The first giganto film of the summer has been given a DVD release date, according to Video Business, and if all goes accordingly it looks like you'll be able to enjoy Iron Man in the comforts of your own living room (legally) on September 30. There's no word on special features yet, however Amazon now allows you to pre-order three different versions, including your standard single-disc ($34.99), a two-disc special edition ($39.99) and a Blu-ray Special Collector's Edition ($39.99). (Note: Those are the list prices and each DVD is cheaper through Amazon.) The article also says to expect Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull to hit DVD in October with Kung Fu Panda in November. One imagines (and hopes) Hancock, WALL-E and The Dark Knight will all hit DVD by Christmas as well.

But back to that Iron Man DVD. Those of you attending San Diego Comic Con might want to listen up because Marvel will be hyping up the DVD at their Comic-Con booth by passing out a flash drive containing a sneak peek at the Iron Man DVD. Of course, should we get our hands on one, you'll be the first to know what's on it.

So, who's buying this DVD?

Update: Thanks to Cinematical reader Jeffrey for pointing us toward a look at the limited edition Crystal Skull packaging for the Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull DVD over at Amazon. Check it out below ...

I was recently enjoying a fast-food lunch with my old friend Josh, and we were discussing the film we'd just seen. (A little something called The Dark Knight.) And in the middle of my ramblings I accidentally said something slightly insightful. It went a little something like this: "The thing about superheroes is that, on the outside, what with the costumes and the nifty gizmos and all the punching, they're kids stuff, which is great. But once you scratch the surface just a little bit, you're dealing with acres of subtext that kids can barely comprehend."

And then Josh asked me what my point was. It's this: We finally have some filmmakers who aren't afraid to handle superhero movies for grown-ups. I'd hardly call Hancock a family-type flick, both of the recent Marvel movies (Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk) managed to treat their "older" audiences with respect, last weekend's Hellboy 2 is chock-full of dazzling ideas, and now this: The Dark Knight. Dang. My review will arrive later this week, but I won't be the only one calling it the Godfather 2 of superhero movies. (In a lot of ways it's also a bit like The Empire Strikes Back! Tonally, anyway.) Best of all, the movie is a big meaty DRAMA, and I don't mean "drama" as in "masterpiece theater."

If you paid good money to see Jaws 3-D, Friday the 13th Part 3 (in 3-D) and The Man Who Wasn't There (the Steve Guttenberg 1983 version in 3-D) during their original theatrical runs, as I did, then you might understand why I've been so reluctant to board the new 3-D bandwagon.Those were awful movies and terrible 3-D experiences: ghost images everywhere, red/blue mix-ups, and constantly shifting focus. The stupid little 3-D paper "viewers" never fit correctly over my own prescription eyeglasses. Instead of inducing a sense of wonder, those movies made my stomach queasy.

But everyone says the new technology is markedly better, and I'm even more optimistic after reading Christopher Campbell's recent column on the wonders of Journey to the Center of the Earth in digital 3-D. I plan to see for myself this weekend, and in anticipation, I started dreaming about other movies that might really benefit from 3-D done right. To keep the list from becoming endless, the seven below could all be considered future cousins of Journey, adventures involving travel through time, place and/or space. All are proposed sequels or remakes or adaptations of published works, and, alas, all must be considered dream projects, at least as far as 3-D is concerned.

Put on your 3-D glasses before jumping onward to my choices, and please share your dreams in the comments.

Confirming rumors that we first reported on a couple of weeks back, Robert Downey Jr. has been formally lined up to play Sherlock Holmes in Guy Ritchie's film of the same name. Apparently inspired by Lionel Wigram's comic book as much as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic novels, Variety says that the film will begin shooting this October for a scheduled 2010 release.

While Downey Jr. has arguably been making his comeback of sorts since 2005 (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, hear hear!), it's naturally his immense success with Iron Man this past May that has opened a door this big. While I have plenty of faith in whatever direction he's about to take this character, I'm still curious about how British gangster maven Ritchie landed the project and in what direction he's about to take the story.

