Marvel has released the first trailer for director Alan Taylor’s (Game of Thrones) sequel Thor: The Dark World and it looks great.  Like every well cut trailer, it showcases a ton of impressive looking action, while revealing new details about the story.  I especially liked the reveal of how Loki (Tom Hiddleston) will be involved in the sequel.   If you dug the first Thor, you’re going to love this trailer.  Hit the jump to watch and let me know what you think in the comments.  

Thor: The Dark World stars Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Christopher Eccleston,Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Tadanobu Asano, Jaimie Alexander, Rene Russo, and Anthony Hopkins.  Thor: The Dark World opens in 3D on November 8th.

The coveted lead role of Star-Lord in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy has been narrowed down to three possible suitors. From the original shortlist of actors that were reported as auditioning less than a month ago, only Jim Sturgess (Cloud Atlas) remains. A new addition in the form of Zachary Levi (Chuck) is also in the mix. The studio also reports that an unnamed actor may test for the lead after the holidays.

Star-Lord, aka Peter Quill, is a human-alien hybrid who is a master strategist and combat expert, wears an ability-enhancing suit, pilots a psychically-linked ship and leads the Guardians of the Galaxy. The film, directed by James Gunn (Slither) is expected to open August 1, 2014. Hit the jump for more on the audition process.

Though Phase One of Marvel Studios’ film slate came to an end just a few months ago with The Avengers, production on Phase Two is already well underway.  The studio is currently in the midst of filming two upcoming sequels at the same time: Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World.  The Iron Man production is winding down to a close ahead of that film’s May 2013 release date, but filming on Thor: The Dark World is still going strong in London and today the first official synopsis for the Asgardian pic has been revealed.

The logline essentially tells us what we already know: Thor (Chris Hemsworth) must fight against Maleketih (Christopher Eccleston) and his race of Dark Elves, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) is back, the fate of the universe is in the balance, etc.  However, the synopsis does tease the film’s epic scope and the fact that Thor is forced to “sacrifice everything” in order to save us all (Thor dies?!).  Hit the jump to check out the full synopsis, which includes the full cast list.  Directed by Alan Taylor, Thor: The Dark World opens on November 8th, 2013.

Not all of the Warriors Three will be returning for Thor 2.  While Volstagg (Ray Stevenson) and Hogun (Tadanobu Asano) will be reprising their roles as two of the warriors from Thor, Fandral (Josh Dallas) apparently will not.  Dallas’ prior commitments to the ABC series, Once Upon a Time, will prevent him from joining the sequel.  So reports have it that Marvel is looking to ex-secret agent super-spy, Zachary Levi (Chuck) to fill the role.  Hit the jump for more.

“Zombies were people, too.” That seems to be a sentiment that Zachary Levi (Chuck) shares in this pro-zombie, anti-bullying PSA. Don’t get me wrong, he still supports a head shot to bring down your undead enemy, he just asks that you don’t be such a jerk about it. Fans of Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland and The Walking Dead would do well to heed Levi’s warning. A post-apocalyptic zombie world is not all fun and games. Sometimes you just have to bear down, put a bullet between the eyes of a reanimated loved one or some infected grade-schooler and move on with your day. You can check out all of our previous PSAs here. Hit the jump to witness the ethical treatment of the undead.

Two of your favorite actors signed on to star in network sitcom pilots tonight.  We’ll start with Zachary Levi.  Now that Chuck is off the air, Levi is free to play the field.  THR reports the former NBC star is jumping over to Fox for the single-camera comedy pilot Let It Go.  Levi will play a husband who tries to “navigate, negotiate, and sometimes manipulate society’s unspoken rules.”  Nothing special about the premise, so we’ll have to see how Fox fills out the cast.  The other main roles are the wife, her sister, and Levi’s best friend.  DJ Nash (‘Til Death) wrote the script and will executive produce along with Peter Tolan (Rescue Me) and Michael Wimer (2012).

Hit the jump for details on J.K. Simmons‘ new pilot on ABC, White Man Van.

So, after two weeks of talking about it, I finally caught Steven Soderbergh‘s Haywire. My thoughts? I was satisfied. Not blown away. Not shaking my head in disappointment. Satisfied. Soderbergh’s fight scenes were as beautifully executed as can be reasonably expected. In my opinion, though, there just weren’t enough of them. David Holmes’ score was fantastic when set behind said fight/chase/action sequences so, by default, there just wasn’t enough of it. The same could be said for much of the ensemble cast. In large part, their screen time was time well served. There just wasn’t enough of it to go around. So, do I recommend Haywire? Sure. As long as you go in with the expectation of seeing a slick action/thriller that is somewhat light on action and thrills. Now, onto business…

…After the jump, you’ll find that this week’s “Top 5″ is comprised of the 2012 Oscar nominations, interviews from our Chuck series finale set visit, a number of interviews for both The Grey and Man on a Ledge, and an ode to all of our 2012 Sundance coverage. A quick recap and link to each follows.

