Katheryn Winnick Caught Up In "Geostorm"

Katheryn Winnick has joined the cast of the sci-fi tale "Geostorm" says Deadline.

The story sees Gerard Butler play a charming, yet stubborn satellite designer who, when the world's climate-controlling satellites malfunction has to work together with his estranged brother (Jim Sturgess) to save the world from a giant man-made storm. As the designer heads into space, the brother discovers a plot to assassinate the president (Andy Garcia).

Winnick will play the ex-wife of Butler's.

 Abbie Cornish will play Stugess' Secret Service agent girlfriend. Ed Harris will play the Secretary of State.

Dean Devlin calls action here from the script he penned with Michele Mulroney and Kieran Mulroney ("Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows")

David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Marc Roskin and Rachel Olschan will produce the film.

Production looks to begin in October in New Orleans.

Antje Traue Aides A "Criminal"

Antje Traue ("Man of Steel") has been cast as a terrorist henchwoman in the sci-fi actioner "Criminal" says Heat Vision.

Kevin Costner plays a ruthless killer who rather than spend the rest of his life in jail, chooses to be the subject of a medical experiment in which the brain of a recently murdered field operative is implanted in his head.

Gary Oldman would play a Central Intelligence Agency chief. Tommy Lee Jones will play a doctor Frank. Ryan Reynolds “Star Trek Into Darkness” co-star Alice Eve and "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" heroine Gal Gadot also star.

Douglas Cook and David Weisberg ("The Rock," "Double Jeopardy") are writing the script for director Ariel Vromen.

Chris Bender, J.C. Spink, Kevin King, Christa Campbell, Lati Grobman and Jason Bloom are producing.

Avi Lerner, John Thompson, Trevor Short, Boaz Davidson, Lati Grobman, Christa Campbell, Christine Crow and Jason Bloom are executive producing.

No production schedule has been released yet.

Star Trek 3: Shat CONFIRMS Chatter

As  it turns out those rumors that started recently about Star Trek-TOS star William Shatner finally returning to the franchise in Star Trek 3 are true--despite denials all around.

Shatner was originally in the script for a cameo in J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek" '09 but the notion was nixed. According to the report, a sequence in the Trek 3 script reunites Shatner and Leonard Nimoy as Kirk and Spock for their first canon appearance together since 1991's "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country". Kirk Prime's appearance is said to be 'plot-driven' rather than some throwaway cameo which means it will likely stay in the script despite the further polishing being done.

During an appearance at Wizard World Nashville over the weekend though, Shatner told attendees: Abrams called him directly saying: "I'm calling because the director of Star Trek, the next movie, has had an idea where you might be involved, so I'm calling to find out whether you would be interested."

Shatner told Abrams, "It depends on what you do with the character, but I would be delighted."

After that he was sworn to secrecy, and then the story made its way online. Now, there's not much point in denying it: "So the news is out that they have an idea that they want Leonard and myself…they might want Leonard and myself in it. But I would love to do it. But how do you get me fifty years later into the movie? I mean how do you rationalize it. I know it's science fiction, but even I couldn't come up with an idea. So that's the news on that."

Roberto Orci co-wrote and produced Abrams' "Star Trek" '09 and "Star Trek Into Darkness" with longtime partner Alex Kurtzman is tipped to helm. Abrams commitments to the Star Wars: Episode VII kept him from coming back. Names like "Attack the Block" filmmaker Joe Cornish, "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" director Rupert Wyatt and G.I. Joe: Retaliation" director Jon M. Chu were in the mix to call action. 

"Thor" and "X-Men: First Class" writers and "Fringe" producers Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz were eyed to script the sequel but opted not to do it.

Now J.D. Payne, Patrick McKay and Orci are co-writing the next film. Orci confirmed the first draft of the screenplay was completed last month and will be closer in tone to the original 1960s show than the previous two films.

Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin and John Cho are all expected to return to the Final Frontier in their respective roles as Kirk Spock Uhura Dr. McCoy Scotty Chekov and Sulu.

Abrams Bryan Burke and David Ellison will produce the film

Skydance is reportedly behind Orci directing the film, but Paramount wasn't so sure at first.

The sequel is going to move forward quickly to make a 2016 bow coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the "Star Trek" franchise. Filming on the next "Star Trek" hopes to begin in the Spring with pre-production aiming to start at the end of this year or in very early 2015.

