A feature film adaptation of the Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson comic The Boys has been in the works for quite a while, but thus far the project has had trouble getting off the ground.  Adam McKay (Anchorman, The Other Guys) has been attached to direct since the summer of 2010, but studios have thus far been wary of greenlighting a big budget hard-R anti-superhero movie that centers on a group of special agents tasked with policing the world’s superheroes by any means necessary. Steve recently sat down with screenwriters Matt Manfredi and Phil Hay in anticipation of this summer’s supernatural actioner R.I.P.D., and during the course of the conversation the duo also talked extensively about The Boys.  They gave an update on the project’s status, talked about McKay’s vision for the adaptation, how involved Ennis and Robertson were in the crafting of the script, and the possibility of Simon Pegg starring.  Hit the jump to read on.

Over the past few days, we’ve been sharing a number of updates from Neal Moritz that were gleaned in Steve’s recent lengthy interview with the producer.  Moritz talked extensively about Fast & Furious 6, 7, and the future of the franchise, he provided revealing updates on the 21 Jump Street sequel, he talked quite a bit about the upcoming supernatural actioner R.I.P.D., and he also provided a promising update on director Shane Black’s developing Doc Savage movie.

While we’ll be providing the full interview here on Collider soon, we wanted to share one last batch of updates on a number of projects.  Hit the jump for news concerning the Battle: Los Angeles sequel, the graphic novel adaptations of Preacher and The Boys, and director D.J. Caruso’s disaster film Invertigo.

Here’s the latest casting news:

• Rufus Sewell (Dark City) will join Dwayne Johnson (Snitch) in Brett Ratner’s fantasy epic, Hercules.
• Susan Sarandon (Thelma & Louise) is in talks to star alongside Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids) in the raunchy road trip movie, Tammy, along with Kathy Bates (Misery).
• Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids) will reteam with Anchorman 2 filmmakers Will Ferrell and Adam McKay for the indie comedy, Welcome to Me.

Hit the jump for more on each casting announcement. 

Production on Anchorman: The Legend Continues is poised to get underway next week in Atlanta, and fans are understandably eager to find out what kind of hijinks the Channel 4 news team will get themselves into in the follow-up.  The entire team from the first film returns, with Adam McKay and Will Ferrell writing the script, McKay directing, and Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, David Koechner, and Christina Applegate reprising their roles.  New additions to the cast include Kristen Wiig as a love interest for Carell’s Brick Tamland and James Marsden as a fellow anchorman and “Ron Burgundy’s nemesis,” but plot details thus far have been few and far between.

McKay recently dropped a few tidbits of information regarding the film’s story, revealing that the plot involves the newsteam angling for glory in New York City and talking a bit about Wiig’s character.  Hit the jump to read on.

We interrupt your regularly-scheduled Mayan apocalypse plans to bring you a very important announcement: Paramount has set a release date of December 20, 2013 for Anchorman: The Legend Continues. The sequel to 2004′s Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy will feature the return of director Adam McKay and principal actors Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd and David Koechner. The story will once again center on some of San Diego’s zaniest newspeople, but will now see them amid the culture of the 24-hour news cycle. Oh and there will totally be a fully-choreographed musical number. Hit the jump for more. 

As the Anchorman sequel gears up to start production early next year, director Adam McKay is looking to fill out the rest of his cast.  We already know that Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, David Koechner, and Christina Applegate are set to reprise their roles from the 2004 comedy, and now The Wrap reports that Kristen Wiig may be joining the cast.  The actress is apparently being eyed for the role of Carell’s love interest, making for a fantastically promising comedy pairing.

McKay and Ferrell aren’t entirely done with the script just yet, and the report cautions that no cast beyond the principals has been firmed up.  Interestingly, though, The Wrap adds that Anchorman: The Legend Continues is set for release in October 2013.  We previously knew that Paramount was eyeing an unspecified date in 2013 for the film’s release, but this is the first time we’ve heard the mention of a solid month.  As the start date looms closer, expect more Anchorman 2 news soon.

Back in January 2011, we reported that a rap album based on Adam McKay‘s Step Brothers was in the works.  McKay tells The Playlist that they had signed Lukash [Gottwald], the producer behind hit songs by Katy Perry, Rihanna, Ke$ha, Nicki Minaj, and of course “Boats n’ Hoes”, was on board to produce the album.  “We actually wrote four or five raps, roughs of them, and were going to release the Step Brothers rap album,” says McKay. “And I can’t remember what happened, but right in the middle of it we suddenly got super busy and everyone had to walk away and it’s never been revived. We actually were halfway through writing it and Lukash was giving us beats, and we were going to do it.”  Truly, this was a missed opportunity for Prestige Worldwide.  But the album may hold the key to getting Step Brothers 2 back into production.  Hit the jump for more.

