If I asked you to name a half-dozen Marvel characters besides Spider-Man, Wolverine, and The Hulk, you'd probably have no problem. But if I asked you to rattle off six DC Comics superheroes besides Superman and Batman, your response might sound a little like this: "Well, The Flash, of course. And Wonder Woman. Oh, Aquaman! Um ... Green Arrow and Green Lantern, I suppose..." and then I'd rudely interrupt you with mentions of Hawkman and Martian Manhunter before you started shaking your head in either confusion or disbelief in my nerdiness. (I can never tell which is which.)

I know all about the Justice League movie problems and the inability to get Wonder Woman flying, but really: After seeing how well-received Iron Man was -- and after hearing about Marvel's plans regarding The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, and The Avengers -- I'm starting to feel a little bad for DC Comics' movie division. But here's the thing: As a character of popular culture, Iron Man (born 1963) is not exactly a Spider-Man or even close to a Superman -- and still Marvel and Paramount were able to bang a really excellent blockbuster out of the guy. (And let's not forget that a relatively obscure Marvel character called Blade pretty much kick-started this comic-flick renaissance.) Does anyone doubt that a character like The Flash could have similar results? Given the right cast and crew, I'm thinking The Flash could be one hell of a fun flick. So let's get moving already!

Over the weekend, a number of different sites received tips regarding the soon-to-be-released Justice League of America cast. The rumors come as The Hollywood Reporter tells us production on the film might have to be postponed due to them being without a finished shooting script, while options on actors who were screen tested are about to expire. I'll discuss whether or not this film is even worth the effort in this week's Monday Morning Poll, but for now let me go down the list and tell you who is (according to rumors) up for each role:

• Batman: Armie Hammer: Random actor who's appeared in Flicka, and in one episode of Veronica Mars. He's 21. (Sources: Batman on Film, Superhero Hype)
• Superman: Scott Porter, 28 (Friday Night Lights TV show, Speed Racer) is up for this role, according to AICN and Cinema Blend, though IESB claims he never read for that part and instead was at one point up for The Flash. Meanwhile, Superhero Hype lists D.J. Cotrona, 27 (Skin, Windfall) as having nabbed the Man of Steel role.
• The Flash: Adam Brody, 28 (The O.C.) has been signed for this role, if you listen to AICN and IESB. However, Superhero Hype claims it's gone to Anton Yelchin, 18.
• Green Lantern: Everyone believes this role has indeed gone to the rapper-turned-actor Common, 35.
• Martian Manhunter: At this time, no one has received information regarding this character.
• Wonder Woman: Megan Gale, 21 (Stealth), according to SH.
• Talia al Ghul: Everyone believes this role will go to Teresa Palmer, 21.
• Aquaman: Santiago Cabrera, 29 (Heroes), according to SH.
• Cinematical Man: According to our own inside studio sources, Scott Weinberg is a lock for this role. Age unknown.

So there you have it. You're all up to date on the currently rumored cast. Warner Bros. is supposed to officially announce the roles this week, however that could change if production gets postponed.

While Warner Bros. continues to be slow with comic adaptations of Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Green Lantern and The Flash, it has decided to go ahead with a Justice League of America movie, which could feature all four of these characters as well as Batman and Superman. The studio has officially gotten the project started by hiring the married writing duo Kieran and Michele Mulroney (Mr. & Mrs. Smith; the upcoming Mirrors) to come up with a first draft.

The idea of a Justice League movie is both exciting and difficult to imagine because it would consist of more superhero star power than audiences are used to (Marvel has a similar idea going on with a possible Avengers movie). One big question sure to be driving DC Comics fans mad is will Batman and Superman appear in the contexts of their respective franchises, or in other words will they be played by Christian Bale and Brandon Routh? Maybe Warner Bros. is even thinking of doing the JLA movie in order to launch the franchises for the other four characters (so far we've seen no love for Martian Manhunter at the studio).

My guess is the WB is hoping for a 2010 release, following The Dark Knight in 2008 and Superman: The Man of Steel in 2009. Then, they will get to the spin-offs. And eventually, I'm hoping, there will be some sort of crossover movie that pits the JLA against The Avengers. See, I just can't ever be satisfied. As long as the studios keep producing my dream comic book adaptations, I will have to keep coming up with bigger dreams.

Just when you thought Hollywood was finished borrowing from the television show Entourage (with Aquaman out of its storylines for the time being, I imagine that film project is dead), news of a Joey Ramone biopic hit the streets today. Those of you who are fans of the HBO show will recall that a major plotline running throughout this past season was Vince's desire to star in a Joey Ramone biopic.

Well, since the spotlight is now squarely on The Ramones (and not Aqauaman), wouldn't you know a real Joey Ramone biopic may be making its way to the big screen. Manager-producer Rory Rosengarten has secured the rights to a feature about the punk rockers and with his own money optioned I Slept With Joey Ramone, an authorized bio written by Joey's brother Mike Leigh and Legs McNeil. Permission was also granted by Charlotte Lesher (Joey's mom) for Rosengarten to use all of the band's music. No cast or director is attached yet, though expect Adrien Grenier's name to pop up sooner rather than later.

