Sci-Fi Storm

The drama over the rights to Watchmen appears to be over. Warner Bros. and Fox have reportedly reached a settlement over the rights to the Watchmen movie, due to be released in March. No details were disclosed.

TrekMovie.com has some images of the props to be used in the upcoming Star Trek movie – which in some ways are faithful to the originals, but others not so much. It is difficult to judge size, but Kirk’s communicator has what appears to be the basic shape but might as well be the Motorola cell phone I had a few years ago – even the logo reminds me of it. Uhura’s earpiece looks spot on. Bones’ medical tricorder, however, looks more like a haphazard flashlight with a dentist’s mirror on top, and there is some speculation that it is perhaps just the sensor part. In addition, Playmates will be producing toy versions of the communicator, tricorder, and phaser. The props are currently on display at the Lenovo booth at CES.

The lead actor has been cast for Disney’s sequel to Tron (which is now currently just being called Tron. Garrett Hedlund (Troy, Eragon) will play a man pulled into the computer world and must follow in the footsteps of programmer Flynn, originally played by Jeff Bridges who will reprise the role as the now CEO of a software corporation. No word if the title character himself will be back, originally played by Bruce Boxleitner.

The Terminator, along with 24 other films including genre entries The 7th Voyage of Sinbad and The Invisible Man, will join the National Film Registry of now 500 films to be preserved by the government for future generations. At least until Skynet takes over…

In the ongoing battle over the legal status of Warner Bros distribution of Watchmen, planned for a March release – a judge is ruling that Fox owns the rights to distribute – at the very least. Warners may be forced to settle the case. Update 12/30: Fox has announced intentions to file for a injunction against the March 6th opening, and fight it out in trial court.

Disney has opted out of its option to produce/distribute the third installment of The Chronicles of Narnia, Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The planned budget was going to be about $200 million, matching Prince Caspian, but with the lower take of the second film (little more than half of the first) and the uncertain economy, Disney wasn’t willing to buy in. Walden Media will now need to seek a new partner if the production is to go on.

Producer/director James Cameron, despite being knee-deep in projects but having long been looking at a possible remake of Forbidden Planet, may be interested in moving forward with it now that there is a script from J. Michael Straczynski.

It’s been over a year since the director was announced, but now the much anticipated Tron 2 has its first two cast signings, with Olivia Wilde (House M.D.) and Beau Garrett (Made of Honor, 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer) joining the cast.

A prequel to the Will Smith sci fi thriller I Am Legend is being considered, according to star Will Smith. A sequel (at least involving his character) would be impossible (although an alternate ending that was filmed and available on the DVD/Blu-Ray release would have allowed it), so a prequel about the virus outbreak and the fall of Manhattan is being envisioned. I’m not sure how they’d be able to make a compelling story that has a known and less-than-inspiring ending…

You play with fire when you start remaking cult-status films, but Universal and Strike apparently are stocking up on Nomex: They plan to acquire the rights to the John Carpenter’s They Live, which was originally made in 1988 and was a vehicle for Roddy Piper’s attempt at an acting career. In it, Piper’s character discovers strange sunglasses that reveal that some people are in fact aliens, and they are exerting mind control on us.