If you’re a fan of  Adam McKay’s work (Anchorman, Step Brothers, Talladega Nights) and/or a fan of musical numbers, you should be pretty happy with this news. It sounds as if Anchorman 2 is going to feature at least one musical sequence with a bit more movement to it; no word yet on if any jazz flute will be featured. McKay also revealed a bit more about the plot of the sequel, which is set in the world of 24 hour news and will still probably not include a Ghost Rider cameo. The writer/director is currently revising the script with star Will Ferrell and, though shooting is expected to start in March, there is no release date scheduled as of now. Hit the jump to see what McKay had to say.

Oscar-winning director Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist) has shown interest in helming Will, a dormant project scripted by Demetri Martin (Late Night with Conan O’Brien).  When last we reported on this picture, Paul Rudd and Zach Galifianakis were attached to co-star with Little Miss Sunshine directors Valerie Ferris and Jonathan Dayton on board and producers Adam McKay and Will Ferrell signed on as well.  There’s no word on how the picture got lot in the shuffle, but it seems like Hazanavicius is interested in reviving it.  Hit the jump for more plot details on Will and to see where it could fit in Hazanavicius’ schedule.

Adam McKay‘s feature directing career has always been for Will Ferrell comedies, but for the past several years, McKay has had his eye on adapting Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson‘s comic book series, The Boys.  The comic centers on a group of special agents who are tasked with policing the world’s superheroes and villains by any means necessary.  McKay wanted to make a $100 million hard-R anti-superhero movie, and that pitch tends to make studio executives choke, especially when the property isn’t already established with mainstream audiences.  Earlier this year, Columbia passed on The Boys, which was disappointing but not too surprising.

Will Ferrell and Steve Carell are already planning a post-Anchorman 2 reunion.  The actors will topline the comedy Swear to God, which centers on a narcissistic hedge fund manager (Ferrell) who thinks he has seen God.  Warner Bros. picked the project up last summer with Ferrell set to star and Adam McKay (Step Brothers) onboard to produce and direct, but McKay will now be helming Anchorman 2 instead. With production on that glorious sequel set to begin early next year, Warner Bros. is keen on filming Swear to God next summer.  As such, they’ve tapped Justin Theroux to now step in and direct.

Hit the jump for more.

The first teaser trailers for director Adam McKay‘s Anchorman 2 has gone online.  While I love reporting on movie news, I can’t help but be a little jealous of Anchorman fans who will walk into The Dictator, and had no idea that Anchorman 2 was on the way (I’m working off the assumption these fans also missed Ron Burgundy’s announcement on Conan).  We don’t know what the plot of the sequel will be (it might involve the dawn of the 24-hour news cycle and diversity), but it will most likely contain more of the brilliant one-liners you heard in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and the ones you’ll hear in this trailer.  We’ve also included an exclusive teaser trailer from FunnyOrDie, which contains different dialogue.

Hit the jump to watch the trailers, and click here to check out the poster.  The film stars Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, and David Koechner.  Anchorman 2 (possibly titled Anchorman: The Legend Continues) opens in 2013.

If you’re a fan of Adam McKay‘s Anchorman, the last few months have been amazing.  Not only did Paramount suddenly greenlight the sequel after everyone involved thought it was dead, but the studio got McKay and the entire Channel 4 news team (sans Christina Applegate) to shoot a teaser trailer that will be attached to prints of The Dictator!

But it gets better.

In addition to the teaser trailer that should be online soon, Paramount has just released the first poster and it looks like the official title is Anchorman: The Legend Continues.  Hit the jump for more.

Though Anchorman 2 doesn’t begin production until next February, Paramount thought it’d be a nice idea to go ahead and shoot a short teaser trailer to drum up awareness.  As we first reported, the teaser will be attached to prints of The Dictator and it includes the entire Channel 4 news team (sans Christina Applegate).  Writer/director Adam McKay recently talked a bit about getting the gang back together to shoot the teaser and dropped a few hints about what to expect in the follow-up (no Ghost Rider, a Serpico beard, and either 3D or ½ D).  Hit the jump to see what he had to say.

Mark Wahlberg, Adam McKay, and Will Ferrell are gearing up to bring Daily Show alum and prolific bit-part player Rob Riggle to HBO. McKay and Ferrell (producers of the network’s black comedy Eastbound and Down) and Wahlberg (producer of seemingly everything else on HBO) will team with Riggle and fellow Eastbound producer Chris Henchy to develop a 1980s-set Wall Street comedy that Riggle will star in. He’ll be playing a successful bonds trader who, one assumes, will prove to be not unlike Kenny Powers in his repulsive yet enthralling overall approach to life. Hit the jump for more.