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]

Early this year, a curious pairing popped up in the form of director Tim Burton and Robert Downey Jr. possibly teaming up on a new take on Pinocchio.  Downey Jr. subsequently spoke enthusiastically about the prospect, and now we have an update on the Warner Bros. project as Heat Vision reports that Stardust and X-Men: First Class co-writer Jane Goldman has been brought on to rewrite the script.  It’s a bit of a curious move as Pushing Daisies mastermind Bryan Fuller penned the intial draft, but I guess his script wasn’t up to snuff for the duo.

The new take on the classic story would find Downey Jr. playing Geppetto, the woodcarver responsible for creating the puppet boy Pinocchio who comes to life.  When Pinocchio goes missing, Geppetto must embark on a quest to bring him back.  Burton and Downey Jr. have yet to officially commit to the project, but WB apparently hopes to bring their courtship to a close with the hiring of Goldman as she’ll be incorporating Downey’s notes into her rewrite.  This is one of a number of Pinocchio-centered projects in development at the moment, including a stop-motion animated take from Guillermo del Toro and 20th Century Fox’s The Three Misfortunes of Geppetto.

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.

Screenwriter Jane Goldman is close to landing a fairly high profile writing gig sans partner Matthew Vaughn. While Goldman’s past collaborations with Vaughn have included such excellent fare as Kick Ass, X-Men: First Class, and Stardust, Deadline reports that the scribe is in talks with 20th Century Fox to tackle the adaptation of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Written by Ransom Riggs, the novel centers on a 16-year-old who visits an orphanage that his grandfather told him stories about, only to discover that the residents may not be as harmless as he was led to believe. Inhabitants include a child whose feet never touched the ground, and another who could hold fire in her hands. Tim Burton is circling the project to direct, and I think Goldman is a fine choice to handle the script.

This won’t be the scribe’s first outing without Vaughn, as she also wrote the upcoming horror film The Woman in Black starring Daniel Radcliffe. Goldman and Vaughn are expected to return to pen a First Class sequel, but it appears she may crank out Miss Peregrine’s first. Hit the jump to read a synopsis of the novel.

With director Matthew Vaughn’s X-Men: First Class set to open next week, 20th Century Fox has sent over three clips and twenty five minutes of behind the scenes footage!  For those that want to stay spoiler free, I advise you not to watch the behind the scenes footage until you’ve seen the movie as it’s loaded with could be considered spoilers.  However, if you’re curious how a movie is made, or what it was like on the set, the footage is great.

As I said a few days ago after I saw the movie, X-Men: First Class is a huge home-run.  Everything from the great script to the awesome performances by the entire cast (with special mention to James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender) makes this X-Men film my favorite in the franchise.   Also, the film is loaded with incredible action and a ton of Easter Eggs for the fans.  Even the sets and costumes are great.  Trust me, as soon as the movie is over, you’re going to wish the next chapter was coming out next week.   Hit the jump to check out the footage.

Director Matthew Vaughn seems to be enjoying the world of superheroes.  After directing Kick-Ass and now at work on X-Men: First Class, Vaughn tells Deadline that he’s circling yet another superhero project with The Golden Age.  The film is based on a yet-to-be-published comic by Jonathan Ross, husband of frequent Vaughn co-write Jane Goldman.  The story centers on a group of “retired superheroes who help out their grandchildren when their middle-aged parent screw up the world.”

Vaughn’s dream-casting is to get Clint Eastwood, Jack Nicholson, and Warren Beatty to play the superheroes, but that may be difficult since Eastwood announced Gran Torino would be his last performance and Beatty hasn’t done a film in about a decade.  Vaughn says the success of The Expendables and Red proves there’s a market for older lead actors: “You have these great star names and they’re mainly playing supporting roles now. I want to give them the lead again and let them have some fun.”  Hit the jump for more on the project.

The Debt was originally scheduled to come out at the end of last year (you can watch the trailer here), but the prolonged Miramax deal left the drama on the shelf without a release date (same for the other remaining Miramax title, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark).  The Debt has now found a home at Focus Features, which will release the flick on August 31st.

Hit the jump to check out the press release.  Directed by John Madden (Shakespeare in Love), The Debt features an impressive cast that includes Helen Mirren, Sam Worthington, Jessica Chastain, Ciarán Hinds, and Tom Wilkinson.  Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman (Kick-Ass) wrote the screenplay with Peter Straughan.

With reports swirling about that Kick-Ass co-writer Jane Goldman is currently writing that film’s sequel, the X-Men: First Class co-scribe took to Twitter earlier today in an attempt to set the record straight.  Via two different tweets, Goldman denied reports that she is already hard at work on Kick-Ass 2 saying:

“Saw a few erroneous reports today that I’m currently writing Kick Ass 2 script – sorry if anyone’s disappointed, but not true. Currently writing for 2 other projects, then on to lovely Matthew V’s next thing (right now, looks unlikely to be KA2) when X-Men post-prod’ ends.”

Based upon the above, if Goldman’s not working on the Kick-Ass 2 script and it’s “unlikely” that director Matthew Vaughn’s next film will be Kick-Ass 2, then what’s Vaughn working on after X-Men: First Class?  For my best guess, hit the jump.