I am so glad that this is now out there and out of the way rather than trying to keep it in the Cone Of Silence and now we can move on to speculating about the plot subtitle and a million other things about the film. Abrams and the team have indeed learned the hard way after the whole "Star Trek Into Darkness"/Benedict Cumberbatch's "John Harrison"/Khan Noonien Singh secret miscue.

"London Has Fallen" Finds New Helmer

Scandinavian helmer Babak Najafi ("Easy Money II: Hard to Kill") is in talks to replace Fredrik Bond at the helm of "London Has Fallen," the upcoming sequel to last year's surprise hit "Olympus Has Fallen" says Heat Vision. Bond parted with the film earlier this month--the split was amicable and due to creative differences.

Several names were listed as contenders this past week including Wayne Blair ("The Sapphires") and Gary Fleder ("Runaway Jury"), but Najafi rose to the top.
The story deals with a plot to strike at London during the funeral of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Only the President of the United States, his secret service head and an English MI6 agent can save the day.

Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart and Morgan Freeman are set to reprise their roles, while Angela Bassett and Melissa Leo and Radha Mitchell also star.

Christian Gudegast (A Man Apart, Sequestro) wrote the most recent draft of the script after Katrin Benedikt and Creighton Rothenberger returned to write the first draft of the screenplay.

Butler, Alan Siegel, Mark Gill, Matthew O'Toole, and Danny Lerner will produce.

Avi Lerner's going to executive produce the pic.

'London' is slated to begin a four week partial shoot at the end of October with actors Freeman,  Eckhart, Bassett and Leo. Production will resume in February and run through April.

Butler won't be a part of the October filming due to his current commitments to shooting the sci-fi tale "Geostorm".

The Avengers 2 Trailer Noise & Part 3 Splits In Two?

The site FilmPro Russian reports that a presentation by Warner Bros. suggests that the first trailer for Joss Whedon's superhero team up sequel "The Avengers: Age of Ultron" will be attached to prints of Christopher Nolan's sci-fi film Interstellar.

Marvel generally posts its trailers on the net  a week before they bow in theaters so that the 'Ultron' trailer will bow during the last week of October ahead of the release of "Interstellar" on November 7th.

The report has NOT been confirmed by Marvel or Disney, and we don't know if the same situation will happen in North America or just in Russia. Disney's "Big Hero 6" opens the same week in the U.S. and it will more likely premiere with that flick.

The sequel DOES NOT follow the Age of Ultron comics storyline--in which the big bad Ultron was created by Hank Pym who becomes Ant-Man. James Spader will both voice Ultron, and he'll have to do some kind of motion-capture as well--This news puts to rest the most popular theory suggesting that Tony Stark's (Robert Downey Jr,) robot butler J.A.R.V.I.S. (voiced by Paul Bettany) operating system from the Iron Man Films would turn into the villain.

Marvel vets RDJ, Chris Evans Chris Hemsworth Scarlett Johansson Samuel L. Jackson Jeremy Renner Mark Ruffalo, Clark Gregg and Cobie Smulders are all back Two time Iron Man co-star Don Cheadle is involved this time out according to USA Today. Bettany will appear on screen as The Vision an android created by Ultron as a weapon to be used against the Avengers. Vision can fire beams of radiation and turn invisible--the character ultimately turned the tables on Ultron and became an Avengers member himself.

TV's Hulk Lou Ferrigno has confirmed that he'll return to do the voice of the big guy in the sequel. Ferrigno has said four words as the character so far - "Hulk Smash" in 2008's "The Incredible Hulk" and "Puny God" in "The Avengers".

Thomas Kretschmann has landed the role of 2nd bad guy Baron von Strucker. In the comics, the seemingly immortal Strucker is one of the leaders of Hydra, and an enemy of both S.H.I.E.L.D and The Avengers He seemingly beat out rumored candidates Marton Csokas and Dougray Scott who were being considered for the BvS role. The character will have Wanda Maximoff, a.k.a. Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and her twin brother Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) apparently working for him in the sequel (American Horror Story favorite Evan Peters plays a different incarnation of the speedy superhero in Bryan Singer's "X-Men: Days of Future Past"--in a very cool sequence in the film). Korean actress  Soo-hyun Kim will play a bad gal role.

