My first thought should be to congratulate Halle Berry on her pregnancy, which she finally, officially announced on Access Hollywood Tuesday. But instead, I'm thinking primarily about John Singleton, who stands to lose by the news. The Boyz n the Hood director is having some bad luck of late -- in case you didn't hear, he accidentally killed a woman recently -- and Berry's bun in the oven has unfortunately affected Singleton's latest project. He was set to direct Tulia, a Southern courtroom drama with Berry and Billy Bob Thornton, but now, thanks to the actress' unavailability for the next six months or so, the film has been postponed -- if not canceled. According to TMZ, Lionsgate has definitely halted production, which was scheduled to begin shooting in October, with no word on when it would resume. The gossip news site did learn, though, that the project hasn't been shelved entirely.

I had been excited for Singleton when he took over Tulia from Carl Franklin. Here, I was thinking he could work with the reunited Berry and Thornton, who paired up on Monster's Ball, and direct the actress to another Oscar nomination (she won for Ball). And then his career would pick up again, proving that his status as youngest director to ever be nominated for the directing Oscar was not a fluke. Maybe it wouldn't get him another nomination, but it would hopefully get him enough respect to finally get him his Luke Cage greenlight. Now, even if Singleton does remain attached to Tulia, it won't be bringing him to any Academy Awards until at least 2010. Currently, Singleton is also having trouble as a producer. He worked with filmmaker Franc. Reyes on the new release Illegal Tender, which has only made $2.5 million in its first two weeks -- most of it earned opening weekend before a near-60% drop. Considering Reyes' previous film, Empire, grossed seven times that amount, Singleton could be blamed.

[via WENN]

There has already been plenty of talk surrounding the casting of John Singleton's big- screen version of Luke Cage. But so far, there hasn't been much attention paid to Singleton's other superhero project, The Black Panther. But now, ReelzChannel has interviewed Singleton and the topic of Panther came up. In talking about actors who could tackle the role, Singelton told ReelzChannel "Chiwetel Ejiofor could do it". Eljiofor is a British actor of Nigerian descent, who has been landing some relatively high-profile roles recently. With American Gangster and David Mamet's Redbelt on the way, Ejiofor has already signed to star in the historical epic based on the life of Toussaint Louverture.

Panther was published by Marvel comics and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The hero first appeared in an issue of Fantastic Four back in 1966. The story centered on T'Challa, a superhero with a birthright to guard his homeland. As well as being a member of the super group The Avengers, he is the leader of the fictional African nation of Wakanda. Battling your usual assortment of comic book villains, the story also slipped in some occasional political commentary -- even pitting the Panther against the Klu Klux Klan. The social undertones of the comic seem like a perfect fit for the politically outspoken director.

But, Panther could still be a long way off. Christopher had already given us the news that Singleton was going to direct the Halle Berry drama Tulia first, and then he is on to his other comic book adaptation Luke Cage. But Singleton has not entirely forgotten about Panther, since he at least seems to be thinking about casting. According to Reelz, gossips had already put forward Djimon Hounso as the lead contender for the role, and long before Wesley Snipes became Blade, he had also been interested in playing the hero. But since Singleton doesn't appear to have made up his mind yet, fans should probably speak up now -- don't you think?

The last time we heard about Luke Cage, back in February, director John Singleton (Boys n the Hood) said the comic adaptation is developing slowly because of the main character's skin color. Sure, such a statement makes little sense after the popularity of the Blade franchise, but then again, for every Blade movie, there's a Spawn or Steel or Meteor Man to make studios wary about black superheroes. Apparently, though, it may be even worse for a black superhero movie that also deals with black issues. Black Panther, which for years was said to be in the works with Wesley Snipes (before he became Blade), is another project that couldn't seem to get the greenlight, possibly because its main character deals with problems in Africa.

The person most rumored to play Luke Cage in Singleton's pic is Tyrese Gibson, and in a new interview to promote Transformers, the actor has confirmed that he's set to fill the character's shoes. He also says the movie is continuing development, with the script (by Ben Ramsey) currently in a rewrite stage. Gibson will be meeting with Singleton and others soon, though, to present the project to Sony and see if they can move forward. Personally I was hoping the project would add Cage's old partner Iron Fist in order to widen the appeal, but otherwise I'm excited about the progress, and I hope Sony is into what they have. Between his Shaft remake and 2 Fast 2 Furious, Singleton is losing a lot of credit as a good filmmaker, but if he can at least make a hit with Luke Cage, if not a great film, then he might be able to save himself from becoming a hero director for hire in the future.

