One of the more curious sequel possibilities floating around the past few years has been Con Air 2.  Director Simon West’s 1997 actioner was a modest success at the box office, grossing $224 million worldwide, and while it was a classic Jerry Bruckheimer actioner with many quotable Nicolas Cage lines and a nutty John Malkovich performance, it was somewhat forgotten as the bigger and more four-quadrant friendly blockbusters of the 2000s started changing the moviegoing landscape.  However, fans of Con Air (myself included) were intrigued to hear back in 2011 that West was keen on making a Con Air sequel, and while the film has obviously failed to materialize, West recently spoke a bit more about what he’d like to do with the follow-up, and the “hook” may surprise you.  More after the jump.

Superman Lives is one of the great (or not-so-great) lost movies of Hollywood.  Back in the mid-90’s Tim Burton came onboard the project alongside star Nicolas Cage and screenwriter Kevin Smith.  They actually got pretty far along in development (you’ve no doubt seen Cage’s infamous photo in the costume) before the whole thing fell apart.  Now, filmmaker Jon Schnepp is attempting to brave the waters and figure out what happened with his upcoming documentary, The Death of Superman Lives; What Happened?

The trailer for the film was unveiled last night at the San Diego Comic-Con and is actually pretty great, featuring many of the key players (no Cage though) in the debacle. Hit the jump for the The Death of Superman Lives; What Happened trailer and to find out more on how this intriguing film can become a reality.

I’m a week late to the game on this one but I’m going to share my thoughts on X-Men: Days of Future Past today nevertheless. While not on par with the excellent X-Men: First Class, I found DOFP to be a worthy follow-up that does an admirable job of bringing continuity to the X movie tapestry while mercifully retconning X-Men: The Last Stand out of the discussion almost entirely. Also, for all of the cynicism I threw the film’s way over Quicksilver’s costume design, Evan Peters steals the show during his all too brief screen time. Without giving away too much to those who still haven’t caught the movie, his primary scene is the best that DOFP has to offer and tops Nightcrawler’s attack on the White House in X2 which is not praise that I heap lightly. While not without its flaws (the scenes set in the future are far less compelling than the story playing out in the past), DOFP is still a solid entry in the series that has me looking forward to X-Men: Apocalypse.

All DOFP reflections aside, this week’s Top 5 features our Maleficent interviews and review, Marvel’s ongoing search to find someone/anyone to direct Ant-Man following Edgar Wright‘s departure, the new trailer for Snowpiercer, Matt’s review of A Million Ways to Die in the West and an interview with Seth Macfarlane and Charlize Theron, and Nicolas Cage starring in the first trailer for the new Left Behind film because he can. Keep reading for brief recaps and links for all of the above.

The first Left Behind trailer has been released for director Vic Armstrong’s adaptation of the bestselling book series by authors Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye.  This is the second feature film adaptation of the first Left Behind book, and this iteration stars Nicolas Cage as Rayford Steele, a pilot who is flying a commercial airliner just hours after the Rapture, a Biblically derived event in which Christians are called to heaven while non-believers remain on Earth to face the Apocalypse.  This teaser trailer doesn’t offer much by way of footage, but it certainly looks like an independently produced disaster film. Portions resemble a Lifetime Original Movie, while others don’t look half bad. Whatever the case, this should make for another curious entry in Cage’s eclectic filmography.

Hit the jump to watch the Left Behind trailer.  The film also stars Chad Michael Murray, Lea Thompson, Jordin Sparks, Cassi Thompson, Nicky Whelan, Quinton Aaron, and Martin Klebba and opens in theaters on October 3rd.

Here’s today’s latest casting news:

• Nicolas Cage is potentially starring in Red Squad, a “DEA vs Mexican drug cartel” thriller that would be formerly incarcerated director John McTiernan’s comeback film.
• Rachel Weisz is negotiating to join Robert De Niro and Robert Pattinson in Olivier Assayas’ Idol’s Eye, a Chicago-set gangster drama.
• Taylor Kinney is the latest addition to Barry Levinson’s comedy Rock the Kasbah starring Bill Murray, as well as the indie political thriller, Food, from Zoey Lister Jones and Daryl Wein.

Hit the jump for more on each casting announcement.

A few casting notices:

• Daniel Radcliffe is attached to star in You Shall Know Our Velocity, director Peter Sollett‘s (Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist) adaptation of the Dave Eggers novel.
• Nicolas Cage will star in the contemporary political drama The Runner, the feature directorial debut of Austin Stark (Detachment).
• Djimon Hounsou and Alexis Knapp are attached to star in the action/adventure One, written and directed by Murali Thalluri (2:37).

See the press releases after the jump for more details on each project.

We’ve got a few more casting stories to attend to this afternoon.  Briefly:

• Edgar Ramirez (Carlos) is in talks to replace Gerard Butler in the Point Break remake.
• Nicolas Cage and Jack Huston (Boardwalk Empire) will star in the crime thriller The Trust.
• Emma Thompson, Daniel Brühl (Rush), and Mark Rylance (The Other Boelyn Girl) will star in the Hans Fallada adaptation Alone in Berlin.

Hit the jump for more on this casting news.

There is just one article in the Collider archives on Outcast.  The casting announcement revealed Nicolas Cage and Hayden Christensen play two 12th century European crusaders who travel to China to find redemption.  Producer Jeremy Bolt (Pompeii) has bigger plans for the feature than we anticipated.  You see, Outcast is a co-production with China’s Yunnan Film Group, and China is an increasingly important international market.  Bolt is confident enough in the property to promise Outcast 2: “Outcast has been acclaimed by buyers, and we are determined to make a sequel.”  Backing up, Bolt also announced the Outcast release schedule [via Variety]: “We are planning a worldwide release, including the US and China, in September and October this year.”

