Last month, we reported that director Matthew Vaughn (X-Men: First Class) was set to adapt Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons‘ comic The Secret Service.  The story is about a veteran secret agent who takes his ruffian nephew from the streets of London and into a British spy school that molds its students into suave 007-types.  According to Heat Vision, Colin Firth is being courted for the role of the uncle.  Vaughn was looking to reteam with his Kick-Ass star Aaron Taylor-Johnson for the role of the nephew, but the actor was unavailable due to a scheduling conflict.

Hit the jump for more.  Firth will next be seen in Atom Egoyan‘s West Memphis Three drama, Devil’s Knot.  The Secret Service is set for release on November 14, 2014.

Matthew Vaughn has finally settled on his next project.  After passing on the sequel to X-Men: First Class and being in the running for Star Wars: Episode VII, Vaughn is set to helm an adaptation of Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons’ comic The Secret Service, which the director began developing back in 2011.  According to Deadline, “The drama closely follows the comic, about a veteran secret agent who leads a young protege into the shadowy business.”  Vaughn has reportedly completed the script with writing partner Jane Goldman. As we saw with Kick-Ass, Vaughn and Goldman have had success in turning Millar’s sub-par writing into an above average movie.

Fox has picked up the worldwide distribution rights, and filming is already set for August with the studio eyeing a 2014 release date.  I’ve enjoyed all of Vaughn’s films, and as long as his movie doesn’t revolve around saving the White House, I’ll be interested to see what he has planned. [Update: Fox has now announced that The Secret Service will hit theaters on November 14, 2014]

Though Matthew Vaughn was previously set to direct the X-Men: First Class sequel X-Men: Days of Future Past only to step down and let Bryan Singer take the helm instead, it looks like he might be involved with another upcoming 20th Century Fox superhero property.  Vaughn remains a producer on Days of Future Past, and now proverbial Chatty Cathy Mark Millar has revealed that Vaughn will also be producing Fox’s upcoming Fantastic Four reboot, which will be directed by Chronicle helmer Josh Trank.  Hit the jump for more.

During the UK premiere for Seven Psychopaths, actor Jason Flemyng got caught in a bit of a rough spot on camera when he began commenting on Matthew Vaughn directing Star Wars Episode VII. The news remains unconfirmed since we broke the original story, and whether Flemyng let slip some confidential news or was just reporting internet rumors, we don’t know. But Flemyng and Vaughn have collaborated on nine films together, so it would make sense that Flemyng knew what the director was working on next (especially if he wants a part in arguably the biggest movie in years). Hit the jump to watch video of Flemyng’s comments and response.  

Comics creator/Fox consultant Mark Millar likes to talk.  With production currently underway on the adaptation of his comic Kick-Ass 2, Millar has been sharing updates and reports from the set for fans.  He doesn’t exactly have the most objective opinion, but he recently took to the interwebs to talk about seeing some edited footage and the evolution of Hit-Girl in the follow-up now that star Chloe Moretz is three years older.  He also noted that the first 45 minutes of the film will focus mainly on Hit-Girl.

Moreover, with us breaking the recent news that Kick-Ass director Matthew Vaughn may be in talks to land the highly coveted Star Wars: Episode VII directing gig, Millar chimed in with his thoughts on that prospect.  Hit the jump to see what he had to say. 

Over the past seven years, Collider’s track record has been pretty good.  The reason is, before we run any “scoop,” we always make sure to double source it so we know the information is accurate.  However, the story we are about to run has not been confirmed, and I want to make sure everyone knows this is not 100%.  I only decided to run this because I trust my sources and it’s Star Wars.  In addition, while I spent all weekend trying to lock this story down, all my normal connections would not go on record (or they did not know), so this is going up as a “rumor” and “unconfirmed.”

Now that I’ve warned you this is just a “rumor”….

I’m hearing that Matthew Vaughn, the director of Kick-Ass, Stardust, Layer Cake, and X-Men: First Class, is in talks with Lucasfilm to helm Star Wars: Episode VII.  My sources tell me this is the main reason he dropped out of the X-Men sequel (which Bryan Singer is now directing).  Hit the jump for more.

It was bound to happen some day.  Star Wars: Episode VII is becoming a reality now that Disney has purchased LucasFilm, and set a release date for 2015.  George Lucas has gracefully bowed out of the director’s chair, and given the reigns over to producer Kathleen Kennedy, although it remains to be seen how much influence he’ll have over future Star Wars films.

But since the director’s chair is open and we all love pretending we’re Hollywood executive, let’s play Suggest!  That!  Director!  This is the fun part since we have no idea what the story will be and who would be appropriate for that story.  However, we do have a vibe of what a Star Wars movie is, or at least what a Star Wars movie should be (i.e., the originals, not the prequels).  So who’s the right director to make a worthy successor to the original movies?  Hit the jump for my suggestions.

We recently reported that Matthew Vaughn, director of X-Men: First Class, was stepping down from heading up the sequel, X-Men: Days of Future Past.  On the shortlist of replacement directors was one Bryan Singer, who was already acting in a producing capacity for the sequel.  Singer has now been confirmed as the director for X-Men: Days of Future Past.  There is still no explanation as to why Vaughn stepped aside, but he is in the process of inking a deal to stay on with the project as a producer.  (He did turn in the film’s screen treatment after all.) Hit the jump for more on Singer’s attachment to direct X-Men: Days of Future Past.

