I would assemble a list of TV spies who made great movies. Unfortunately, I was confronted with a mountain of evidence that international men and women of mystery have suffered horribly in their transition to the big screen.

That conclusion sounds counter-intuitive. After all, a movie can focus on a single defining story in a spy's life, while a television series, by its very nature, must include many routine episodes that fit into a familiar formula. The movie can have a much bigger budget, allowing for a variety of international settings, while the TV show often takes place in just one or two locations on the back lot.

But I think the best TV spies were successful because the producers made sure that the characters were the stars. Two-shots and close-ups of people talking work really well on the small screen, and sharp, well-written dialogue is always a bonus. Just a list of character names invokes pleasant nostalgia, while the movie versions have, for the most part, justifiably faded into oblivion.

1. Wild Wild West

Two words: Giant spider. Need I say more?

First off, I need to apologize because I was supposed to provide our second Incredible Hulk review late last week, but life got in the way and I never produced it for you. I know, I'm a horrible person and I've given myself 27 lashings as punishment, though I'm sure Scott's review of the film helped you decide whether to see it or not. Truth be told, I wasn't that crazy about it -- but I'm also not a huge fan of Bruce Banner or the Hulk as characters. Banner, to me, is too depressing; how do you root for a guy who wants to hide in the corner? Sure, there are other loners like Batman and Spider-Man, but both of those guys have some fun toys to play with (like a car and a web). Banner has the Hulk, who, well, smashes things. Yay!

But anyway, Marvel gave fans a good flick with tons of action, crazy special effects and more than a few geeky nods to the comics and to The Avengers. Following the successful opening weekend of Iron Man, all we talked about was the sequel. Now that The Incredible Hulk seems to have won back more than a few fans, what are your feelings on a sequel? I've heard some say they'd rather Hulk return as a villain in The Avengers film (tentatively due out in 2011), but would you rather the guy get another solo flick too? Where are you at with this character? Do you want a franchise? Can you picture one?

He's portrayed a few iconic characters, including Shakespeare's Romeo and Howard Hughes, but could Leonardo DiCaprio be taken seriously as an iconic superhero? Specifically the Sentinel of Liberty -- Captain America? According to Latino Review (a site well-known and typically respected for its accuracy with rumors of this sort), Marvel Studios has placed Leo on the top of their list of candidates for the role. Of course, there's been no offer made yet, and this is simply the same sort of wish list we heard about for Thor (Brad Pitt is the top of that list), so there's no need to get crazy over the possibility ... yet.

Speaking of Pitt, Marvel apparently has placed him as second on their list for Cap. They either want him for The First Avenger: Captain America or Thor. Maybe they'll even offer him the roles of Ant-Man and everyone else in The Avengers (it would be like this, but with Pitt playing all the roles instead of Johnny Depp). There's no mention of who is #3. It could be Matthew McConaughey, who was rumored to be considered before. Or, it could be George Washington. Yes, the real G.W., first President of the United States. Not only is he perfectly relevant for the part, but I think Marvel has as good a chance of casting him as they do of casting Leo.