The first bit of casting news for Guillermo del Toro’s FX series project, The Strain, is finally here!  It looks like Corey Stoll (House of Cards) will lead the vampire adaptation.  The Strain centers on a team of scientists who wage war against an ancient strain of virus that confers vampirism, along with those it infects.  Del Toro and Chuck Hogan - who both wrote the original trilogy of novels – have co-written the screenplay which del Toro will direct.  Hit the jump for more.

The A&E drama series Bates Motel (which was recently renewed for a second season) gives viewers an intimate portrayal of how Norman Bates’ (Freddie Highmore) psyche unravels through his teenage years.  This contemporary prequel to the genre-defining film Psycho reveals the dark, twisted backstory and shows first-hand just how deep the relationship with his mother, Norma (Vera Farmiga), truly goes, as she helps forge the most famous serial killer of them all.  The show also stars Max Thieriot, Nicola Peltz, Olivia Cooke, Nestor Carbonell and Mike Vogel.

During this exclusive interview with Collider, executive producers/writers Carlton Cuse and Kerry Ehrin talked about how they each came to be involved with Bates Motel, how much they use Psycho as an inspiration, just how crucial the casting of Norman and Norma Bates was, the overall story they’re looking to tell this season, how far ahead they plan out the story, what it will add to the show when guests start checking in to the Bates Motel, and the importance of transmedia to make viewers more directly active with the show.  Cuse also talked about how he’ll divide his time, if the adaptation of The Strain goes into production at FX.  Check out what they had to say after the jump, and be aware that there are some spoilers.

A&E’s Psycho prequel series will be continuing for at least another year.  The network announced today that it has ordered a second season of Bates Motel, which premiered a couple of weeks ago to solid ratings and positive reviews.  The drama series comes from Lost co-showrunner Carlton Cuse and Friday Night Lights alum Kerry Ehrin and centers on the relationship between a teenage Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore) and his mother (Vera Farmiga).  The show is similar to Lost in that it has set up a number of mysteries in its first few episodes, some of which may or may not be resolved by season’s end.  Hit the jump for more, including the full press release.

This week, Bates Motel was a lot more low-key than last, but it was no less strange.  I gave most of the kudos to Vera Farmiga for her wacky, totally creepy performance as Norma, but already Freddie Highmore is really starting to find his own inner creep, from his nascent violent tendencies to his obsession with snuff manga.  In fact, there are very few things about White Pine Bay that aren’t creepy, and this is where the Twin Peaks comparisons start to gain traction (ever so slightly, or did I confuse that with Top of the Lake? So many creeper shows on right now).  The town is described by Deputy Shelby as being fake (how could people without real jobs have such fancy homes and drive such fancy cars?) with a vigilante underground.  Will the Bates fit in, or will they be targeted?  Hit the jump for why “I’m your mother, it’s not like it’s weird or anything.”

A&E has gathered together some formidable talent to creates its Psycho prequel series Bates Motel, with Carlton Cuse (Lost) and Kerry Ehrin (Friday Night Lights) producing, and Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air) and Freddie Highmore (Finding Neverland) as Norma and Norman Bates.  The series is billed as a “contemporary” prequel to Hitchcock’s 1960 classic, and while the show does take place in that familiar setting with a few winking call-backs to the original film, it’s clear that it wants to be its own thing.  The show is seeking to straddle that difficult line of basing itself off of very familiar material (which guarantees an audience, if just from the curiosity) — though which also burdens it with the fact that things have to end up at a certain place at a certain point — and doing something new with the story.  Things have started off slowly and strangely in the first hour, with the show seeming to not quite find its tone, but there are also some legitimately promising elements.  Hit the jump for why “we belong to each other.”

A couple of tantalizing teaser trailers for A&E’s upcoming Psycho prequel series Bates Motel have been released.  We just recently saw a batch of images from the show that gave us a look at Freddie Highmore as the legendary Norman Bates and Vera Farmiga as his mother, Norma, and at the time I noted a bit of a Twin Peaks vibe.  That comparison seems even more valid after these two trailers, which tease a couple of haunting scenarios and hint that everything might not be what it seems at the eponymous Bates Motel.  The series comes from Lost co-showrunner Carlton Cuse and Friday Night Lights alum Kelly Ehrin, so I’ve got high hopes for this one.

Hit the jump to watch the teaser trailers.  The series also stars Nestor Carbonell, Max Thieriot, Olivia Cooke, and Mike Voel.  Bates Motel premieres on A&E in Spring 2013.

We recently got our first look at A&E’s highly anticipated Psycho prequel series Bates Motel by way of a couple of images of stars Freddie Highmore and Vera Farmiga as Norman and Norma Bates, and now a large batch of new images from the series has landed online.  The drama from Lost co-showrunner Carlton Cuse and Friday Night Lights alum Kerry Ehrin centers on the relationship between a young Norman Bates and his mother, and the show looks to feature an appropriately colorful cast of characters.  There’s a bit of a Twin Peaks feel from these images, so hopefully Cuse and Ehrin have crafted a creepy and fun take on the burgeoning serial killer.  A&E ordered Bates Motel straight to series instead of waiting to see a pilot first, so the show is poised to debut in Spring 2013.

Hit the jump to check out the images which feature Max Thieriot as Norman’s older brother Dylan, Olivia Cooke as classmate and fellow outcast Emma Decody, Mike Vogel as Deputy Zach Shelby, and Lost alum Nestor Carbonell as town Sheriff, Alex Romero.