Outcast is the directorial debut of stunt coordinator Nick Powell (Resident Evil: Retribution).  It sounds like the perfect Nicolas Cage vehicle at this stage in his career.  Yifei Liu, Fernando Chien, Andy On, and Byron Lawson also star.

Since George Washington hit the scene in 2000, director David Gordon Green has impressed me again and again.  Whether tackling a big studio comedy like Pineapple Express, an intimate drama like Snow Angels, or outrageous characters like Kenny Powers on HBO’s Eastbound & Down, Green has repeatedly shown he’s a gifted filmmaker that can handle any subject.  In his film, Joe, he tackles the story of an ex-con (Nicolas Cage) who becomes a role model to 15-year-old Gary Jones (Tye Sheridan), the oldest child of a homeless family led by a drunk father.  Loaded with fantastic performances (including some incredible work by non-professional actors), Joe really impressed me.  For more on the film, read Matt’s review or watch the trailer.

With the film getting released in theaters and VOD tomorrow, a few days ago I landed an exclusive video interview with Nicolas Cage.  He talked about working with non-actors, collaborating with David Gordon Green, why you should see the film, the status of National Treasure 3 (it’s not happening), The Croods 2, and more.  Hit the jump to watch.

Lionsgate has released the trailer and poster for David Gordon Green’s new drama, Joe. The overarching plot is about the relationship that forms between the troubled titular character (Nicolas Cage) and an abused teenager (Tye Sheridan), but it’s more of a character-driven piece about two people who are struggling against giving into the violence that pervades their lives. It’s a powerful film, and while I’m flattered that they’ve quoted my review on the poster and in the trailer, I think the trailer goes too deep into the picture, although it does give a good sense of the main theme.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer and poster. In case you’re wondering who the old man in the trailer is, it’s Gary Poulter, a late non-actor whose remarkable performance is on par with Cage and Sheridan.  Joe opens in theaters and on VOD on April 11th.

David Gordon Green‘s Joe was one of my favorite films at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, and now the first trailer has gone online.  The story is about the relationship that forms between the troubled titular character (Nicolas Cage) and an abused teenager (Tye Sheridan).  That’s the brief logline, but Joe is primarily a character driven piece and all the more rewarding for it.  This trailer tries to walk the balance between the tone and the loose narrative, and hits on the darkness and violence permeating the picture.  I can’t recommend the movie enough since it’s Green’s best film after George Washington and has one of Cage’s finest performances.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  Joe currently doesn’t have a U.S. release date.

Last weekend I checked out director Kimberly Peirce‘s Carrie remake and found it to be a perfectly solid retelling of Brian De Palma‘s 1976 classic. With a solid lead performance from Chloë Grace Moretz and a downright terrifying turn by Julianne Moore, I found more than a few things to like about the pic. I also thought the opening scene was terrific and was surprised to hear Judy Greer tell Steve that it wasn’t in the original script. Although I knew how the story would play out, I found myself wanting so badly for Carrie’s prom night to go smoothly which I think is a credit to Peirce’s direction and the time she takes setting up the obstacle-laden road Carrie traverses on the way to her first date. Ultimately, is there anything extraordinarily fresh and/or updated about the remake? Not really. Nevertheless, it’s a solid movie that proves Stephen King‘s tale is just as relevant and effective today as it was nearly four decades ago.

With my paragraph review of Carrie in the bag, this week’s Top 5 highlights the first trailer for Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Adam’s Divergent set visit, Steve’s Thor: The Dark World video interviews with Chris Hemsworth and more, two new trailers for Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, and Evan’s look at superhero movie casting decisions that nearly came to fruition. Much like in the past, a brief recap and link to each of the above is waiting after the jump.

Hugh Jackman as Wolverine.  Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man.  Chris Evans as Captain America. These are just a few staples to be found in the superhero movie genre that have really established themselves as their characters.  For some, it’s hard to imagine anyone else playing these bigger-than-life figures, but for many of these movies, each role was nearly given to someone else.  In this article, we’ll walk you through some of these scenarios of possible alternate casting, cases where we can delve into what exactly happened and the very different franchises they could have been.  Hit the jump for more.

After watching Prince Avalanche earlier this year, I hoped that director David Gordon Green would continue with smaller, more intimate stories.  With his follow-up, Joe, he has not only built on the palette-cleanser of Prince Avalanche, but also delivered one of his best movies.  Featuring tremendous performances from stars Nicolas Cage and Tye Sheridan as well as a cast of non-professional actors, Joe is both compassionate towards its characters and non-judgmental towards their actions.  It’s a story about men teetering between honest living and losing all restraint with their violent tendencies. Casually and with great subtlety, Green examines not only the inner struggle to maintain control, but also how much responsibility we owe to others and the limits of that responsibility.

Since George Washington hit the scene in 2000, director David Gordon Green has impressed me again and again.  Whether tackling a big studio comedy like Pineapple Express, an intimate drama like Snow Angels, or outrageous characters like Kenny Powers on HBO’s Eastbound & Down, Green has repeatedly shown he’s a gifted filmmaker that can handle any subject.  In his new film, Joe, which just premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, he tackles the story of an ex-con (Nicolas Cage) who becomes a role models to 15 year old Gary Jones (Tye Sheridan), the oldest child of a homeless family led by a drunk father.  Loaded with fantastic performances (including some incredible work by non-professional actors), Joe really impressed me at this year’s festival.

Shortly after the premiere I got to sit down with Green and Cage for an exclusive video interview.  They talked about being at TIFF, the value of non-professional actors, improvising on set, how Green values the organic process over detailed planning of shots, upcoming projects like Eastbound & Down and Tokarev, and more.  Hit the jump to watch.