It's curious that we now have a Tropic Thunder star working on one such project, while that film's writer prepares to take on the Apatow-produced version starring Will Ferrell and Sacha Baron Cohen as Holmes and Watson, respectively. But in a world where we get to choose between the prospects of a Victorian-era Tony Stark and a detective prone to streaking in the nude, aren't we all a little spoiled?

C'mon, fess up. When you were watching Tony Stark construct his first Iron Man outfit in a desert cave, were you thinking: "Gee, I have some spare metal parts in my garage. Maybe I could make me one of those." Following that same impulse, Wired.com recently asked readers to submit their creations and has now posted the results, which you can check out over there.

Obviously, I'm not as knowledgeable about superheroes as some of our other writers and many of you reading this, but as I looked over the collection, my interest turned to incredulity. I mean: "Used Electronics Man"? "Captain Carpetfoam"? "Super David"? "Aquitards" (pictured)? Other than that last picture, Wired.com readers appear to have an aversion to spandex and leotards, which seem to be the building blocks for any good superhero costume

I would guess that our own Geek Beat columnist Elisabeth Rappe could whip up a better superhero costume with one hand tied behind her back. I was much more impressed by the Alamo Drafthouse Iron Man costume contest a couple of months ago. People in Austin evidently have a much greater grasp of their superheroes and/or have much more time on their hands. It's not a question of geography, though, it's a question of passion.

What do you think? Do you like the "winners" picked by Wired.com? Have you seen better fan-made (true) superhero costumes?

Apparently teens have short attention spans, evidenced by this year's nominees for the 2008 Teen Choice Awards, which were announced this morning. Looking at the first two movie categories, Best Action Adventure Movie and Best Actor: Action Adventure, all the contenders (including Iron Man, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and The Forbidden Kingdom) are from either May or late April of this year. I guess this summer's other movies, like The Dark Knight, The Incredible Hulk and Hancock will just be ignored, since they're too late for this year and won't be remembered next year.

Another related thing that was revealed: actresses were not too prominent in action movies of that same period, because the category for Best Actress: Action Adventure looks back a little farther to Abigail Breslin in Nim's Island, Rachel Bilson in Jumper and (whoah, December? that was so long ago) Diane Kruger in National Treasure: Book of Secrets.

Over the weekend, Paramount Pictures International went over the $1 billion mark, reportedly thanks to the success of its distribution of summer blockbusters Iron Man ($210 million), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull ($350 million) and Kung Fu Panda ($41 million), as well as earlier releases The Spiderwick Chronicles ($91 million), Cloverfield ($90 million) and No Country for Old Men ($86 million). Paramount is the first studio to reach a billion bucks in international grosses this year, and it did so faster than in 2007, when it didn't top the figure until late July.

But is it really fair for Paramount to be bragging so much? On her Variety blog, Anne Thompson weighs in on the news, pointing out that all three of the studio's summer blockbusters were produced outside the main studio. Indiana Jones was Lucasfilm; Iron Man was Marvel; Panda was DreamWorks Animation. Of course, Paramount deserves a lot of credit for the marketing of these films, but Thompson wonders what it will be like if DreamWorks really does break away soon. Fortunately it has a good looking slate for the next few years, thanks to next year's toy-based titles Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and G.I. Joe, and then the next four or five Marvel Studios releases in 2010 and 2011.

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?

The rumor mill has been awfully quiet on Hancock recently, despite everybody and their mother predicting megabucks upon its July 4th weekend release. But there's at least this: in an apparent attempt to take after Iron Man, which did the same thing back in May, Hancock will be hitting some US theaters a few hours early.

If you'd like, you'll be able to see the Will Smith superhero comedy -- which, by the way, finally got its PG-13 rating from the MPAA after wrestling with the dreaded R for a little while -- starting at 7 pm on July 1st, rather than the previously scheduled July 2nd.

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.