With the two-hour series finale of Chuck airing tonight on NBC, we can finally reveal that we were on set for the filming of that last episode, where we got to interview the cast and creative team about their experiences. While everyone was clearly proud of their work and time on the show, it was also obvious that they were sad to see it go.

During the interview, show creator/writer/executive producer Chris Fedak talked about how surreal it was to be wrapping up the last couple of days on the TV series, that the final two hours will play very much like a movie, that the finale will echo all of the past seasons, and that they believe it will be as much of an emotional experience for the fans as it was for the cast to shoot it. Check out what he had to say after the jump, and be aware that there might be some spoilers.

With the two-hour series finale of Chuck airing this week, we can finally reveal that we were on set for the filming of that last episode, where we got to interview the cast and creative team about their experiences. While everyone was clearly proud of their work and time on the show, it was also obvious that they were sad to see it go.

During the interview with series star Zachary Levi, he talked about how gnarly it was to film their last scenes, that they spent their last day of shooting on the Buy More set reminiscing about their time on the show, guest stars he wishes could have come back, what he hoped he would get to do as Chuck but never got the chance to do, what it was like to direct his last Chuck episode, and whether fans will feel any resolution to the Chuck and Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) relationship. He also talked about his desire to continue directing, his hope that he’ll be able to do a Y: The Last Man movie someday, and wanting to do a Broadway show. Check out what he had to say after the jump, and be aware that there might be some spoilers:

The Tangled Saga will continue this month with the release of the short film Tangled Ever After.  The story takes place on Rapunzel (Mandy Moore) and Flynn’s (Zachary Levi) wedding day, but their animal pals/ring-bearers have to go on a frantic search when they accidently lose the rings.  I’m all for any movie that brings us more of Maximus the Horse.

Hit the jump to check out the clip.  Tangled Ever After will play in front of Beauty and the Beast 3D, which opens January 13th.

Tangled directors Byron Howard and Nathan Greno will continue the story of Rapunzel (Mandy Moore), Flynn Rider (Zachary Levi), and Maximus, The World’s Most Awesome Horse in the new short film Tangled Ever After.  Disney has sent out a press release announcing that the short film will play in front of Beauty and the Beast 3D.  In Tangled Ever After, Maximus and Pascal the Chameleon lose the wedding rings for Rapunzel and Flynn’s wedding and have to go on a frantic hunt to find the gold bands.  I’m sure it will be comical and cute like the movie, but I think it will be interesting to see how a modern Disney princess movie directly compares to a classic like Beauty and the Beast.

Hit the jump for the press release as well as the poster for Tangled Ever After.    The film Beauty and the Beast 3D opens January 13, 2012.

With the approach of Chuck’s fifth and final Season, I got a chance to sit down with cast members Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovski, Joshua Gomez, Adam Baldwin, Scott Krinsky, Vik Sahay, Ryan McPartlin and co-creator Chris Fedak, and intersect some knowledge to pass along to you.  For instance, the fifth Season will be comprised of 13 episodes with a major guest star in the form of Mark Hamill as a villain, and they’d love for Linda Hamilton to return to the show, depending on her schedule.  Much more after the jump.

Comic Con 2011: Chuck – the little show that could – held its final Comic Con appearance today. The event was bittersweet as the cast reflected on memories of the show past and previewed where the show will be headed during its final year. Creator Chris Fedak promised radical and life-altering changes for Chuck this season. For more from the revealing panel, hit the jump.

Tangled has the distinction of being the 50^th animated film to emerge from Walt Disney studios. Lot of miles there. From being the king of the animated world, to the loss of direction in the 70’s and 80’s to the boom of The Little Mermaid and the run of animated hits that followed, to the complete lack of direction again in the 21^st century. At this point you have no idea what to expect from the Mouse house, and often can expect better from Pixar. And yet Tangled is one of their better films, a charming version of the Rapunzel story, where the princess (Mandy Moore) doesn’t need rescuing as much as the would-be prince (Zachary Levi) does. Check out our Blu-ray review after the jump.

What are the Oscars without a little pageantry?  As it’s been done in years prior, the Best Song nominees will be performed by the folks who sang them in the movie.  Gwyneth Paltrow will perform “Coming Home” from Country Strong; Randy Newman will perform “We Belong Together” from Toy Story 3; songwriter Alan Menken will provide piano accompaniment to Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi for “I See the Light” from Tangled; and songwriter A.R. Rahman will join Florence Welch of Florence + the Machine to perform “If I Rise” from 127 Hours.

Hit the jump for the press release and to hear the songs.  The 83rd Academy Awards will be held on February 27th.