Odds and ends from Monday:

• After scheduling conflicts forced her out, Kate Walsh has been replaced by Mary McCormack in the Stephen King adaptation, 1408. McCormack joins a cast that already includes John Cusack (What is it with this guy and scary hotel movies?) and Samuel L. Jackson. As we previously reported, pic is based on King's short story and revolves around a debunker of paranormal occurrences who finds his beliefs put to the test upon checking into room the mysterious room 1408 at the Dolphin Hotel. McCormack will play Cusack's ex-wife in the flick.
• Maybe I'm nuts, but I find it so bizarre when a country unveils plans for a film, instead of, say, Rob Schneider. But hey, that's how they do things in China, right? The country announced plans today to make a massive war movie, financed by Americans, that will chronicle "the 1937 massacre of civilians in Nanjing by invading Japanese soldiers." Based on Iris Chang's best-seller, The Rape of Nanking, pic's budget will fall somewhere between $20-25 million. Investors are already aiming high, setting their sights on Zhang Zyi and Michelle Yeoh to potentially star in the film.
• Since everyone seems to be talking an Aquaman movie these days, why not ask Mark Wahlberg what his opinion of a possible real-life film is? After all, Wahlberg is an executive producer on Entourage, whose fake version of Aquaman: The Movie helped build a tremendous amount of buzz around the underwater superhero. Speaking to IESB, the actor acknowledged the rumors, but said he'd rather come onboard as a producer and not take on the role of Aqauaman himself. And who does he think should play Aquaman? None other than Adrian Grenier, whose fictional character (Vincent Chase) on Entourage stars as Aquaman in the fake film. Confused yet? I am.

Ever since HBO's Entourage featured a fictitious storyline surrounding a James Cameron-directed Aquaman film, there's been talk about bringing the underwater superhero to the big screen ... for real.

Apparently, according to four people familiar with the informal talks, Warner Brothers is interested in an Aquaman movie (apart from the recently squashed TV show), though they've denied any involvement. In a bizarre twist of life-imitating-art, uber-agent Ari Emanuel (whom Entourage's Ari Gold is based off of) is at the center of the whole thing. While James Cameron will not be involved, Charlie's Angels director McG is the name currently being tossed around.

While a pilot for the Aquaman TV show was produced by the folks who brought us Smallville, the WB decided not to pick it up. However, the studio subsequently gave the pilot to iTunes where the thing blew up, generating thousands of downloads and forcing some folks in the industry to reconsider Aquaman's further adventures. Which would you rather see: an Aquaman TV show a la Smallville or a big-budgeted feature film? Feel free to answer none of the above. I did.

Here are today's latest comic book rumors, courtesy of the ever-talented folks over at Comic Book Resources. Today's subjects are on familiar themes - casting rumors and property liscensing!  We've also got a quick word from Frank Miller on his new script. Awesome.

• Joss Whedon refuses to name names for Wonder Woman, despite drawing very near to finishing his script. He does, however, admit to creating his own villain for the flick, as Wonder Woman's rogue gallery is lacking, according to the writer.
• According to IESB, Terence Howard still claims that he is in talks to portray Luke Cage antagonist Willis Stryker.
• Denise Quiñones has been cast as "Rachel" in the upcoming Aquaman TV film/series. Rachel is a friend/possible love interest of the title character.
• Universal Pictures has picked up the rights to Christian Gossett's award-winning comic book The Red Star. They are apparently eyeing Night Watch director Timur Bekmambetov for involvement.  Read Martha's coverage of that story here.
• Frank Miller says that his new Sin City story involving a post-Hartigan Nancy Callahan "should surprise you." No shocker there - I'd be disappointed if it didn't.  

[via CBR]

Ever since I signed on to the cast of the good ship Cinematical, I've been periodically updating you about the many and varied rumors of an Aquaman movie. Eventually, it settled down and what we ended up with is an upcoming WB made-for-tv movie as a pilot for a new series. Then, the casting rumors flew for awhile, particularly fueled by the release of the casting call a short while back. Now, we once again cut through the endless stream of rumors to bring in some hard fact. That's right, the underwater adventurer has been officially cast, and will be played by none other than...wait, who? Okay, so his name is Will Toale, and he's apparently a newcomer to the acting gig, with the only substantial bit of his resume being a supporting role in in A Streetcar Named Desire at Broadway's Roundabout Theater. The pilot will begin shooting in March, and is expected to figure heavily into WB's fall lineup.

I continue to find myself oddly interested in this show. I'm not a huge DC fan to begin with, I deride Aquaman pretty regularly (and have for many years), and I'm not even all that keen on Smallville (heresy, I know). I don't expect to become a regular viewer of this new show...but I AM really curious to see what they come up with. Thoughts?

[via sci fi wire]

For those of you addicted Entourage fans hopelessly dreaming that the show’s fictional Aquaman could somehow become a reality – keep those webbed fingers crossed. In an interview with Suicide Girls, Mark Wahlberg hints at the fact that he’d love to play Aquaman with director James Cameron in agreement. "Yeah that’s kind of happened before but now...it’s crazy. Jim Cameron was joking around saying “We should really do this thing” and everybody’s all like we should do Aquaman together." Mark Wahlberg as Aquaman? Maybe if you throw in an addiction to alcohol and a few failed relationships – sure. For Cameron, however, this seems like the perfect fit seeing as he spends most of his time re-discovering the Titanic. Clever marketing and wishful thinking aside, for some reason I expect this project to remain as a plot device on a shelf along with HBO’s treasure chest of Emmy nominations.