Radar Online has an unidentified source that claims that RDJ was campaigning to get his pals Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster a role in the movie.

 Latino Review has posted what appears to be details about the film's opening 15-20 minutes (SPOILERS).

Some non principal filming took place in South Africa Post-production  on the 'Avengers 2' has begun to meet a release date of May 1, 2015.

Looking ahead...Will Marvel's third "Avengers" film be split into a two-part movie?

The Daily Marvelite posted the rumor and says that its "pretty confident of its content".

 Marvel chief suit Kevin Feige has indicated the third "Avengers" would be out in 2018. This would now suggest a third and fourth film are being targeted for a potential May 2018 and May 2019 debut.

The film will feature our heroes going head to head with Thanos-(Josh Brolin). Chatter suggests the possibility that  some of the cast of "Guardians of the Galaxy" could show up. On the other hand for such a production to work it would require cast contract extensions and all sorts of scheduling  headaches.

Box Office Update: All Things Being Equal

Antoine Fuqua's big screen reboot of the 80's TV series "The Equalizer" starring Denzel Washington had a strong debut. The film adaptation of author James Dashner's bestselling 2009 book "The Maze Runne" takes the 2nd slot--while the family film The Boxtrolls enjoys its own measure of success at 3rd.

Pamela McClintock of THR:

Denzel Washington's The Equalizer proved the actor's continuing popularity at the North American box office, debuting to an estimated $35 million from 3,236 theaters and marking the third-best opening of his career.

The $55 million action thriller, reuniting Washington with Training Day director Antoine Fuqua, is based on the 1980s TV series created by Michael Sloan and Richard Lindheim and skewed older, with 65 percent of ticket buyers over the age of 30. Audiences gave the film an A- CinemaScore, in line with strong reviews. It played more evenly than expected gender-wise, with males making up 52 percent of the audience, and females, 48 percent.

"He's one of the few actors on the planet that really appeals to everyone. And he and Antoine just bring out the best in each other," Sony distribution chief Rory Bruer said.

Washington's top opening of all time is American Gangster ($43.6 million) in 2007, followed by Safe House ($40.2 million) in 2012. Rival studios have Equalizer slightly lower than $35 million, but as long as it comes in north of $32 million when final numbers are released Monday, it will remain Washington's third-best domestic launch. And Equalizer marks a career best for Equalizer for Fuqua (Training Day debuted to $22.6 million in 2001).

Heading into the weekend, Sony was conservative in its projections, suggesting a launch in the $25 million to $30 million. It's no surprise, considering how volatile the domestic box office has been in recent months. Still, the studio was so keen on Equalizer's prospects following its premiere at the 2014 Toronto Film Festival that it was already developing a sequel. It made Equalizer with Village Roadshow Pictures and LStar Capital.

The Equalizer benefited from playing in Imax theaters and large-format screens, the preferred venue for males. It also features Eminem's new single, "Guts Over Fear," featuring Sia.

The R-rated film stars Washington as McCall, a former member of the special forces who is now leading a quiet life. But when he meets a young girl (Chloe Grace Moretz) under the control of ultraviolent Russian gangsters, he can't stand idly by and comes out of his self-imposed retirement to do battle on the streets of Boston.

Sony's marketing chief Dwight Caines waged an aggressive digital effort for Equalizer, as well as holding tastemaker screenings in 15 major cities with the help of sports stars such as Michael Strahan, Dwight Howard and Tiger Woods, as well as NFL teams the Chicago Bears and the San Francisco 49ers.

Equalizer took a big bite out of Liam Neeson's action movie A Walk Among the Tombstones, which tumbled 67 percent in its second weekend to $4.1 million for a domestic total of $20.9 million. The movie placed No. 7.

Focus Features' 3D family offering The Boxtrolls was the weekend's other new nationwide entry, earning a hearty $17.3 million, the best showing for Oregon-based animation house Laika, not accounting fro inflation. Its two previous releases, which also went through Focus, were Coraline ($16.8 million) and ParaNorman ($14.1 million).

Boxtrolls, earning a B+ CinemaScore, narrowly lost the No. 2 spot at the box office to holdover The Maze Runner, which earned $17.5 million in its second weekend for a pleasing domestic total of $58 million for 20th Century Fox.

