After wallowing in production limbo for the last ten years, Empire Online reports that Pixar has finally decided to make not one, but three films about John Carter of Mars by Tarzan creator, Edgar Rice Burroughs. The latest news about the project emerged when Pixar's creative team made a visit to the Burroughs's archives. Pixar's team was comprised of Jim Morris (VP), Andrew Stanton (director), and Mark Andrews (script). Carter was "a Civil War veteran whose retreat into a cave to avoid capture by Apache Indians takes an otherworldly turn as he's transported via time portal to the planet of Barsoom (aka Mars) and taken prisoner by 12-foot-tall green men". First appearing in Princess of Mars back in 1917, the character appeared in over seven novels, so there is plenty of material for the trilogy. According to reports, "All six members at the meeting expressed a deep commitment to the project, acknowledging that they had been inspired by Burroughs' creations from a very early age. This is evidenced in the excitement held for the John Carter property and the plans for a film trilogy faithful to the Burroughs books".

Rights to Carter were finalized back in January for Pixar and Disney. Reportedly, the project has been around since the 90's when Jeffrey Katzenberg had designs on a feature film version while he was still head of Disney. After that, the project made the rounds to Paramount and has had some big names attached to direct over the years, including Robert Rodriguez and Jon Favreau. There is still talk that Pixar will finally be getting into the live-action game with Brad Bird's telling of the San Francisco earthquake, 1906. But, there is plenty of time since they aren't exactly in a rush to get Carter into production. The first film will hit screens sometime in 2012. Talk about planning ahead ...

I must admit that I don't know much about this Tintin character, but I do know that his stories are pretty darn adored all over the planet. Plus now that I know how much Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson love the series, I'm definitely just a bit more interested. If you're like me and know Tintin only peripherally, get ready for a crash course: Variety just announced that Spielberg and Jackson will team up to produce a trilogy of Tintin flicks -- and yes, they'll be directing the films too!

Based on the very popular series of (23) books by Georges "Herge" Remi, the trilogy will re-introduce Tintin (and his pup Snowy) to popular (American) culture -- and probably help to sell a lot more books in the process. Apparently the character is an adventurous reporter who flits around the globe skirting danger and relying on a gang of colorful sidekicks. The movies will be created through the magic of digital animation, 3-D and state-of-the-art motion capture technology, but don't worry about the flicks losing that "personal touch."

Needless to say (because if you can't trust Spielberg and Jackson, who can you trust?), both filmmakers are adamant about being faithful to the source material. Says Mr. Spielberg: "We want Tintin's adventures to have the reality of a live-action film, and yet Peter and I felt that shooting them in a traditional live-action format would simply not honor the distinctive look of the characters and world that Herge created." Regarding the way in which the beloved characters would hit the silver screen, Mr. Jackson had this to say: "We're making them look photorealistic; the fibers of their clothing, the pores of their skin and each individual hair. They look exactly like real people --but real Herge people."

Variety speculates that this project could get rolling as early as next year, right after Spielberg finishes Indy 4 and Jackson finishes burying his Lovely Bones. Looks like each director will be helming their own movie in the Tintin trilogy, which is very exciting news, but it does lead to an interesting question: Who'll be directing the third chapter? Might I recommend Brett Ratner?

It looks like all is not well with Mummy 3. Last week Erik finally confirmed that Rachel Weisz would not be returning to reprise her role as the plucky librarian/adventurer. So while the official reason provided by Weisz's reps was scheduling conflicts and quality time with her family, sources for IESB .net say the real problem might have been the script. Early reviews of the Mummy script weren't favorable, but now IESB's sources say the script is being re-tooled as a father and son adventure to accommodate Weisz's absence -- which sounds a little too close for comfort to some of the ideas bandying around for the latest Indiana Jones. Now titled Mummy 3: Curse of the Dragon, the film leaves Egypt behind (and Oded Fehr for that matter), and is set in China. The story will have our hero, Rick O'Connell, battling cursed Terra Cotta Warriors. Jet Li is still in talks for the film, but consensus seems to be that his signing is pretty much a foregone conclusion.

Weisz had been mentioned as a possible contender for Sin City 2, which according to Rosario Dawson, is shooting this summer. This could lend some weight to the rumor that Weisz is joining Rodrguez's cast and maybe is the source of her "scheduling conflict." Either way, bailing out of Mummy 3 might be the smarter choice, Enough bad word of mouth just might be the final "nail in the sarcophagus" for the franchise. I guess we will have to wait until Summer 2008 to find out.

Last week, Chris gave us a look at the new trailer for the Russian horror-fantasy film Day Watch, and gave us a pretty solid recommendation. Solace in Cinema is now hosting the new poster for the film. If you are like me and didn't get a chance to see the first film (Night Watch), and the trailer * peaks piques your interest, it is readily available on DVD. Luckily, if you don't have the two hours to invest, Fox Searchlight has a 2.5 minute primer on the story so far.

The film is the second installment of a trilogy about an epic battle of good and evil -- which apparently seems to revolve around a mystical piece of chalk. Both films were directed by *Laeta Kalogridis, and so it seems likely that he will direct the third. Since I haven't seen Night Watch, I can't say that the poster for the sequel tells you all that much about the film, although it did kind of remind me of The Dark Half, but I make some strange associations sometimes. There is even a chance to voice your preference for a different poster if this first one doesn't catch your fancy -- to be fair though, if you thought this poster was a little confusing, wait till you see the mutant baby-dolls.

*Correction: Both films were directed by Timur Bekmambetov

Frankly, I've no freaking idea how it took so long to happen, but it looks like a big swanky movie version of The Smurfs is scheduled to hit the silver screen within the next few years. I realize this is the sort of project that may make you roll your eyes and deliver a derisive snort from not one but both nostrils, but producer Jordan Kerner recently shared some insights and ideas with Moviehole.com ... and the guy does have some pretty cool concepts for the inevitably Smurfy blockbuster. Among the things promised by Mr. Kerner:

• The Paramount production will be done in 3-D style CGI, not at all unlike those Shrek flicks.
• The plan is to do a full trilogy, one that fills in all the "holes" of the TV series.
• The folks who presently run the little blue juggernaut originally created by the late Peyo -- "loved" the ideas that Kerner & Co. came up with. And since the guy was pursuing the movie rights for about half a decade, I guess one could take that reaction as a good sign. (Or at least a potentially profitable one.)
• The producer wants the Smurfs trilogy to feel like a lighter and goofier version of the Lord of the Rings trilogy: Epic and adventure-packed, but still sweet and silly.
• Regarding the nefarious Gargamel, we're promised a lot of backstory on the villain ... plus it seems that the fantastic John Lithgow is being considered for the role.

So there's what we have so far. As a guy who grew up during the crest of the Smurfenomena, I'm quite familiar with these little blue buggers -- even if I'm not exactly what you'd call a Smurficionado. But I'll be honest: My opinion of this burgeoning movie project has gone up just a little bit since hearing what Kerner's approach may be.

But then the guy had to go and kinda ruin it by promising the world a movie called The Mighty Ducks 4.