Director John Singleton has given an interview to comicbookmovie.com, in which he expressed his frustrations at the long-gestating Luke Cage project. Wikipedia has a nice summation of the development history of the film since June 2003, if you're interested. When asked directly by the interviewer why Sony isn't jumping on this project and turning it out quickly, Singleton seems to lead with his gut reaction before pulling back a bit: "Well, because it's a black superhero and so studios still, some studios, don't understand that yeah, it is a black superhero but so what? He's a superhero. That hasn't been done yet."

He also adds the following: "We have a great script. We have a couple of great scripts. It's just a matter, like I said, some people have not got it yet. I'm not saying every studio on the board, some people haven't got it that multi-ethnic sells." Singleton also gives a rundown of what must be the most current synopsis of the project: "It's basically a guy that gets out of jail, basically breaks his way out of jail and he's basically a superman. He has to learn to be a hero for the sake of being a hero, not because somebody pays him to be a hero. What would an ex-con do if he had powers? He'd go back to the neighborhood and be like 'Okay, yeah, I'll help you but you've got to pay me.....he's going to be kind of a thug but then he's got to realize that you do things for the right thing, not just for profit."

The actor most often linked to the role of Cage is Tyrese Gibson, although the Wikipedia summary says that as recently as August 2006, he had not yet made any commitment to the role. Interest may rise if his performance in this summer's Transformers is notable. Terrence Howard is also rumored to be in negotiations to play the main villain in the film, a Cage foe named DiamondBack.

Even though uber-producer Neil Moritz was supposedly wooing Jamie Foxx for his upcoming big-screen adaptation of the Marvel Superhero Luke Cage (a character, movie trivia buffs, actor Nicolas Coppola took his stage name from), Foxx had always been keeping his feelings to himself and not letting his interest, or lack thereof, slip out. Well, according to a recent article over at IESB, Foxx is apparently not keeping his thoughts to himself any longer. Ok, I know, I won't keep you in suspense -- he's not interested in the role.

According to the article, Foxx was asked about the role of Luke Cage, a man who went to prison for a crime he didn't commit and was later given superhuman strength and titanium-like skin through an experimental procedure, while out on the road doing press and promoting his upcoming film Dreamgirls. His answer? "I don't think [it will happen]." So, if your ultimate dream was for Foxx to play Cage in a big-budget Hollywood extravaganza your dream has now been crushed. Glad I could help.

So, now that Foxx is seemingly out of the picture, who ever will Moritz get to replace him? Well, as I often do, I have a couple of suggestions. One choice would be the guy who currently has the slot at the IMDB page for the film -- Tyrese Gibson. I like him and think he would probably do a pretty good job. However, I'm really impressed with what Leonard Roberts is doing as D.L on NBC's Heroes. Plus, he was very good as boxer Joe Louis in the film Joe and Max so I think he could definitely pull off playing Nick Cage. No matter who it ends up being, i just gotta say for the record that I'm glad its not going to be Jamie Foxx. Sorry if that offends any Jamie Foxx fans out there but he does nothing for me. Besides, Roberts needs a big break and I hope he gets it.

What do you guys think? Who should be Luke Cage?

Way back in January, singer/actor Tyrese Gibson claimed he had landed the title role in Marvel's upcoming Luke Cage flick. His story now is slightly modified; he is now only "extremely interested" and has yet to officially commit to the film. Gibson recently said the script has gone back for another re-write, and although director John Singleton has Gibson at "the top of his list" and Gibson has met with Marvel bigwigs Moritz and Arad, there is nothing promised yet. "It is not my movie, for the record," according to Gibson himself.

I continue to be thrilled with the concept of a Luke Cage movie. I'd especially love to see a Power Man and Iron Fist film. Heroes for Hire was a great book,* and I personally think it'd transition well to the silver screen, but I have a feeling that isn't the direction Marvel hopes to take with a Cage film. And as far as I'm concerned, any Luke Cage movie has great promise.

*And it has a weird reincarnation for a short Civil War run.

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]

Luke Cage has long been one of my favorite under the radar Marvel characters. Yes, he's had his own comic. Yes, he's fought with some seriously illustrious teams. Yes, he's been around for many of Marvel's most significant events. However, he just doesn't have the name recognition of a Wolverine, Human Torch, or Captain America (maybe it's because his name is so...not super hero-y?). However, real Marvel fans know Cage to be one the most seriously hardcore and downright enjoyable characters in the Marvelverse. Marvel is no doubt banking on his true fan popularity mixed with the gritty and exciting nature of his story to bring success to annouced film based on the character.

In a recent appearance, actor Tyrese Gibson confirmed that he would be bringing life to the title character of the film. He also indicated that the screenplay is currently undergoing a second draft, and more action will be taken upon completion of said draft.

I don't know enough about this guy to know if he's a good cast, but I do know that I'm fantastically excited about this movie in general. If you couldn't tell from my opening salvo, I'm a huge fan of the character, and I think his story has real silver screen potential. I can't wait for more details.

[via iesb]