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!

Rumors have been swirling all week that Justice League: Mortal is dead (making the title so very ironic). Eric Kohn reported last week that Joel Silver was describing the film as "tabled." It sounds as if the final nails are being hammered into the coffin, as the Herald Sun reports that the stars have begun to jump ship.

Reportedly, the entire cast has been let go, but as of now, the only name anyone is really talking about is Megan Gale, who was set to play Wonder Woman. An agent for Gale (and League costar Teresa Palmer) insist that both actresses are still on board and waiting for the start date to be announced. Industry insiders are claiming the film is off the books for good.

As there hasn't been one scrap of positive or definitive news on this movie in some time, I think it is safe to say the film is dead for the time being. I imagine it will resurrect in a year or two, probably with an entirely new cast and director, but I sincerely doubt George Miller's film will see the light of day. I feel bad for the guy, but it is obviously just not meant to be. He didn't respond to the Herald's inquiries, which may say volumes about whether he thinks the project is alive or not.

It is no end of strange that with all the superhero movies being greenlit, one of the biggest comic book icons has languished in development hell for years. How is it that the Hulk managed to get remade before Wonder Woman landed a single movie?

We've heard it before, but she may finally be on her way. IESB.net caught up with Joel Silver at the Speed Racer press junket, and to everyone's surprise, Silver mentioned the future of the Amazon superheroine. Silver says he has two new writers working on the script -- Matthew Jennison and Brent Strickland, authors of the WWII Wonder Woman script that Warner Bros bought last year.

The two are writing a whole new script, shying away from any origin story, but instead one looking at her background, and her homeland of Paradise Island. I don't know, that sounds like an origin story to me. No word on what has happened to the WWII spec.

It's about to get a smidge gossipy in here, but once I read these stories back-to-back, I had to write up these bits for you...

First up: Early Obituaries
There's death pools for the masses, and early obits written up by the press just in case the sometimes-inevitable happens. Why waste time writing it up and losing the scoop if you can just hear the news, grab the story, and click "publish"? Well, that's what the Associate Press thinks about Britney Spears, according to Ace Showbiz. The AP have confirmed that they are preparing a blurb for that possibility, and editor Jesse Washington says: "We are not wishing it, but if Britney passed away, it's easily one of the biggest stories in a long time. I think one would agree that Britney seems at risk right now. Of course, we would never wish any type of misfortune on anybody, and hope that we would never have to use it until 50 years from now ...but if something were to happen, we would have to be prepared." Topping this off, Ace says she has chronic mood disorder and is predicted to die in six months if she doesn't get treatment. Poor Spears. Her problems seem never-ending.

Meanwhile... Morgues!
While some people are waiting for Britney to hit the slab, Yahoo reports that Lindsay Lohan will have to visit one. Still in her first legal drinking year (21), Lohan will have to work at a morgue as part of her misdemeanor drunk driving punishment. She's gone to rehab, done some community service, and now she has to do two 4-hour days at the morgue -- "part of a court-ordered program to show drivers the real-life consequences of drinking and driving." Topping that off, she'll also have to spend two days in a hospital ER. I'm sure that will be all sorts of scary for Lohan, but considering how many damned stars and celebs drink and drive, I think all of them should be put in this program.

But all hope is not lost, Wonder Woman is coming!
Justice League is kaput, and that whole live-action project for the lady with the lasso isn't going anywhere, but that doesn't mean we can't get more Wonder Woman. TV Guide reported recently that their sources say that there's a straight-to-DVD animated Wonder Woman feature on the way, and Keri Russell will be voicing the epic, Amazonian heroine. That leads me to wonder (pun!), should she pull off the voice well (and these rumors are true), could Russell also make it work in a live-action setting? Stay tuned!

I'm already convinced we'll continually circle the same names over and over and over ... until, eventually, this whole thing will just go away. Yup, we're in Justice League limbo -- not quite development hell or greenlight heaven; we're here to just wait and speculate. It would appear that Warner Bros. has this film cast already. Then why are we hearing (yet again) from sites like AICN and IESB when it comes to casting confirmations? These names should've hit the trades a week or two ago, when we first reported on them. But no. So here we are. Again.

AICN claims they can confirm 100% with all sorts of inside studio sources, their siblings and their siblings' children that Megan Gale has officially landed the part of Wonder Woman in the new live-action Justice League Film. She's from Australia, used to be a fashion model, appeared in the movie Stealth and, well, that's all there is to know at this time. Additionally, and with the same certainty, IESB claims that dude Armie Hammer has landed the role of Batman. He played Barrett on one episode of Desperate Housewives. Kurt on one episode of Veronica Mars. And Student #2 on one episode of Arrested Development. And now he'll play Batman in the long-awaited Justice League flick. Don't try to find the logic people; I've been searching for months now and nada. Will an official announcement come soon? Maybe. Maybe not. So you'll have to make do with this for now.

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.