Legendary filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock is having a banner year popularity-wise between two feature films and a fantastic Blu-ray set, and it looks as if the sudden Hitch boom is likely to extend well into 2013.  The first image from the A&E TV series Bates Motel has landed online, giving us a first look at Freddie Highmore (Finding Neverland) as young Norman Bates and Vera Farmiga as his loving (?) mother.  Developed by former Lost showrunner Carlton Cuse and Friday Night Lights’ Kerry Ehrin, the series will explore the relationship between future psycho Norman Bates and his mother Norma.

Hit the jump to check out the first image.  Bates Motel will debut on A&E in Spring 2013.

Writer/director/producer Guillermo del Toro has added another project to his ever-growing list.  This time around, he’ll be adapting his own vampire trilogy, The Strain, into a series, starting with a pilot order from FX.  Del Toro plans to co-write the pilot script with Chuck Hogan (Prince of Thieves), who also co-wrote the books.  Del Toro will also direct and executive produce the pilot episode.  Also on board as showrunner to help develop the series will be Carlton Cuse (Lost), which is fitting since The Strain is planned for a limited run of three to five seasons, much like Lost was in its early development.  Hit the jump for more on The Strain.

Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air) may be better known for her film work in the last few years, but she’s no stranger to TV (having starred in the short-lived NBC series Undercover as Alex Cross, as well asDetective Susan Branca in USA’s Touch Evil) or the horror genre (she’s appeared in the Omen where she showed she has one hell of a scream), the marriage of which will result in the upcoming A&E series Bates Motel.

The 10-episode series, which was sent straight to order without a pilot, will serve as a prequel to the Hitchcock horror classic Psycho.  Though it was originally slated as a miniseries, former Lost-showrunner Carlton Cuse and Parenthood‘s Kerry Ehrin, who will serve as executive producers and writers, decided to rework it into a full series.  For more on Farmiga’s role, hit the jump.

New Line has spent the last year developing the earthquake disaster flick San Andreas: 3D, and last month entered into negotiations with Brad Peyton (Journey 2: The Mysterious Island) to direct.  Screenwriter Allan Loeb (The Dilemma) started work on the screenplay, but Variety reports New Line will bring Carlton Cuse (Lost) on board for a rewrite.  Amid the California earthquake, the story follows “one man who must make the treacherous journey across the state to rescue his estranged daughter.”

Once Lost ended in 2010, co-showrunner Damon Lindelof launched straight into feature writing gigs on the likes of Prometheus and Star Trek 2.  Cuse briefly stepped out of the limelight while he set up projects, including the Psycho prequel series The Bates Motel and an action/adventure starring Hugh Jackman.

While many fans directed their love/hate mail to J.J. Abrams during Lost’s six-season run, the truth is that Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse were the actual brains behind the day-to-day running of the series. The two were the showrunners for the duration of the show’s life while Abrams simply served as an executive producer (though he was crucial to developing the pilot and the overall idea for the groundbreaking series). Lindelof took a fairly prolific route following the series finale with writing gigs on Cowboys & Aliens, Star Trek 2, and Prometheus, but many fans have been waiting to see what Cuse would tackle post-Lost. It appears we have our answer, as Cuse has just joined the A&E series The Bates Motel as an executive producer. Hit the jump for more.

We’ve been bringing you a multitude of updates from director/producer Shawn Levy regarding his upcoming projects over the past few days, and today we’ve got some fascinating info on a couple more films in development.  Steve recently sat down for an extended interview with Levy in which he talked about a Real Steel sequel, Frankenstein, Fantastic Voyage and Interns, The Ten Best Days of My Life starring Amy Adams and Home Movies, the animated re-imagining Kong, The Devil You Know and Fancy Nancy, and yesterday we brought you what he had to say about Table 19, Kodachrome, and Mr. Men.

Today we’re sharing what Levy had to say regarding his untitled Hugh Jackman project that’s being written by Lost co-showrunner Carlton Cuse, an adaptation of How to Talk to Girls, Henchman starring Bill Hader, a Deadliest Warrior movie, Neighborhood Watch, and Levy reveals what’s likely to be his next directorial project and discusses the difficulty of getting Frankenstein and Fantastic Voyage into the production stage. Hit the jump to see what he had to say.

Lost creators Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse started a Twitter feud this week over a scene by the code name “The Marbled Rye.”  The scene was purportedly filmed in season one, and would have answered a lot of questions.  The argument came up “Totally Lost: One Year Later” panel at Comic-Con.  Cuse, dressed as a Stormtrooper, was vehemently opposed to showing the audience the previously unseen clip.  Lindelof, wearing a Dharma Initiative jumpsuit, prevailed and premiered “The Marbled Rye.”

Obviously, the “deleted scene” is a joke, and a pretty hokey one at that.  But where else are you going to get some Lost these days?  Plus, Mark Pellegrino and Titus Welliver get to ham it up reprising their roles as Jacob and the Man in Black.  Check out the clip after the jump.

In spite of the fact that it won’t debut for another nine months, 20th Century Fox is apparently quite pleased with the Real Steel actor/director pairing of Hugh Jackman and Shawn Levy (Date Night). Today, the studio announced that the two will reunite on an as-of-yet untitled action/adventure project. While low on details (the project was picked up as a pitch), Deadline reports that the film will be penned by former Lost writer/show runner Carlton Cuse and that Levy’s 21 Laps Entertainment moniker will also produce.

Jackman and Levy’s upcoming film, Real Steel, is currently set to open later this year on October 7th. In addition to Jackman, the film also stars Hope Davis, Evangeline Lilly, Kevin Durand, and Anthony Mackie. Real Steel is set in a near-future in which robots that literally weigh one ton (and yet still resemble humans) duke it out. For more, be sure to check out Steve’s Real Steel edit-bay visit by clicking here.