Directed by Anthony Stacchi and Graham Annable, Boxtrolls' star-studded voice cast includes Ben Kingsley, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Elle Fanning, Dee Bradley Baker, Steve Blum, Toni Collette, Jared Harris, Nick Frost, Richard Ayoade, Tracy Morgan and Simon Pegg.

Boxtrolls features a boy named Eggs, who has been raised by a community of quirky, mischievous creatures living in a cavernous home beneath the streets of Cheesebridge. When the town's villain, Archibald Snatcher, comes up with a plot to get rid of the Boxtrolls, Eggs decides to venture aboveground to save the day.

Shawn Levy's adult-skewing dramedy This Is Where I Leave You came in No. 4 in its second weekend, falling 39 percent to $7 million from 2,868 theaters for a total $22.6 million. Fellow Warner Bros. release Dolphin Tale 2 took the No. 5 spot in its third weekend with an estimated $4.8 million from 3,376 locations for a total of $33.7 million.

Here are the estimated top 10 films for the weekend of Sept. 26-28 at the domestic box office:

1. The Equalizer, 1/3,236, Sony/Village Roadshow, $35 million

2. The Maze Runner, 2/3,638, Fox, $17.5 million, -46%, $58 million

3. The Boxtrolls, 1/3464, Focus Features, $17.3 million

4. This Is Where I Leave You, 2/2,868, Warner Bros., $7 million, -39%, $22.6 million

5. Dolphin Tale 2, 3/3,376, Warner Bros./Alcon, $4.8 million, -45%, $33.7 million

6. No Good Deed, 3/2,130, Sony/Screem Gems, $4.6 million, -53%, $46.6 million

7. A Walk Among the Tombstones, 2/2,714, Universal/Cross Creek, $4.2 million, -67%, $20.9 million

8. Guardians of the Galaxy, 9/2,451, Disney/Marvel, $3.8 million, -28%, $319.2 million

9. Let's Be Cops, 7/1,534, 20th Century Fox, $1.5 million, -44%, $79.6 million

10. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, 7/1,585, Paramount, $1.45 million, -45%, $187.2 million

Next Up: In David Fincher's thriller Gone Girl for Fox that is based on author Gillian Flynn's novel, Ben Affleck stars as a husband whose wife (one time frontrunner Rosamund Pike) disappears during their fifth anniversary - leaving him the prime suspect for her murder.

In the drama  The Good Lie directed by Philippe Falardeau Sudanese refugees given the chance to resettle in America arrive in Kansas, where their encounter with employment agency (Reese Witherspoon) counselor forever changes all of their lives.

 Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema's "Annabelle," the spin-off film centering on the haunted doll character from last year's hit supernatural thriller "The Conjuring" is ready for the fright.

We also get the first film in a proposed new trilogy of motion pictures based on Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins's Christian-themed "Left Behind" novel series. The sixteen book series is set in the aftermath of The Rapture, the Christian event in which that religion's true believers are transported to heaven. What remains of the world is shattered and chaotic, and from these ashes rises a Romanian politician promising to restore stability - a politician who is actually the Antichrist.

Nicolas Cage Lea Thompson Cassi Thomson Chad Michael Murray William Ragsdale (the original Fright Night) singer Jordin Sparks Martin Klebba and Nicky Whelan star.

Alex Winter On "Bill & Ted 3"

The seemingly stalled comedy sequel "Bill & Ted 3" is being talked about again.

Original "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" scribes Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon wrote the script for a third film in the series on spec. Rather than a remake or reboot the film is a sequel exploring where Ted Theodore Logan and Bill S. Preston, Esq. (Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter) are today 20 years after Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey. The script was well received by all accounts.

Dean Parisot ("Galaxy Quest") had been attached to direct the film.

Recently, Winter spoke to Yahoo and confirmed those reports about the movie storyline:

"[Bill & Ted] will be 40-something and it's all about Bill and Ted grown up, or not grown up. It's really sweet and really f---ing funny. But, it's a Bill & Ted movie, that's what it is. It's for the fans of Bill & Ted. It fits very neatly in the series. It's not going to feel like a reboot. The conceit is really funny: What if you're middle-aged, haven't really grown up and you're supposed to have saved the world and maybe, just maybe, you kinda haven't? There's many versions of ourselves in this movie. [It's] answering the question: 'What happened to these guys?' They're supposed to have done all this stuff, they weren't the brightest bulbs on the tree, what happened 20 years later? To answer that question in a comedic way felt rich with possibility."

