Bryan Singer’s Bad Hat Harry Productions has made several plays in the comic book marketplace, first snagging up Rob Liefeld’s Capeshooters, and now Radical Publishing’s Freedom Formula by Edmund Shern.

Freedom Formula is a five-issue mini-series that is very mecha-esque with exo-suits replacing fighter jets, and the racer who learns his bloodline has the power to change society.  Like Capeshooters, Singer will only produce this flick through his production company.

For Radicial, this is another feather in the cap of a week of major movie announcements.  With the hype over Freedom Formula, the company told Variety that it has plans to expand the comic book into interactive games and anime.

via Variety

Warner Bros. has acquired the rights to the upcoming Capeshooters comic book by Rob Liefeld.

In “Capeshooters,” two slackers become paparazzi who specialize in shooting covert videos of superheroes find themselves on the run after they stumble onto evidence that a revered superhero is actually a villain.

Seems like an interesting take, although it does seem like that premise has been done before.  Bryan Singer’s Bad Hat Harry Productions will produce the adaptation, however while this looks like a films rights deal, BHH produces a lot of television series, so it wouldn’t surprise me if this landed on the WB small screen in series form.

via Variety

Word on the Interweb is Kevin Spacey will reprise his role as Lex Luthor in Superman: Man of Steel, set for a 2009 release.

Spacey hopes to shoot his Luthor role in a six-week block, as he did on “Superman Returns,” after he completes his run in David Mamet’s “Speed the Plow” in April.

I really really hope Lex Luthor in Man of Steel is not the central villain. I’m sick and tired of a watered down Lex Luthor in films. We need Braniac, a Parasite, a Darkseid. Heck, I’d be happy with a giant space gorilla. The film needs a bad guy Superman can really go toe to toe with.

Don’t be surprised if you also see less and less of Spacey as time goes by.

“My priorities have changed,” he admitted on the phone from London. “Theater is the No. 1 thing in my life. But I love movies and will continue to make movies when I can.”

via Variety

Variety is reporting that Bryan Singer has inked a deal with Warner Bros. Pictures to produce and direct the sequel to Superman Returns. Even though there is no budget or script, the film should hit the screen in 2009. The deal comes shortly after the announcement that Superman Returns passed the $200 million mark domestically. Even though the film has made $390 million world wide, I believe the studio was hoping to make that money in less time.

Audiences were split on the like it or hate it factor, with many expecting the movie to have more action than it did. I’ve heard the rumor that Lex Luthor will not be appearing in the sequel. So who will the master villain be? Brainiac and Parasite come to mind, but knowing how well the first film did, I wouldn’t be surprised if it were two giant polar bears. Singer and company have two years before the debut, I hope that is enough time to salvage the franchise.

via Variety (link)

So we all know Superman’s main weakness is Kryptonite. After this past weekend we discover one more thing that can kick Kal-L’s butt - PIRATES!

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