The Harry Potter films have quite literally seized a decade of his life, but with the saga coming to an end in 2011, Daniel Radcliffe is getting all his ducks in a row for a healthy post-Potter career.  Following up on the Shock Till You Drop rumor that kicked off the weekend, Hammer Films has confirmed via press release that Radcliffe will star in director James Watson’s adaptation of the Susan Hill novel The Woman in Black: A Ghost Story.  Jane Goldman (Kick-Ass) penned the script, which posits Radcliffe as a young lawyer visiting a remote English town which holds many a ghostly secret.  Hit the jump for the full press release and further details on the project.

It looks as if we can add a new character to the list of mutants appearing in Matthew Vaughn’s X-Men: First Class. In a recent interview with Comic Book Movie, surfer and potential first-time actress Erica Hosseini revealed that she recently auditioned for the role of Willow in the upcoming film.

Per Wikipedia, Willow first appeared in the short-lived 1996 comic series X-Nation 2099. In terms of mutant powers, she has the ability to mimic the shape of other beings although her facial marking remain prevalent (a poor man’s Mystique?). Hit the jump for more on what Hosseini had to say about the role as well as why I believe Willow’s inclusion in the film could be cause for concern.

Matthew Vaughn has cast James McAvoy (Atonement, Wanted) to play the young Charles Xavier in X-Men: First Class.  As we’ve previously reported, the film is a prequel and will chronicle the breaking of the friendship between Xavier (aka Professor X) and Eric Lensherr (aka Magneto).  It will be interesting to see how this dynamic plays out because I’ve always felt that the distance between the characters in X-Men and X2 was one of sadness and not anger.  First Class will also feature younger mutants training at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.  There will be new mutants, but teenage Cyclops and Jean Grey are characters frequently mentioned in connection with the movie.

According to Heat Vision, Fox did not reveal whether McAvoy will go bald and/or be in a wheelchair (in the comics, Xavier’s lost use of his legs as a young man after an an alien named Legion dropped a big rock on them).  Hit the jump for more details on the project.  X-Men: First Class is slated to begin filming this summer and hit theaters on June 3, 2011.

Hammer Films has begun production on its first 3D film, The Woman in Black.  Written by Kick-Ass co-writer Jane Goldman (above) and directed by James Watkins (Eden Lake), the ghost story is an adaptation of Susan Hill’s novella of the same name.  Woman in Black is about a young solicitor who goes to settle the estate of a recently deceased elderly widow.  However, strange circumstances surrounding the woman’s town and her past lead to a discovery of a horrible legacy.  We first reported on the story back in February, but now Variety reports that the film will be in 3D.

Steve spoke with Goldman at WonderCon and she excitedly said she’s interested in tackling the Victorian ghost story with a J-horror (Japanese Horror) perspective.  I think that’s a fascinating take on the material and it will be cool to see how Goldman applies a J-horror style to a story that has no connection to Japan or Japanese history.

When Matthew Vaughn was in talks to direct X-Men: First Class, I wondered out loud whether or not he would write a new script with Kick-Ass co-writer Jane Goldman.  I need wonder no longer as Goldman’s husband, television/radio presenter and writer Jonathan Ross tweeted that “The wife is away writing X Men 4.”  No details if she’s handling the script solo, will be co-writing with Vaughn (which is my guess since she also co-wrote Vaughn’s Stardust), and/or will work from Bryan Singer’s treatment, which was previously adapted by screenwriter Jamie Moss.  While the comics are about the early days of mutants Cyclops, Jean Grey, and other X-Men at the Charles Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, Singer’s take had the film centering on the complicated friendship between Xavier and Magneto.  Singer was originally attached to direct but had to drop out due to his prior obligation to helm Jack the Giant Killer.  He remains on board as a producer.

It’s worth nothing that Ross told the Guardian last month that Vaughn may possibly adapt Ross’ new comic book, Turf.  As for Goldman, she’s writing a script for Hammer Films called The Woman in Black, and she spoke about it with Steve at WonderCon.   I’m a fan of Kick-Ass and Stardust and so I’m totally on board to have Goldman get her hands on the script.

Over the past few days I’ve been posting my video interviews with the Kick-Ass cast (Aaron Johnson and Clark Duke/Chloe Moretz and Christopher Mintz-Plasse) and screenwriter Jane Goldman.  Today I’ve got John Romita Jr.

As the artist of the comic book series and one of the producers of the movie, Romita Jr. was very involved in bringing Kick-Ass to life.  He also directed a short animated sequence in the film.  During the interview he talked about what he did on the comic book and movie, what he thinks of the iPad and how that might help the comic book industry, his thoughts on WonderCon and Comic-Con, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to check it out.

Also, as I have said many times, Kick-Ass is an awesome movie.  Go see it!

I know there are positive reviews of this movie out that say something like “Kick-Ass kicks ass.”  That’s technically true.  However, if we’re using a description to reflect the film’s name, then a more accurate title would be Extreme Violence Super Fun Time.  I’ll admit that title is less catchy and isn’t the name of the main character, but it does describe this post-modern superhero flick.  Kick-Ass is one of the most fun times I’ve ever had at a movie.  It’s a miracle of balance as it imbues heart into a film where people have their hearts impaled with a samurai sword.