Director Matthew Vaughn (X-Men: First Class) has reportedly decided not to direct the sequel, X-Men: Days of Future Past.  At this time, there is no explanation for Vaughn’s departure, but this doesn’t mark the first change of heart in the director’s history.  He previously toyed with the notion of dropping out of helming 2010′s Kick-Ass before changing his mind and returning. He then opted out of directing the sequel, which is currently being directed by Jeff Wadlow (Never Back Down).  Fox wants to keep their July 18th, 2014 release date and will have to move on landing a new director soon, especially since the original cast, including Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy, are all expected to return.  Tops on their list is Bryan Singer (X-Men, X2).  Hit the jump for more. 

While Kick-Ass 2 now currently in production, producer/Kick-Ass director Matthew Vaughn is busy prepping for his highly anticipated sequel X-Men: Days of Future Past.  He knocked First Class out of the park, so fans are eager to see where he’ll take the X-Men storyline with the follow-up.  A big hint lies in the film’s title, which refers to a comics arc that includes all sorts of craziness like time travel, dystopian futures, and social conflicts.

Ever since Bryan Singer first brought the popular comics characters to the screen in 2000, fans have been wondering when/if we’ll see the giant robotic Sentinels.  It appears that that wish may very well come true in Days of Future Past, as Fox’s new Marvel Property Creative Consultant Mark Millar recently spilled some hints about the film’s plot.  Hit the jump to see what he had to say.

This past week presented me with a couple of unique moviegoing opportunities. In addition to the ParaNorman showing I previewed the last time we met, I was also able to check out one of my all-time favorites, Jaws, on the big screen thanks to Cinemark’s “Fall Classic Series”. For as much as I enjoyed the pic long before this week’s showing, I have to say that viewing it as an audience member in a packed theater for the first time opened my eyes to a whole new appreciation. Not only was I genuinely startled in a few scenes that repeat television and DVD viewings had long left me numb to, but I also came to respect Robert Shaw’s timeless turn as Quint even more than I previously had. In short, my adoration for Spielberg‘s masterpiece was not only reaffirmed, it somehow found a way to expand.

But enough about my love of all things Jaws related. This week’s Top 5 includes the news that James Gunn is in talks to direct Marvel’s intergalactic tale, Guardians of the Galaxy, Sight & Sound’s personal Top 10 lists from some of cinema’s most revered directors (Spoiler Alert: that shark movie I drooled about in the opening paragraph appears on Tarantino‘s), a new red-band trailer for John Hillcoat‘s Lawless, Disney’s plans to reboot The Rocketeer, and an animated look at how The Dark Knight Rises should have ended. A brief recap and link to each can be found after the jump.

Earlier this month, a new “official” best film of all time was announced with the unveiling of the results of Sight & Sound’s most recent poll.  Every ten years, the film magazine polls a number of critics, academics, and professionals and then tallies up the results for an ultimate list.  The magazine also has a poll of directors for a second Top 10 list, and now they’ve unveiled the individual directors’ lists in an effort to occupy all the free time you have today.

After the jump you can peruse personal Top 10 lists from the likes of Edgar Wright, Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, Guillermo del Toro, Woody Allen, David O’Russell, Sam Mendes, Matthew Vaughn, Francis Ford Coppola, Marc Webb and more.  Hit the jump to take a look.

After yesterday’s news that Universal was courting Jim Carrey for Jeff Wadlow’s Kick-Ass 2, now Lindy Booth (Dawn of the Dead) is in talks to star as yet another hero.  Carrey was sought to play Colonel Stars,  who forms the heroic team, Justice Forever.  While Carrey may not take the role, Booth is currently in negotiations to star as the Night Bitch, a member of Justice Forever.

Kick-Ass 2, which features the return of stars Aaron Johnson, Chloe Grace Moretz and Christopher Mintz-Plasse, stars filming next month in Toronto and New York.  Hit the jump for more on Booth, Night Bitch and a recap of the casting so far.

Kick-Ass 2 is indeed finally happening.  The first poster banner for the film has popped up on the pic’s official Facebook page, and though it’s not much, it’s a fine tease for fans that have been clamoring for the return of Hit Girl and Co.  Aaron Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Chloe Moretz are all confirmed to return and reprise their roles from Matthew Vaughn’s 2010 adaptation of the Mark Millar comic book.

Hit the jump to take a look at the banner and to find out what we know about Kick-Ass 2 so far.

Development on the sequel to last year’s stellar X-Men: First Class is moving full speed ahead with Matthew Vaughn returning as director and a firm release date recently set for July 18^th, 2014.  We know from the hubbub between Fox and Lionsgate over Jennifer Lawrence’s availability that she’ll have to wrap The Hunger Games: Catching Fire by the end of December in order to be free to shoot the X-Men sequel in January, but so far plot details have been firmly under wraps.  Now it appears that a title registration with the MPAA has clued us in on a possible—and ambitious—plot line for the X-Men: First Class follow-up.  Hit the jump for more.