Both actors and scribes have been trying to move things been pulling things along over the years:

"The thing we had going against us is that word got out. That was kind of a bummer. It just takes a long time to put a movie together. Now we're having to build this thing in public, which is fine. I just feel bad the fans have to get dragged through this long, boring, protracted process. I guess about four years ago we had an idea together that we thought was pretty great. It took time to construct the idea, it took Chris and Ed time to build the first draft. Then we put a producer together and got a director. We've been working on drafts for the last couple of years. The script's been finished for a while, but comedy is so specific. We're in that world where producers are on, financiers are on and we're just working and reworking the script."

The Scorch Trials Finds Its Bad Guy

Game of Thrones actor Aidan Gillen will play the villain in the upcoming sequel "The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials" for Fox says Heat Vision.

The just-announced follow-up to last week's boffo box office hit "The Maze Runner" will be based on the second book in author James Dashner's young adult novel trilogy.

In the next installment we find out that the survivors' “escape” was anything but...soon they realize that something’s not right – Teresa goes missing and a new boy, Aris, is put in her place. Thomas, Newt, Minho, must make their way through the Scorch, a desolate wasteland crawling with plagued humans known as Cranks, and arrive at the designated Safe Haven before time runs out.

Gillen will play Janson, who is also referred to as Rat-Man.

The first film's director Wes Ball is expected back to call action using an adapted script by T.S. Nowlin, who co-wrote the first film with Noah Oppenheim and Grant Pierce Myers. Teen Wolf series co-star and NJ native Dylan O'Brien, Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Kaya Scodelario are not confirmed to return yet, though the survivors of the first are expected back.

Production is slated to begin at the end of October.

Leonardo DiCaprio Deals To Track "American Wolf"

A deal is being made to pick up the screen rights to author Nate Blakeslee's book proposal "American Wolf" says THR.

The novel will detail the he story of O-Six, a female alpha wolf and arguably amongst the world's most famous wild animals. Collared and tracked by researchers at Yellowstone National Park, she gained a huge following by scientists and the public. She was shot by a hunter in 2012 just outside the park's boundaries, an act that caused outrage despite it being legal.

Leonardo DiCaprio Kevin McCormick and Jennifer Davisson Killoran will produce the feature which focuses on the impact she had on the humans around her from the wolf watchers to her vilified hunter who remains unnamed to this day.

Guy Pearce And Dominic West Play 2 "Genius" Authors

Guy Pearce and Dominic West a are set to  the Michael Grandage-directed true story drama "Genius" says Screen.

Based on the A. Scott Berg award winning biography "Max Perkins: Editor of Genius", the story deals with the real-life tender and complex friendship between literary giant Thomas Wolfe
(Law taking over for Michael Fassbender) and renowned editor Maxwell Perkins (Colin Firth). Wolfe became famous from a young age for both his talent and larger-than-life personality. Perkins is one of the most respected literary editors of all time who discovered talent such as F. Scott Fitzgerald (Pearce) and Ernest Hemingway (West). While most writers struggle with their words, Wolfe had the opposite problem and butted heads with Perkins who demanded he keep to a tight word limit. It was a volatile relationship, but one that changed both their lives.

Nicole Kidman and Laura Linney co-star in the drama.

John Logan ("Skyfall," "Gladiator") penned the adapted  script.

James Bierman is producing the film.  

Filming begins next month at Shepperton Studios and on location in the UK.

Box Office Preview: Out For Justice

Antoine Fuqua's big screen reboot of the 80's TV series "The Equalizer" (reviews) seeks box office justice.  In the movie, Denzel Washington's McCall is living a quiet life while working at a Home Depot, when one of his acts of kindness toward Teri a prostitute (Chloe Moretz) gets him snared with the Russian mob.

Meet The Boxtrolls (reviews), Based on the children's novel by Alan Snow called Here Be Monsters! In the stop-motion animated film--A young orphaned boy (voiced by Isaac Hempstead Wright) is raised by underground cave-dwelling trash collectors. He soon must try to save his friends from an evil exterminator.

Pamela McClintock of THR:

Denzel Washington's The Equalizer, reuniting the actor with his Training Day director Antoine Fuqua, is eyeing an easy win at the North American box office this weekend with a debut north of $30 million.

