As someone whose only firsthand experience with the Star Trek franchise comes by virtue of J.J. Abrams‘ two Trek films, I know I’m in over my head when the topic presents itself. When you mention Trek, you’re referencing (either directly or indirectly) a rich legacy filled with peaks and valleys, genre-defining characters and moments, and an international fanbase that rivals any of pop-culture’s most enduring titles. And yet here I am, with two films under my belt (both of which I enjoyed), talking about it. Obviously, I have nothing at stake with regards to Star Trek Into Darkness. Whether you like it or dislike it is of no consequence to me. My only aim today is to extend a humble word of caution to the Trek fans who have years of equity built-up in their beloved franchise: be careful not to dismiss or begrudge it solely because it’s trying to appeal to the largest possible audience. Abrams’ Trek films aren’t above reproach, but they also aren’t void of redeeming qualities. Try to at least acknowledge some of those qualities when tearing into them or risk coming off as someone whose real issue is that a bunch of people now enjoy this thing that you once considered yourself unique for liking.

All preachiness aside, this week’s Top 5 includes several interviews from Star Trek Into Darkness, rumors surrounding Christopher Nolan being approached to direct James Bond 24, the first trailers for Marvel’s new ABC series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., a new trailer for Guillermo Del Toro‘s Pacific Rim, and new photos and a video from the set of director Jose Padilha‘s RoboCop remake. If I haven’t lost you yet, a brief recap and link to each of the above can be found after the jump.

It’s been a while since we’ve heard anything on Jose Padilha‘s remake of RoboCop.  The film was originally scheduled to open in August, but was pushed back to next February.  The last time we saw anything from the movie was in November, but now some new set photos and video have surfaced.  These images show off the costume in greater detail, and while there’s been some inevitable grumbling, I like the new look.  The original outfit is iconic, and this isn’t a radical departure, but it has enough of its own flavor to pay homage while still finding away to stand apart.  As for the video, fast motorcycles are fast.

Hit the jump to check out the set photos and video.  The film stars Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton, Abbie Cornish, Jay Baruchel and Jackie Earle Haley. RoboCop opens February 7th, 2014.

A new extended featurette for the upcoming third season of the resurrected AMC drama series The Killing has been released online, offering up a bounty of footage and info about the crime show’s return.  Season three picks up a year and a half after the events of the season two finale, as Mireille Enos’ Linden is now working in an isolated job outside the police force and Joel Kinnaman’s Holder has a new partner.  Linden gets roped back in when bodies start piling up and Holder realizes that his serial killer case may be connected to one of Linden’s past cases.  New cast member Peter Sarsgaard—who plays a death row inmate—notes that the season has three different narratives that are connected, so it’ll be interesting to see if showrunner Veena Sud can successfully weave the storylines while maintaining momentum or if the show will get bogged down with melancholy and minimal development like season two.

Hit the jump to watch the full featurette.  The two-hour season three premiere of The Killing airs on AMC on June 2nd.

Though his AMC series The Killing was just resurrected for a third season, star Joel Kinnaman isn’t leaving features behind anytime soon.  The actor most recently wrapped the starring role in the RoboCop reboot, and now Heat Vision reports that Kinnaman is in negotiations to join Tom Hardy and Noomi Rapace in the thriller Child 44.  The film is based on the book of the same name by Tom Rob Smith and takes place in the 1950s, where it centers on a security officer in the Soviet Union who finds himself demoted and exiled while investigating a string of murders.

Kinnaman is in talks to play Hardy’s “ambitious and murderous nemesis.”  Should the deal go through, Kinnaman would be reuniting with his Snabba Cash director Daniel Espinosa on the project.  Espinosa is coming off the success of last year’s Safe House, and Child 44 boasts Ridley Scott and Michael Costigan as producers.  Filming is hoping to get underway this summer.  Hit the jump for casting news concerning Rose Byrne joining Tina Fey/Jason Bateman and Seth Rogen/Zac Efron in a couple of upcoming projects.

Check out the latest casting news below:

• Joel Kinnaman (The Killing) is in final talks to join Liam Neeson (Taken) in Run All Night, the Warner Bros.’ crime-thriller directed by Jaume Collet-Serra (Unknown). 
• James Frecheville (Animal Kingdom) will join Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises) and Noomi Rapace (Prometheus) for Michaël R. Roskam’s Animal Rescue, adapted from the Denis Lehane novel.

Hit the jump for more on both casting announcements.

The Killing is officially back from the dead.  After we previously caught wind of the resurrection, it was announced today that the cancelled AMC series The Killing will return for a third season on the network, with Veena Sud back as executive producer/showrunner and stars Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman on tap to reprise their roles as Sarah Linden and Stephen Holder.  The new season picks up one year after the events of the season two finale, with a retired Linden pulled back into the job when her ex-partner’s “search for a runaway girl leads him to discover a gruesome string of murders that connects to a previous murder investigation by Linden.” Hit the jump for more details.

AMC’s The Killing has returned from purgatory and will air its third season on the network.  The crime drama was cancelled after two seasons and then had its hopes resurrected by a joint effort from AMC and Netflix, thanks to relentless pursuit from producer Fox TV Studios. Though none of the execs from the above-mentioned organizations would confirm the news, it looks like showrunner Veena Sud and executive producers Dawn Prestwich and Nicole Yorkin are back in the writers’ room as of this week, in order to churn out another season. Whether the show will regain its first season highs or continue its second season lows remains to be seen. Stars Joel Kinnaman and Mireille Enos are contractually obligated to return. Hit the jump for more.

