Although things were quiet on the Limited Paper front this week, one shouldn’t assume that it’s been quiet all over in Poster World:  in truth, things are just as busy as they were throughout October…it’s just that many things have been going down behind the scenes.  Indeed, there’s reason to believe—whether you’re a casual collector, a frothing-at-the-mouth true believer who feel s compelled  to buy everything, or if you’re just now making the decision to get into the absurdly entertaining hobby of print-collecting—that the rest of 2012 is gonna be (to quote former first lady Nancy Reagan) “absotively redonkulous up in hurr, bitches”.

But let’s not dwell on what may or may not be happening in the weeks ahead:  instead, let’s focus on what’s happening in the immediate future.   Wanna know when you can get a crack at the remaining prints that didn’t sell out at Mondo’s Universal Monsters Gallery show?  Are you a Mass Effect fan looking to prove your love for that franchise via the purchase and display of fancy-colored paper?  Wanna another head’s up regarding Limited Paper’s next giveaway?  It’s all after the jump, folks.

Legendary Pictures is still working on their adaptation of BioWare’s best-selling sci-fi series, Mass Effect.  For those unfamiliar with the games, they center on Commander Shepard, an elite agent in the year 2183 who must rally a team of alien species to defend the galaxy from a mysterious and destructive force.  When we last reported on the film in September 2011, screenwriter Mark Protosevich (I Am Legend) was working at “following and honoring the story” of the first Mass Effect game.  The game’s use of Shepard’s paragon/renegade choice system would be portrayed in however it best suited the narrative and the character’s motivations.

Today, Variety is reporting that Protosevich’s draft is out, and they’re bringing in former assistant editor Morgan Davis Foehl to take a crack at the script.  Hit the jump for more.

Amazon’s Gold Box Deal of the Day is Mass Effect 3 for $29.99 (50%) for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC.  While Bioware and EA have tried to bill the final installment in the trilogy as a place where newcomers can jump on, that’s stretching it.  Technically, you could start playing at ME3 and the massive Codex would fill in the backstory, but that’s not as much fun as playing the backstory.  The half-off is great because it gives newcomers the opportunity to save $30 bucks on picking up the whole trilogy, so today you could pay $66 on Amazon for all three Xbox 360 games (PlayStation 3 doesn’t have the first Mass Effect).  Despite the highly controversial ending of Mass Effect 3, the Mass Effect series is a high-water mark in gaming, and not to be missed.

Click here to go buy Mass Effect 3 for $29.99, and hit the jump for the game’s trailer.  [Note: Collider earns a small referral fee when our readers purchase something on Amazon through one of our links. The money generated helps pay our staff and keep the site running. Thank you for reading and supporting Collider.]

I criticized the last Mass Effect 3 trailer for forgetting what sets Mass Effect 3 apart from other sci-fi games is that it builds a universe where humans must cooperate with alien races.  While the attack on Earth is the launching point, the final installment in the trilogy focuses on Commander Shepard rallying the galaxy to bring down the reapers and save what’s left of our planet.  Bioware has now released the official launch trailer and it shows what Mass Effect 3 is truly about.  There’s a bit of re-tread for those who played the demo, but most of the trailer is new stuff and all of it looks incredible.  March 6th needs to get here sooner.

Hit the jump to check out the launch trailer.  Mass Effect 3 will be available this Tuesday on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

I’m counting down the days until Mass Effect 3 hits stores and then playing the hell out of it.  What makes the Mass Effect series stand out is how it builds a big, sprawling space opera, and you realize that there are whole galaxies and non-human races that have their own conflicts.  The big selling point of Mass Effect 3 is that Earth is now under attack, and the plot has the series’ hero, Shepard, on a mission to rally the universe to defend against the attack from the malevolent Reapers.  Sadly, this new trailer decides to go ful-on Michael Bay, and make an ad for a game that could easily be Halo, Resistance, or Gears of War, but with different-looking aliens.  Where’s Garrus?  Where’s Wrex?  Where’s Mordin?  Not to be found here.  But there is a shot of a falling building that could have been taken directly from a Transformers movie.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  For comparison, I’ve also included the far superior “Reinstated” trailer, which features the female Shepard.  Mass Effect 3 hits Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on March 6th.