Sony, which is releasing the $55 million action thriller in more than 3,200 theaters, is being more conservative, suggesting a launch between $25 million and $30 million. Nevertheless, the studio is so keen on the movie's prospects following its premiere at the 2014 Toronto Film Festival that it is already developing a sequel.

Tracking services are divided as to whether the movie will indeed cross $30 million. Some have it opening between $30 million and $35 million, while others peg it south of $30 million (tracking has been notoriously unreliable as of late).

So far, Equalizer, based on the television series created by Michael Sloan and Richard Lindheim, is outpacing Washington's previous two films, Two Guns ($27.1 million) and Safe House ($40.2 million), in terms of advance ticket sales, as well as Fuqua's last outing, Olympus Has Fallen ($30.4 million). Equalizer will benefit from playing in Imax theaters and large-format screens, the preferred venue for males. It also features Eminem's new single, "Guts Over Fear," featuring Sia.

The R-rated film stars Washington as McCall, a former member of the special forces who is now leading a quiet life. But when he meets a young girl (Chloe Grace Moretz) under the control of ultra-violent Russian gangsters, he can’t stand idly by and comes out of his self-imposed retirement to do battle on the streets of Boston.

Sony has waged an aggressive digital marketing campaign for Equalizer, as well as holding tastemaker screenings in 15 major cities with the help of major sports stars such as Michael Strahan, Dwight Howard and Tiger Woods, as well as NFL teams the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers.

The studio made the film in concert with LStar Capital and Village Roadshow Pictures.

Focus Features' 3D family offering The Boxtrolls is the weekend's other new nationwide entry, and is pacing to open in the $11 million to $15 million range, similar to Coraline and ParaNorman, also from Oregon-based animation house Laika and Focus. It debuts in more than 3,400 locations.

Directed by Anthony Stacchi and Graham Annable, Boxtrolls' star-studded voice cast includes Ben Kingsley, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Elle Fanning, Dee Bradley Baker, Steve Blum, Toni Collette, Jared Harris, Nick Frost, Richard Ayoade, Tracy Morgan and Simon Pegg.

Boxtrolls features a boy named Eggs who has been raised by a community of quirky, mischievous creatures living in a cavernous home beneath the streets of Cheesebridge. When the town’s villain, Archibald Snatcher, comes up with a plot to get rid of the Boxtrolls, Eggs decides to venture aboveground to save the day.

A handful of new films open at the specialty box office, including British drama Pride, directed by Matthew Warchus and starring Bill Nighy.

The critically acclaimed film, playing at both the Cannes and Toronto film festivals this year, is based on the true story of lesbian and gay activists who helped raise money during the U.K. miners' strike in 1984. CBS Films scooped up U.S. rights to the movie, and is releasing Pride in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Magnolia also releases Hossein Amini's The Two Faces of January, starring Kirsten Dunst, Oscar Isaac and Viggo Mortensen, in several theaters.

Targeting the faith-based crowd, Samuel Goldwyn Film launches The Song in several hundred theaters.

X-Men Films: Continuity And "The Rogue Cut" Of DOFP

Since the time-traveling events of "X-Men: Days of Future Past" re-wrote almost the entire original "X-Men" film series., does anything that happened in those earlier movies still count? The answer is... sort of.

In a recent fan Q&A event for Yahoo! Movies ahead of DOFP  home video release on October 14th , producer and writer Simon Kinberg explains:

"We certainly re-write some of the history of [X-Men: The Last Stand] and [X-Men Origins: Wolverine]. One of the things we talk about in 'Days of Future Past' is that you can change the future, it's like a stream that moves in one direction - you can create a new ripple in it, but you certainly don't change the current. What we did in Days of Future Past changed some things, but like you see of the film, they end up back in the mansion in the future, so most of the current continued in the same direction, so most of the things you see in [the earlier films] still happened but with slight adjustments."

Kinberg also says he's the one to blame for the subplot about Anna Paquin's Rogue getting cut.
:
"In a movie that had a ton of plots and a ton of characters to service, the Rogue plot - as you will probably eventually see - was a subplot, it was a deviation from the main story of the movie, and as much as we loved it when we saw it, anything that took you away from the main spine, the main story of the film, we had to cut… If it's anybody's fault, it was mine, because I shouldn't have written it that way, I should've integrated her into the main story."