Fans of RoboCop are interested to see how director Jose Padilha’s remake is going to differ from the 1987 original. It seems a new featurette has been released that goes a long way in answering that question. Featuring concept art for multiple generations of RoboCop’s suit, a re-imagined ED-209, unmmanned drones and futuristic weaponry, the video also includes commentary from star Joel Kinnaman and director Padilha, along with producer Eric Newman, VFX Supervisor Jamie Price and Production Designer Martin Whist.

RoboCop, also starring Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton, Gary Oldman, Abbie Cornish, Jay Baruchel and Jackie Earle Haley, opens in theaters February 7th, 2014. Hit the jump to check it out, along with some new images of both concept art and a new suit.

The Killing returns.  Months after AMC cancelled the drama series following its second season, it appears that a deal is being hammered out to now bring the show back.  Deadline reports that The Killing producer Fox TV Studios was relentless in their pursuit to keep the show alive, and after talking with a number of potential buyers they finally found a partner in Netflix.  AMC will be teaming up with the streaming juggernaut for the third season, with AMC airing the episodes first before they go up on Netflix.  Hit the jump for more.

New images from the set of director Jose Padilha’s RoboCop remake show off more looks at the film’s futuristic vehicles. We’ve seen glimpses of the cop car and taxi before, and the motorcycle popped up recently, but now we have much more extensive looks at all of them. With all these vehicles to wash and wax, it’s no wonder the film was recently bumped to 2014.  As a bonus, we finally know the answer to why Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) retains one human hand as the cyborg-cop: bunny fingers.

RoboCop stars Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton, Abbie Cornish, Jay Baruchel and Jackie Earle Haley. RoboCop opens February 7th, 2014.  Hit the jump to see the images.

Let’s all do the release date shuffle, courtesy of Sony!

• RoboCop, the Jose Padilha-directed remake starring Joel Kinnaman, has been bumped from its August 9th, 2013 spot to February 7th, 2014.
• Taking over the former RoboCop spot will be Neill Blomkamp’s Elysium, starring Matt Damon.  The picture moves from March 1st, 2013 to August 9th, 2013. (Fun fact: Blomkamp’s District 9 was released that same week in 2009.)
• Cloudy 2: Revenge of the Leftovers will move up from its previous spot of February 7th, 2014 to September 27th, 2013.  The animated feature will land on roughly the same weekend as this year’s hit, Hotel Transylvania.
• Pixels, the Happy Madison production based on an 8-bit French short, is listed as “in development” and won’t make a 2014 release, though it was previously pegged for May 17, 2013.

Hit the jump for more on each of these pictures. 

New photos have leaked from the set of Jose Padilha‘s RoboCop remake, and they show that the cyborg police officer has a new set of wheels.  The motorcycle in the images looks nifty and futuristic.  It’s also nice when heroes can get their vehicles to resemble their outfit.  Imagine a future where everyone’s car was a reflection of their daily attire.  In the comments section, please tell me the automobile-equivalent of a t-shirt and jeans.

Hit the jump to check out the set photos.  The film stars Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton, Abbie Cornish, Jay Baruchel, and Jackie Earle Haley.   RoboCop opens August 9, 2013.

We’ve only been able to get glimpses of director Jose Padilha’s RoboCop reboot via a bunch of set photos and today’s no different.  What is different is that this batch of photos show off Michael Keaton as the OmniCorp CEO Raymond Sellars, Michael Kenneth Williams as Alex Murphy’s (Joel Kinnaman) partner Officer Jack Lewis and Abbie Cornish as Murphy’s wife, Ellen. Oh and some more shots of Kinnaman in his cyborg attire. The picture also seem to confirm that Kinnaman’s Murphy will retain a human right hand: a corporate attempt to show the supercop’s human side or an Achilles’ heel of sorts?

RoboCop opens August 9th 2013 and also stars Gary Oldman, Jay Baruchel and Jackie Earle Haley.  Hit the jump to see the new set photos. 

A number of films centering on WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange are in the works at the moment, but the one that seems to be gaining the most momentum comes from Gods and Monsters director Bill Condon.  Just this past July we learned that Jeremy Renner was keen on playing Assange in DreamWorks’ iteration of the story, but now Deadline hears that Sherlock and Star Trek 2 star Benedict Cumberbatch is the one being discussed for the role.  Moreover, the studio is also mulling over the idea of The Killing and RoboCop star Joel Kinnaman playing Assange’s right hand man, Daniel Domscheit.

Cumberbatch and Kinnaman certainly have the acting chops to pull this off, but no solid conversations appear to have taken place just yet.  Condon hasn’t officially committed to directing yet either (though he’s likely to), but one assumes he’d be happy to helm a character-centered drama like this in the wake of directing the two-part Twilight finale.  Hopefully we hear more firm word soon, but a Cumberbatch/Kinnaman team-up sounds like a solid idea.

We previously brought you the first looks at Joel Kinnaman (The Killing) in a new version of his RoboCop suit, but now we have a few more looks at Kinnaman as the 100% human Alex Murphy.  Speaking of superhumans, director Jeff Wadlow recently tweeted a number of photos of the Kick-Ass 2 cast in costume.  Though none are as awesome as the first look at Jim Carrey as Colonel Stars, these set photos do have that “official” ring to them.

Director Jose Padilha’s RoboCop also stars Abbie Cornish, Gary Oldman, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton and Jackie Earle Haley and opens August 9th, 2013.  Kick-Ass 2, starring Aaron Johnson, Chloe Grace Moretz and Christopher Mintz-Plasse, opens June 28th of next year.  Hit the jump to see the new images.