The new website for the heist comedy Mad Money has gone live with its first full-length trailer. It is pretty much what you would expect from a harmless little comedy, so if you are looking for a hard-edged crime flick, you are definitely in the wrong place. Along with the trailer, the website has the usual photo galleries and downloads (you can check out Cinematical's exclusive gallery here). There is even the chance to win a little of your own 'mad money' in a sweepstakes. Directed by Callie Khouri, the film stars Katie (or Kate; I can never keep it straight) Holmes, Queen Latifah, Diane Keaton, and Ted Danson. The story centers on three employees of the Federal Reserve who pull together for a plot to steal the money that is going to be taken out of circulation.

Khouri is probably best known as the writer for another famous female 'buddy film'; Thelma and Louise. Money is a pretty light-hearted flick so I doubt we'll be seeing Keaton, Holmes, and Latifah going over a cliff in a protest of patriarchal control. Mad Money will be Holmes' first big-screen role since Batman Begins and Thank You for Smoking back in 2005. As we all know, Holmes wasn't invited back for The Dark Knight and there were even a few thinly veiled shots directed towards her in the press over the whole matter. Since all that Wonder Woman talk never panned out either, for the sake of her career I only hope that comedy vets like Keaton and Danson can help keep Mad Money afloat at the box-office. Maybe then, Holmes will get credit for being something other than Mrs Tom Cruise. Mad Money hits theaters on January 18th.

Word has it this morning that Wonder Woman has finally -- thank the friggin' Lord, I tell ya! -- been cast in the upcoming live-action Justice League of America. Moviehole reports (via the director of one of the gal's most recent flicks) that Teresa Palmer has, in fact, landed the role. I'm going out on a limb here, but I'd say the director Moviehole spoke with was Ron Hardy, who worked with Palmer on December Boys. Since that was an Aussie pic, and Clint from Moviehole is an Aussie, I'd imagine he's pretty close to the production. But I could be wrong, and if I am, Clint will send us an email.

Anyway, this looks to be a bit stronger than any other rumor -- Clint has already updated the post telling us an Aussie newspaper is running the rumor today, and the entire online community is buzzing. Could we finally have our first official (damn you Biel!) Justice League cast member? Palmer is an up-and-comer; she got her start in Wolf Creek as a background actress, before going to do films like The Grudge 2, December Boys and the upcoming Kids in America. She's Australian, which automatically makes her sexy enough for this role in my book, and she's 21-years-old. Nothing is set in stone yet, but you might as well start debating -- is Teresa Palmer a good fit for Wonder Woman?

Just when we thought things were starting to happen regarding Warner Bros. upcoming live-action Justice League movie, comes word from Entertainment Weekly that Jessica Biel has passed on the role of Wonder Woman. We brought you news recently that Biel was in discussions to take on the first live-action, big-screen version of one of the sexiest superheroes of all time. But, for whatever reason, Biel has decided to pass -- so says EW, that is. Official word has not come down as of yet, so I wouldn't count her out completely. But, with Biel out of the picture, it means a lot of folks will have to go back to the drawing board. And seeing as there are plans to begin production within the next couple months, it will be a race to cast someone, anyone, in the role.

But they don't just have to find a Wonder Woman, they have to also find a Batman, a Superman, a Green Lantern, a Flash, a Martian Manhunter and an Aquaman (although recent rumors point toward Aqauaman not being included). Good luck. It's not clear why Biel passed on the role; perhaps she's been reading up on all the negative internet chatter surrounding the film -- maybe she didn't feel like signing her life away (I take it whomever plays WW will also need to sign onto at least three films) -- or maybe she'd rather go after an Oscar nom instead of a big payday. We don't know, and we may never know, but the field is wide open yet again. Will this delay the film? Who knows - but I do know there are a lot of other actresses out there capable of taking on the role. And I'm sure all of you have lots of suggestions ...

Yesterday, our Christopher Campbell shared rumors that an Australian actress was in talks to play Wonder Woman in the upcoming Justice League of America flick. While he said it probably wouldn't be Jessica Biel, Warner Brothers wasn't listening. Variety has reported that the former 7th Heaven actress is going to put on the powerful accessories and become the famous Amazonian superheroine who flies around in invisible jets and golden-lassos bad guys -- that is, if talks don't go sour. Methinks she won't let them.

First of all, she did Blade: Trinity, so why in the heck wouldn't she want to do this? I bet it has a better shot at being loved, as long as the rush to finish it pre-strike doesn't make it crappy. If she does a good job, it would also help solidify her career, which is growing -- but hasn't had that solid hit, or prominent role, to keep her professional future secure. Finally, this could potentially lead to another film role -- I imagine if she can handle Wonder Woman, the feature film that Joss Whedon walked away from might start cooking up once again.

I have to say, I don't completely hate Biel for the role. That being said, I'm still going to mourn the fact that it isn't Charisma Carpenter. Sure, she got a lot of buzz having worked with Whedon before, but man, she definitely fits the part, and has some action scene fighting experience to boot. Oh well, at least it isn't Katie Holmes!