THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (Jonathan Nolan Speaks)

• THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

The spy photos and video coming from the set of The Dark Knight Rises has been seemingly non-stop, leading to our first full look at many aspects of the film, including the costumes worn by Bane and Catwoman. So how does one of the film's screenwriter feel about this occurring?

Anne Hathaway in full Catwoman Suit on Ste

Batman & Catwoman

A Source at IGN managed to speak with Jonathan Nolan about his new CBS TV series, Person of Interest, this week which deals with the subject of constant surveillance in our modern world and the idea that that we're constantly being watched. That being the case, I asked Nolan if it felt like his TV series subject matter was touching upon what was really happening with the film he wrote, as he saw all the spy footage from The Dark Knight Rises (directed by his brother, Chris Nolan) get leaked.

Replied Nolan, with a laugh, "It was great because we were working [on Person of Interest]. So that was the only way I was able to get down to set was to watch it on YouTube!"

So has he resigned himself to the fact that people will make a lot of judgment on what they're seeing, without any real context until the movie opens? Said Nolan, "Yeah, I think the goal with those movies is just to make something so… You know, Chris loves to shoot on these IMAX cameras, these massive cameras. As soon as you release something in the theaters, like a trailer, people go in and they record it with their iPhone or a camera, and they put it online. But when we first released that IMAX prologue for The Dark Knight, the image was so big that no one could record the whole thing with their camera. So you have one YouTube video of the top half of it and another YouTube video of the bottom half."

The Tumblers return

Nolan continued to stress that the scale of the movie was key, adding, "I think the goal with those movies and the thing that Chris is doing and just kicking ass with is making a movie so big that you couldn't possibly fit all of it. Even in tiny little pieces, you still wouldn't get a sense of the scale of it. I saw a little bit the other day, and the scale is just vast."

WANTED 2 (In Development)

• WANTED 2

It appears that Wanted 2 is finally moving forward at Universal Pictures. Derek Haas, who, with writing partner Michael Brandt, adapted the 2008 original, tweeted the following:

“Michael and I were just hired by Uni to write WANTED 2.”

Following the post, The Wrap caught up with Haas, who said that the film is currently without a director but that the storyline will, "take off after the events of what just happened. Pick up Wesley a few years later and go back in for another round."

Though unconfirmed, the implication is that James McAvoy will return to the role of Wesley Gibson, an accountant-turned-assassin. The original also starred Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie, but at least the latter does not plan on returning.

"Being dead makes it difficult," she said last year, "They were [trying to bring me back], but I kind of feel like if I die in a movie, I should die actually... It would just be doing the exact same thing in another movie, so it's not that interesting to me."

Mr. Haas then took to twitter and he said:

"To answer 2 questions I've been asked today: our draft of W2 will be Fox-less and Loom-less."

Fox, of course, refers to Jolie's character and the Loom to the mystical device that dispensed assassination targets in the original.

DEAD ISLAND (In Production)

• DEAD ISLAND

Tropical zombie action game Dead Island is set to become a movie.

Lionsgate announced a deal with the game's publisher Deep Silver.

Joe Drake, boss at Lionsgate, said, "Like the hundreds of journalists and millions of fans who were so passionate and vocal about the Dead Island trailer, we too were awestruck. This is exactly the type of property we're looking to adapt at Lionsgate – it's sophisticated, edgy, and a true elevation of a genre that we know and love. It also has built in brand recognition around the world, and franchise potential."

Dead Island has sold two million copies to date. Deep Silver is warning us to also expect graphic novels, novels and "other extensions".

No word on the movie's release date although personnel have been allocated to the project. Sean Daniel (The Mummy) is tagged as producer alongside Stefan Sonnenfeld, Jason Brown and Sarah Perlman. The film will focus on a family's struggles on an island populated by zombies.

RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION (Casting News)

Johann Urb

• RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION

Johann Urb (2012), Oded Fehr and Kevin Durand (Legion, "LOST") have joined the cast of Resident Evil: Retribution.

