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Although Superman hasn't returned ... yet, director Bryan Singer has been hard at work on a film that's temporarily removed him from the comic book world and placed him right smack in the middle of World War II. The Daily Mail has published the first photo featuring the seven men who plotted out a mission to assassinate Adolf Hitler on July 20, 1944. In front of the men -- and printed off Google Maps -- is their ill-fated plan. Is it just me, or do these guys look like they mean business? Pictured from left are actors Kevin McNally, Christian Berkel, Bill Nighy, Tom Cruise, Terrence Stamp, David Schofield and Kenneth Branagh.

Apart from the photo, The Daily Mail also provides a brief bio for each of the men. Unfortunately for each of the seven, since this was such a dangerous plot, if they were to fail it would most likely cost them their lives. And, as we all should know -- spoiler alert -- they were not able to kill Hitler. Thus, reading the ways in which each man perished was rather, um, depressing. With a screenplay from Nathan Alexander and Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects), Valkyrie is set to arrive in theaters on June 27, 2008.

It's been 35 years since the original film hit theaters, but don't tell Michael Caine that -- it might make him feel old. Empire Online has our first look at the much talked-about Sleuth remake, starring Jude Law (in the role Michael Caine took on all those years ago) and Michael Caine (in the role Laurence Olivier played opposite a much younger version of himself). Say all you want about how overrated Jude Law is, the guy worked hard to put this project together; single-handedly nabbing Caine and director Kenneth Branagh for what, I hope, turns out to be one of the better remakes to hit theaters in some time.

In the film (which was based on the Tony Award winning play by Anthony Shaffer), Law will play an aspiring actor who's summoned to the sprawling country estate of an author (Caine) whose wife has been fooling around with the younger, more attractive thesp. Once together, the two men engage in an assortment of mindgames which may or may not turn deadly. With a script from the great Nobel Prize-winning Harold Pinter (who, funnily enough, was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1996, and also took park in an extra-marital affair in the early 1960s), this one is sure to entertain. Heck, if it were up to me, I'd give Caine an award for playing both roles in different versions of the same film 35 years apart. That's gotta be worth something. No word yet on a release date, though I'd expect it to arrive sometime next year.

When Jude Law was noticeably absent during the recent press day for Anthony Minghella's Breaking and Entering -- Law is the star of that film -- we were told that it was because he couldn't tear himself away from filming Sleuth, the update of the 1972 Michael Caine thriller about an old-timer who matches wits with a younger man who has stolen his wife away. Assuming the characters haven't been changed substantially from the original, Law will play the down-on-his-luck actor who ends up sparring with the wealthy writer character played by Caine. Exactly which actress is playing the wife caught in the middle is probably known by someone, but not me. What is known is that Kenneth Branagh is directing, and Law's deep commitment to this particular project has been widely reported.

Today's Variety carries news which should make him very happy -- Paramount Pictures has stepped in to pick up distribution rights for the actor's "passion project." The studio will distribute the picture in the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. The movie, which Law is also co-producing, recently wrapped filming at Twickenham Studios in London, and marks the first screenwriting effort in ten years form Harold Pinter. North American distribution rights and Latin American rights have already been picked up by Sony Pictures Classics. No release date for the film has been set yet.

In a move that I find rather interesting and fun, Michael Caine will be playing a different role in the remake of Sleuth, a film in which he originally starred back in 1972. Kenneth Branagh is set to direct, while Jude Law will take over as the character Caine once played.

Based on the Anthony Shaffer play (with a script by Harold Pinter), story revolves around a thriller writer (Caine) who, upon losing his wife to a young hairdresser (Law), decides to hatch a complex revenge plan. In the original, Caine played the hairdresser and Laurence Olivier played the writer. Pic marks the second time Law will be taking on a role once owned by Caine, having also starred in the 2004 remake of Alfie. Hmm, I guess we can now officially call Jude Law a young Michael Caine.