Shakespeare has been making steady appearances at the movies lately.  2011 saw Ralph Fiennes‘ Coriolanus, later this year we’ll be seeing Joss Whedon‘s Much Ado about Nothing and Carlo Carlei’s generic-looking adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, and now it looks like Macbeth will be headed our way.  According to Screen Daily, Michael Fassbender is set to play the lead role of the murderous king who seizes power only to be undone by paranoia, ambition, and fate.  Justin Kurzel (The Snowtown Murders) is set to direct the adaptation, which was written by Todd Louiso and Jacob Koskoff, and will be set in the 11th century with a “visceral approach to the story including significant battle scenes.”  Casting is currently underway for the manipulative Lady Macbeth “and talks are underway with at least one Hollywood leading actress.”

However, don’t expect the film to start shooting in the near future.  Kurzel is currently set to direct an adaptation of John Le Carre‘s Our Kind of Traitor later this year, and Fassbender is at work on X-Men: Days of Future Past.  The actor is also attached to star in Genius and Assassin’s Creed.

Fox Searchlight is getting its Oscar plans in order by announcing that they’ve set Steve McQueen‘s Twelve Years a Slave for December 27th.  Based on Solomon Northup’s autobiography of the same name, Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Northup, an educated and married black man living in 1853 New York.  Northup was approached by two men about a job offer in Washington D.C., but when he showed up he was kidnapped and forced into slavery.  The film has lined up one of the best casts in recent memory.  In addition to Ejifor, the film also stars Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt, Paul Dano, Scoot McNairy, Quvenzhane Wallis, Paul Giamatti, Sarah Paulson, Garrett Dillahunt, Alfre Woodard, and Benedict Cumberbatch.  Fox Searchlight’s Oscar odds also go up when you consider that two films involving slavery—Lincoln and Django Unchained—grabbed Best Picture nominations last year (somehow, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter missed the cut).

The only other film set for December 27th’s is The Weinstein Company’s Oscar-hopeful Grace of Monaco starring Nicole Kidman as Grace Kelly.  I can’t wait to see Twelve Years a Slave, and I hope it will play at TIFF like McQueen’s first two features, Hunger and Shame.

The production of Jane Got a Gun, a Western led by Natalie Portman, has been delayed several times.  It was finally scheduled to begin shooting next week, but a last-minute casting swap will push production back to April.  Michael Fassbender was set to play the male lead, but his X-Men: Days of Future Past schedule creates a conflict that will pull him off the project.  Normally, that would be terrible news, but director Lynne Ramsay (We Need to Talk About Kevin) has a mighty fine backup plan.  THR reports Joel Edgerton, who was looking to play the villain, will switch sides to assume Fassbender’s role.  Jude Law will come on board to play the villain and round out the lead cast.  If you can get two out of three with Fassbender, Edgerton, and Law, you win.

Scott Steindorff (The Lincoln Lawyer), Aleen Keshishian (Our Idiot Brother), and Terry Dougas (The Box) are producing.  The script by Brian Duffield follows good girl Jane (Portman), who runs away from her outlaw husband (Law) and teams up with on old flame (Edgerton) to protect her family.  Read the full synopsis for Jane Got a Gun after the break.

The first image has been released for Lenny Abrahamson’s rock comedy Frank.  The film stars Domhnall Gleeson (Dredd) as man “who discovers he’s bitten off more than he can chew when he joins a band of eccentric pop musicians led by the mysterious and enigmatic Frank (Michael Fassbender) and his terrifying sidekick Clara (Maggie Gyllenhaal).”  The film is based off the memoir by Jon Ronson (The Men Who Stare at Goats), and “is loosely based on Frank Sidebottom, the persona of cult musician and comedy legend Chris Sievey, as well as outsider musicians like Daniel Johnston and Captain Beefheart.”  As you can see from the image, Fassbender looks like he’s really gotten in shape for the film, and that shape is terrifying.

Hit the jump to check out the image.  The film also stars Scoot McNairy, Carla Aza, and Francois Civil.

Well here’s an interesting twist.  Bryan Singer has tweeted that Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart have joined X-Men: Days of Future Past, which is supposedly a sequel not to X-Men: The Last Stand, but X-Men: First Class.  So how will they be used?  There are a couple of possibilities I can think of off the top of my head.  First, they’ll just be a couple of cameos used as a framing device, so that Professor X and Magneto are looking back at the events of the new movie.  When these remembrances would occur in terms of the original trilogy is a bit fuzzy since Last Stand ends on the borderline of the status quo [spoilers] (Magneto loses his powers, but not really; Professor X dies, but not really).

Hit the jump for more speculation.  Singer also tweeted that James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, and Nicholas Hoult will all return.  No mention on First Class‘ other cast members.  Filming on the upcoming sequel is set to begin early next year.

Michael Fassbender, the charismatic actor who brought Prometheus’ android, David, to life, will now lend his voice to Formula 1 racing documentary, 1.  A long-time F1 fan, Fassbender will narrate the documentary from award-winning filmmaker Paul Crowder (Riding Giants). Written by Mark Monroe (The Cove), 1 is an action documentary that brings the spectacle and drama of Formula One Grand Prix racing to the big screen. Complete with never-before-seen footage and interviews with 12 former champions as well as power players from the F1 world, 1 will screen tomorrow at Austin’s Paramount Theater and will be completed with Fassbender’s narration. Hit the jump for the full press release.