Fehr last appeared in Resident Evil: Extinction. Urb and Durand are newcomers to the series, however, we do not know who they are playing.

They join Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory, Colin Salmon, Michelle Rodriguez, Shawn Roberts and Boris Kodjoe.

According to Deadline, Durand (pictured) plays the leader of a resistance group that unites with Jovovich's Alice to fight Umbrella.

Paul W.S. Anderson returns to direct; the film opens September 14, 2012.

MAN OF STEEL (Re-Casting Lara)

• MAN OF STEEL

There has been a re-casting on Zack Snyder's Man of Steel. Julia Ormond, who was to have played Superman's biological mother Lara, has left the project.

Ayelet Zurer

According to Deadline, Israeli actress Ayelet Zurer, 42, has replaced Ormond in the role of Kal-El's Kryptonian mom. No reason was given for why the role was re-cast, but Zurer reportedly starts filming this week opposite Russell Crowe as Jor-El.

Ayelet Zurer may be best known to IGN readers for her role opposite Tom Hanks in Angels & Demons or as Eric Bana's wife in Munich. Her other credits include Vantage Point, Adam Resurrected, Nina's Tragedies and a stint on HBO's In Treatment. 

BOND 23 (Location News)

• MORE BOND FOR SOUTH AFRICA

Bond 23 won't film in India after all. According to The Times of India, the production opted not to shoot a major railroad action sequence there despite having received the requisite government permissions.

Daniel Craig is James Bond

"They wanted to shoot in the Sabarmati yard and had asked to shoot on two gauges - broad gauge and meter gauge - and they wanted these for seven-hour stretches every day for seven days in a row, and we'd agreed. All had been worked out," said Chandralekha Mukherjee, executive director, information and publicity, Indian Railways. "They also wanted to shoot between Mumbai and Goa on the hero train, and wanted a special shot where a motorcycle from a bridge would jump on to a train, and the coach on which he'd jump needed to be re-enforced, and we agreed."

These sequences will reportedly be shot right here in SOUTH AFRICA now instead!!! Meaning that Bond will now be staying exceptionally longer in our beautiful country than they originally had planned.

Meanwhile, 007 star Daniel Craig chatted with Showbiz 411 last week, who reports, "Craig told me he starts the next James Bond movie next week, which means 'a lot of working out.'" Craig is said to have added that he didn't know whether the deal was sealed yet to have singer Adele perform the main theme.

Finally, Bond23.net claims that veteran editor Stuart Baird, who edited Casino Royale, may be aboard to direct the next Bond film as well. 

SPINNING GOLD (Justin Timberlake Joins Cast and Produces)

• JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE IS SPINNING GOLD

Grammy and Emmy award winner Justin Timberlake has signed on to star in the feature film Spinning Gold from Boardwalk Films, a division of Boardwalk Entertainment Group.

Justin Timberlake

The movie also marks Timberlake's first venture as a feature producer. Timothy Scott Bogart, who also is penning the script, Evan "Kidd" Bogart, and Gary A. Randall, founding partners of Boardwalk Entertainment Group, also will produce. Rick Yorn is Executive Producer.

Additionally, Boardwalk Records is producing the album in conjunction with the movie, including classic hits reimagined by today's biggest artists.

Spinning Gold chronicles the life of music legend Neil Bogart, the late father of Tim and Evan, who founded Casablanca Records in 1974 and is credited with discovering, launching and nurturing the careers of a generation of music superstars. KISS, Parliament, Donna Summer, and The Village People were just a few of the acts on the roster of Casablanca Records, whose sound and image would come to define 70s pop culture.

Boardwalk Entertainment Group partner, producer and screenwriter, Tim Bogart, said, "This movie is literally three decades in the making, but we knew that without the perfect actor to bring our father to life on film, his essence and impact on the lives and careers he inspired would never be fully captured – from the moment we met Justin, we knew we'd found our Neil Bogart. With Justin also a producer on the movie, together we're crafting this saga about a young dreamer who started with nothing and came of age in the 60s and 70s, believing anything was possible and every risk was worth taking. Though he died at only 39, he lived to see all his dreams come true."