Fox is set to release "X-Men: Days of Future Past - The Rogue Cut" next Summer.

Kinberg confirms that, Bryan Singer's "X-Men: Apocalypse" follows the younger actors introduced in "X-Men: First Class" James McAvoy (Professor X), Michael Fassbender (Magneto) Jennifer Lawrence (Mystique), and Nicholas Hoult (Beast). Lucas Till (Alex “Havoc” Summers).

Asked if some of the previous trilogy characters would have the be re-cast with younger versions for the 1980s-set film:

"If we included some of the original X-Men, like Storm, Jean, Scott, and others, yeah we would have to recast them, because Apocalypse takes place a good twenty years before 'X1' which now insanely was fifteen years ago. It would be very hard to do."

Jason David Frank Tipped For "Power Rangers" Return?

Jason David Frank, who played Tommy Oliver a.k.a. The Green/White Ranger on the original "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers," has revealed that he has already been having conversations about the reboot of the franchise at Lionsgate and Saban Brands.

The actor and MMA fighter recently spoke with ComicBook.com at the Nashville Wizard World Comic Con where he was asked about his possible return:

"I probably will be involved. They talked to me about it. I don’t know how much I am involved, but for sure cameos at least in the reboot movie."

The new film titled Power Rangers will "re-envision" the story of a group of high school kids who are infused with super powers that must work together to save the world.

"Power Rangers" began life over two decades ago and has been in continuous production ever since. Toys, apparel, costumes, video games, DVD's, comic books and other merchandise have all been spawned from the property, as have two feature films back in the mid-1990s.

The property also has a devoted worldwide fan base as well as a detailed mythology that screams cinematic reboot.

"X-Men: First Class" and "Thor" writers Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz will write the screenplay.

 "Star Trek" and "Transformers" scribe Roberto Orci will serve as executive producer. The trio will develop the movie’s story, with Miller and Stentz writing the script.

 Orci revealed that it's NOT a reboot but rather a refresh (think "Doctor Who") and it will exist in continuity with the world of the TV series but serves as a starting point for newcomers as well.

Three More Join Star Powered "Ted 2"

Liam Neeson has joined the cast of the comedy sequel Ted 2.

Dennis Haysbert is also slated to make a "fun cameo" in the film. Details of his appearance are not known--while Hitfix reports that Mad Men's John Slattery is also in the film. No role specifics here either .

Ted saw Seth MacFarlane co-writing, directing and lending his voice as adult talking yet still cuddly bear, with Mark Wahlberg starring as his human buddy John Bennett.

Morgan Freeman will play an iconic civil rights lawyer who comes into the picture when Ted needs to resolve some legal issues. MacFarlane was reportedly said to be looking for a high-profile actor to play what has been deemed a fun role, and showed interest in Freeman from the start.

 A Million Ways To Die In The West star Amanda Seyfried is set to play the female lead this time out. Mila Kunis the female lead in the first film is only expected to reprise her role as Lori in a “tiny appearance”, if at all.The chamge is due to a creative decision on behalf of MacFarlane and co-writers Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild and not some falling out between the "Family Guy" creator and one time Oscar host and Kunis....Jessica Barth is set to reprise her role as teddy bear Ted's girlfriend/cashier co-worker Tami-Lynn. William Shatner will cameo as himself and will be appearing at a superhero fan convention to answer questions about his role in "T.J. Hooker," and will grow quickly annoyed as fans keep asking him about "Star Trek".

Production is currently underway in Boston. Universal has pegged Ted 2 for release on April 3rd 2015.

Asa Butterfield Eyed For "Miss Peregrine”

"Hugo" and "Ender's Game" star Asa Butterfield is the top choice for a pivotal role in the film adaptation of author Ransom Riggs' novel "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children” says The Wrap.

The story follows 16-year-old Jacob Portman (Butterfield) who goes on a quest to seek the truth about his grandfather's past, after he is murdered by an evil creature called a "hollow". He is soon introduced to Miss Peregrine (Eva Green) and other children with extraordinary abilities.

Jane Goldman (X-Men: First Class) is set to write the adapted script for director Tim Burton. Green previously worked with Burton in the 2012 movie Dark Shadows, which also starred Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer and Helena Bonham Carter.

