...3...4...And 5

Variety confirms recent Internet chatter that Ray Stevenson is indeed playing The Punisher in the next movie ...Offering up a few details about the new flick in the process...

Michael Fleming:

Lionsgate is overhauling "The Punisher," setting an October start date for a new franchise that will be built on the broad shoulders of "Rome" star Ray Stevenson.

Director Lexi Alexander, the German-born former world kickboxing champ who directed "Hooligans," will helm the film, which will aim for an R rating.

Nick Santora, Kurt Sutter, Matt Holloway and Art Marcum wrote the script. Gale Anne Hurd and Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige are producing ...

Stevenson was first seen in Hollywood alongside Clive Owen in the Antoine Fuqua-directed "King Arthur," but he's known for playing the Roman soldier Titus Pullo in the HBO series.

"Ray was the first name I wrote down after I saw 'Rome,' because he managed to keep the audience caring about him despite being the most violent guy," said Feige.

New project will mark the third screen incarnation for "The Punisher," which originated in a comic book about Frank Castle, a Marine-turned-vigilante who is driven by a desire to avenge the murder of his family after they witness a gangland killing...

New film will be set in New York, where Castle runs up against a mobster...

The Punisher is a great character that is tailor made for the big screen...Fingers Firmly Crossed on this one.

The trade also says that movie-goers can expect more Shrek films...

Pamela McClintock:

DreamWorks Animation and Paramount will release the fourth installment in the lucrative "Shrek" franchise May 10, 2010.

So far, the animated green ogre has the date alone.

Warner Bros. has set its release of filmmaker Zack Snyder's "Watchmen" for March 6, 2009. Pic, Snyder's follow-up to "300," begins lensing this fall.

In an earnings call earlier this week, DreamWorks Animation topper Jeffrey Katzenberg announced there will be a fifth "Shrek" as well.

"Shrek the Third," bowing earlier this summer, has grossed more than $320 million at the domestic box office and nearly $400 million overseas.

Given how lucrative the franchise has been for DreamWorks over the years, it's no surprise that more of these adventures are planned. The mixed reviews for Shrek the Third be damned...

And hey, at least we now know when Watchmen is set to come out...!! Don't know why that info was included with news about the ogre... But I'll take it!!