I was hoping at Comic-Con Legendary Pictures would clarify their plans for the Mass Effect movie they’re developing.  But the extent of their presentation was basically, “Hey, we’re still making a Mass Effect movie.  Thanks for stopping by.”  Now Legendary has put up Twitter questions that were supposed to be asked during the panel but were skipped due to time constraints.

The biggest piece of new info is that Mass Effect “will be a completely new story.”  Screenwriter Mark Protosevich (I Am Legend) previously said his script would be “following and honoring the story,” and Legendary’s comment doesn’t negate that statement.  BioWare hasn’t created a single story for Mass Effect as much as it’s created an entire world.  Yes, there’s an overarching storyline involving an ancient evil race out to destroy the galaxy, but BioWare has put far more effort into developing the various species, planets, characters, and so forth to the point that any writer could conceivably drop a new Commander Shepard story into the mix and still have it fit.  Hit the jump for more. [Update: Now Legendary has changed their tune.  Hit the jump for what they're saying now.]

Legendary Films held their first ever Comic-Con panel today kicked off their inaugural run with aplomb, bringing out plenty of A-list talent and displaying concept art for four different projects.

In addition to Pacific Rim, Legendary brought  Jeff Bridges, Ben Barnes, Sergei Bodrov and Alicia Vikander for Seventh Son, Bradley Cooper and Alex Proyas for Paradise Lost, and Mark Protosevich and Casey Hudson for Mass Effect.  Read on for a summary of the presentation and details on the concept art.

There’s plenty of good stuff to see at this year’s Comic-Con.  There’s too much good stuff.  You could clone yourself seven times and you and your many selves still probably couldn’t see everything worth seeing.   I am without a cloning machine (damn you, lazy scientists) and I will be covering only Hall H this year.  After the jump, I’ve listed the five panels I’m most interested in seeing in Hall H as well as the five panels I wish I could attend outside of Comic-Con’s biggest room.

If you thought Thursday was crazy at Comic-Con, then the schedule for Friday will make your brain break apart. There were some high profile panels on Thursday, but Friday it’s non-stop. Sony is looking to own the day with their 90-minute panel for Total Recall, 30 Minutes or Less, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, and The Amazing Spider-Man. Hall H will also be hosting presentations for The Adventures of Tintin, Raven, Steven Soderbergh’s Haywire, Underworld 4, Batman: Year One, Pacific Rim, Seventh Son, Paradise Lost, Mass Effect, and Fright Night.

The TV side is also on overdrive with a pilot screening of Locke & Key, and panels for The Walking Dead, The Big Bang Theory, Children’s Hospital, Bones, Green Lantern: The Animated Series, The River, Black Dynamite, Eureka, Bob’s Burgers, Falling Skies, ThunderCats, Robot Chicken, Ugly Americans, Warehouse 13, and True Blood. Hit the jump for a list of schedule highlights for movies and TV.

Lest you were worried that there was going to be a serious lack of major films at this year’s Comic-Con, Legendary Pictures has just announced its first-ever panel. The studio will be bringing out the big guns, as the films set to be featured are as follows: Guillermo del Toro’s next directorial project Pacific Rim, Alex Proyas’ adaptation of Paradise Lost starring Bradley Cooper, Seventh Son starring Jeff Bridges, and the feature film adaptation of Mass Effect.

The studio is bringing along the major talent from each film, including Pacific Rim’s Charlie Hunnam, Charlie Day and Idris Elba (as well as del Toro), Seventh Son’s Bridges and Ben Barnes, Both Proyas and Cooper from Paradise Lost, and Mass Effect game creator Casey Hudson and the screenwriter working on the film adaptation Mark Protosevich. Hit the jump to read the full press release.

Legendary Pictures has optioned the film rights to EA and Bioware’s extremely successful video game series Mass Effect. According to the press release, the project will also fall under Legendary’s co-production and co-financing agreement with Warner Bros., who will distribute the film worldwide. The producers are in discussions with Mark Protosevich (I Am Legend, Thor) to draft a screenplay based on the epic science fiction game series.  Legendary’s Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni will produce the film with Avi and Ari Arad. BioWare co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk will serve as executive producers, as will Mass Effect executive producer Casey Hudson.

If you’re a fan of the game, you should be very happy Legendary Pictures landed the rights as they’re a great movie company with a solid track record (The Dark Knight, 300, Clash of the Titans, The Hangover and Watchmen). More after the jump – including the E3 trailer from 2006 that explains the game.