Peter Chernin is producing the film.

Production is scheduled to begin in February.

Natalie Dormer Tracked As "Patient Zero"

"Game of Thrones" and "Rush" co-star Natalie Dormer is set to headline the action thriller "Patient Zero" says Deadline.

The story focuses on an unprecedented global rabies pandemic that causes the evolution of a new species - violence-addicted predators. An inexplicably gifted human survivor with the ability to speak the new mutant language leads a hunt to find a cure.

Mike Le penned the script from which Stefan Ruzowitzky's calling the shots.

Vincent Newman is producing the film.

Ann Dowd Gets Political In “Our Brand is Crisis”

Variety reports that Ann Dowd has joined the cast of the political comedy “Our Brand is Crisis”

Peter Straughan ("The Men Who Stare at Goats") wrote the adapted script based on Rachel Boynton's 2005 documentary that focused on the use of American political campaign strategies in Bolivia by President Bill Clinton's former consultants James Carville and Stan Greenberg.

Sandra Bullock will play 'Calamity' Jane Bodine, a retired American political consultant who quotes famous people to hammer home her talking points.

Billy Bob Thornton Scoot McNairy and Anthony Mackie also star in the pic.

David Gordon Green's calling action here.

Bullock's "Gravity" co-star George Clooney is set to produce the film with his pal Grant Heslov.

Production begins this Fall.

Michael Pena Wanted For "The Martian"

Michael Pena is in early talks to join "The Martian" says Variety. The End of Watch actor is reportedly interested in doing the film, but sources say that his schedule may prove an obstacle.

The project is based on a 2012 novel by author Andy Weir, which chronicles an astronaut (Matt Damon) who becomes stranded on Mars and tries to find a way back to Earth.

While it may sound similar to last year's Oscar blockbuster Gravity, the story is said to be much different, described as a cross between Apollo 13 and Cast Away.

Jessica Chastain is now in talks while Kristen Wiig is still hovering over the film.“Halt and Catch Fire” star Mackenzie Davis is in final negotiations to take a“small but crucial role”. "The Fantastic Four" star Kate Mara has been offered an unknown role

Drew Goddard was in talks to write and direct this pic, but Fox didn't want to wait for his schedule to clear, now that he is committed to directing Sony Pictures' Spidey film series villain spin off "The Sinister Six" and  Netflix's Daredevil TV Series he has left the pic. His script remains behind.

Ridley Scott is set to call action.

Scott, Simon Kinberg and Aditya Sood will produce the pic.

There's no word on yet when production would start. But a November 2015 release date being targeted.

Patrick Wilson And Matthew Fox Set For "Bone Tomahawk"

Patrick Wilson and Matthew Fox have jointed the horror-western "Bone Tomahawk" says THR.

The story follows a sheriff (Kurt Russell), a gunslinger, a befuddled oldster (Richard Jenkins) and a cowboy as they attempt to rescue a group of captives from a band of cannibalistic troglodytes.

Wilson will play a cowboy who suffers an unfortunate accident that reshapes his life. Fox will play a man with dark inclinations that have put him at the very edge of the western frontier. The new actors replace Timothy Olyphant and Peter Sarsgaard, who had been set but the schedule shifted.

No news on whether the previously cast Jennifer Carpenter will stay put.

 S. Craig Zahler's calling action here from his own screenplay.

Dallas Sonnier and Jack Heller are producing the film.

Wayne Marc Godfrey, Robert Jones and David Gilbery will executive produce

 No production schedule was given.

Xavier Samuel Is Yet Another "Frankenstein"

Deadline reports that Australian actor Xavier Samuel ("Twilight: Eclipse," "Newcastle") is set to play a modern day Frankenstein's monster in a contemporary Los Angeles-set telling of Mary Shelley's iconic story "Frankenstein".

Danny Huston and Carrie-Anne Moss will play Victor and Elizabeth Frankenstein, a husband and wife team of eccentric scientists who create the monster Adam, a creature faced with nothing but anger, aggression and violence from the world around him.

"Candyman" director Bernard Rose is directing from the screenplay he wrote. He's also enlisted the Candyman himself, Tony Todd, for a role in the film.

Gabriela Bacher, Heidi Jo Markel, Jennifer Holliday Morrison, Christian Angermayer, Klemens Hallmann are producing.