Ridley Scott’s Prometheus was a geek’s dream. Scott, who directed Alien in 1979, was one of the great science fiction filmmakers, but hadn’t done anything in the genre since 1982 – since Blade Runner. And though Alien spawned a franchise, Scott had never made his own sequel. Prometheus was sold as a semi-prequel, an “in universe” film that takes place before the events of the first film, but may not tie into them directly. After a series of great trailers, there was hope that the film (which was also rated R, rare for a huge summer movie) would be awesome, would be a great Scott film. Alas, it’s more of a mess. Our review of the Blu-ray of Prometheus follows after the jump.

Director Terrence Malick’s currently-shooting untitled film set within the Austin music scene isn’t exactly lacking in actors, but we all know that just because you shoot scenes for a Terrence Malick movie doesn’t mean you’ll actually be in a Terrence Malick movie.  The latest actor to possibly join the cast is Val Kilmer, and based on images of the actor on set, I’m really, really, really hoping he makes the final cut.  Rooney Mara, Ryan Gosling, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale and Michael Fassbender star the pic, and we’ve previously seen images of Mara shooting scenes while “performing” on stage with Black Lips.

Kilmer recently filmed some scenes onstage with Mara and Black Lips, and in true Val Kilmer fashion he didn’t exactly play it straight.  Images show him using a walker, cutting his own hair, and wielding a chainsaw next to Mara.  I’m not sure if his role is more of a manifestation/presence than an actual person (which isn’t out of the question for a Malick pic), but this is some wonderfully weird stuff.  Hit the jump to take a look.

I dubbed our earlier Jon Hamm/Daniel Radcliffe article today’s “most good-looking story,” but it appears that I may have spoken prematurely.  Academy Award winner Colin Firth and the Academy Award worthy Michael Fassbender are now set to team up for the real life drama Genius.  The film is based on A. Scott Berg’s biography Max Perkins: Editor of Genius and tells the story of the relationship between Thomas Wolfe (Fassbender) and editor Max Perkins (Firth).  Perkins served as an editor for a number of literary greats, including Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald, and his role as a devoted friend and surrogate psychoanalyst made him privy to the intricate details of these men’s lives.  Sean Penn was previously eyeing the role that Firth will now step into.

Directed by Michael Grandage, the film will begin production in early 2014 with a script by John Logan (Skyfall, Hugo).  That may seem far off, but Firth and Fassbender are understandably busy guys.  Fassbender most recently filmed the period drama Twelve Years a Slave and Ridley Scott’s The Counselor, while Firth shot the real life drama The Railway Man and the West Memphis Three film Devil’s Knot this summer.  Hit the jump for the press release.

Steve walked the floor at the American Film Market (AFM) early this morning and managed to bring back some detailed synopses for the following films:

• Jane Got a Gun – A Western starring Natalie Portman and Michael Fassbender
• Parkland – A drama about the JFK assassination starring Billy Bob Thornton, Paul Giamatti, and Jacki Weaver.
• The Green Inferno – The next directorial project from Eli Roth.
• A Walk Among the Tombstones – A crime thriller starring Liam Neeson.
• Agent: Century 21 – An action comedy starring Cameron Diaz and Benicio Del Toro.

Hit the jump to check out all the detailed synopses, which include production start dates.

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. 

With just a few short weeks to go until the Revolutionary War-centric third title in the Assassin’s Creed video game series is released, the feature film adaptation is moving closer to reality.  We learned this past July that Michael Fassbender had signed on to star in and co-produce the project with Ubisoft, and now the film has found a financier and distributor in New Regency.  Hit the jump for more.

New set photos have come out from director Terrence Malick’s Untitled Film that feature more looks at star Natalie Portman and famed professional freak, Erik “The Lizardman” Sprague.  Not sure what Lizardman is doing there, but Portman is starring in a film ”set against the music scene of Austin, and tells the story of two intersecting love triangles and the obsession and betrayal that follows.”  And, as is the case in Malick’s films, any or all of these characters and scenes might be cut from the finished film at the drop of a cowboy hat.  As an added bonus, we have a set photo from director Tom Hooper’s musical feature, Les Miserables, that shows how a modern British landmark was turned into 19th century French setpiece.  Hit the jump to check them out.

Another day, another batch of blurry set photos featuring some of your favorite barely recognizable stars.  Today, we have our first look at Kick-Ass 2 star Christopher Mintz-Plasse in costume as The Motherfucker.  He doesn’t appear to be dressed in the same black-and-orange duds we saw him in at the end of Kick-Ass, but it’s hard to get a decent look in these lo-res images.  We’ve also got first looks at Michael Fassbender and Javier Bardem in Ridley Scott’s The Counselor.  I didn’t think it possible, but Bardem looks even stranger here than he does in Skyfall.  Maybe it’s just the pocket-fan.  Hit the jump to check out the set photos.

Next month, Ridley Scott‘s Prometheus will hit Blu-ray, and it will contain a slew of special features including 15 minutes of deleted scenes.  One of those scenes will let us listen to the Engineer’s voice.  You may recall [spoilers for those who haven't seen the movie yet] that the Engineer stays silent when David speaks to him (click here for what David (Michael Fassbender) said).  In the deleted scene, we hear that the Engineer speaks in a guttural voice, which fits the character’s size and build, but doesn’t feel too original.  Prometheus has a lot of problems, but letting the Engineer stay silent and mysterious isn’t one of them.

An unused track from the film has also leaked online, and it was reportedly supposed to be used during the scene where Shaw (Noomi Rapace) ventures out into a storm to retrieve the decapitated head of an Engineer.  I’m not sure if the music would have fit the scene (I only saw the movie once), but it would certainly fit a bevy of trailers for sci-fi action movies.  Hit the jump to check out the deleted scene and the unused track.  Prometheus hits Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray, DVD, and digital download on October 11th.