Universal

This week: A teddy bear comes to life and becomes Mark Wahlberg's lifelong buddy/ arrested development enabler in "Ted," the first big-screen comedy directed by Seth MacFarlane of "Family Guy" fame.

Also new this week is Jeremy Renner taking over secret-agent duties in "The Bourne Legacy," the animated sequel "Ice Age: Continental Drift" and the Blu-ray debut of Warren Beatty's "Dick Tracy."

'Ted'

Universal

Box Office: $219 million
Rotten Tomatoes: 69% Fresh
Storyline: Seth MacFarlane brings his "Family Guy" humor to the big screen for the first time in this demented bromance vs. romance story. John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) made a wish that his teddy bear would come to life when he was a boy, and Ted did just that ... and has never left his side. The foul-mouthed teddy has a penchant for booze, bongs, women and "Flash Gordon," which is fine by John except that John's girlfriend (Mila Kunis) thinks it's time for him to grow up and Ted to move out.
Extras! Both the DVD and Blu-ray have a making-of featurette and commentary by MacFarlane, Wahlberg and co-writer Alec Sulkin; BD exclusives include deleted scenes, alternate takes and a look at the hotel fight scene called "Teddy Bear Scuffle."
We Say: Whether you choose to watch the R-rated theatrical cut or the extended unrated version, "Ted" is the kind of raunchy-sweet comedy that you'd expect from the "Family Guy" guy. Expect lots of laughs, crude humor and one wisecracking stuffed animal who is also voiced by MacFarlane.

'The Bourne Legacy'

Universal

Box Office: $113 million
Rotten Tomatoes: 56% Rotten
Storyline: After the Blackbriar and Treadstone secret agent programs are publicly exposed following the actions of Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) in the first three "Bourne" movies, souped-up soldier Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner) goes on the lam with his doctor (Rachel Weisz) to look for answers as a retired Air Force colonel (Edward Norton) and his team try to hunt the globetrotters down.
Extras! Both the DVD and Blu-ray have commentary, deleted scenes, a featurette on the big motorcycle chase and "Re-Bourne," which addresses the elephant in the room: how to make a "Bourne" movie without Jason Bourne. The Blu-ray adds a few more behind-the-scenes featurettes, including one on locations, storyboard comparisons, the wolf sequence and more.
We Say: Renner ably steps up in Damon's absence as the super-agent that can't be controlled, and he is utterly believable. There might be a sense of déjà vu in this fourth "Bourne" outing, but the fresh meat provided by Renner, Weisz and Norton proves that there are still reasons to feel Bourne again.

'Ice Age: Continental Drift'

Fox

Box Office: $161 million
Rotten Tomatoes: 38% Rotten
Storyline: When Scrat's pursuit of the cursed acorn causes a continental cataclysm, Manny (Ray Romano), Sid (John Leguizamo) and Diego (Denis Leary) go on a high-seas quest aboard a floating iceberg. The herd then encounters a band of misfit pirates hell-bent on capsizing their journey home in this fourth "Ice Age" animated adventure that also features the voices of Jennifer Lopez, Queen Latifah and Seann William Scott.
Extras!: Interactive features like "Party with a Pirate Mode" and "Sing Along Mode" are the highlights on the DVD and Blu-ray, along with the usual making-of featurettes, deleted scenes and a summary of the "Ice Age" saga so far.
We Say: Whether you choose to watch the 2D presentation or the Blu-ray 3D, there is a lot of recycled material drifting around on screen in this latest installment. It's still got enough bits of charm and silliness to warm up younger children, though.

'Dick Tracy' Blu-ray

Disney

Box Office: $104 million
Rotten Tomatoes: 64% Fresh
Storyline: Director-actor Warren Beatty is torn between love and duty in this 1990 adaptation of the titular comic book detective. After a gang war breaks out in his city, Dick Tracy is determined to undermine the criminal underworld once and for all ... if he can resist the temptation of torch singer Breathless Mahoney (Madonna) to steer him from the path of righteousness. Big-name stars like Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, James Caan and William Forsythe are heavily made up to look like their baddie comic counterparts.
Extras!: Aside from a digital copy and some sneak peeks at equally colorful upcoming movies like "Oz: The Great and Powerful," this Blu-ray has no "Dick Tracy"-related bonus features, which is disappointing considering it was such a big production 22 years ago.
We Say: The garish, neon-colored world and costumes of "Dick Tracy" really pop like they never have before in this high-definition debut, but the Blu-ray upgrade also calls attention to the seams in the parade of facial prosthetics, the likes of which wouldn't be seen again until "Cloud Atlas." Also, an in-her-heyday Madonna — despite playing a chanteuse — still seems wooden and stiff ... in any resolution.

Also New This Week:

"Why Stop Now"
"The Story of Film: An Odyssey"
"Miami Connection"
"The Joy Luck Club"
"The Island" Blu-ray
"Gayby"
"Kill 'Em All"
"The Portrait of a Lady" Blu-ray

Warner Bros. / Warner Bros. / Universal

NEXT: What was the worst movie of the summer? >>

PREVIOUS: What movie was the biggest surprise of the summer? <<

Lionsgate

"The Expendables 2" won the box office for the second weekend in a row with just $13.5 million, according to Film.com, thanks mostly to one of the weakest crop of new releases in recent memory.

Just how bad was it? Not one of the new releases managed to make even $7 million, allowing "The Bourne Legacy" to earn second spot with only $9.3 million. Joseph Gordon-Levitt's "Premium Rush," Kristen Bell's "Hit and Run" and Ashley Greene's "The Apparition" were among the new films that crashed and burned.

For a full run down of the weekend box office, including figures for returning films "ParaNorman" and "The Campaign," head to Film.com.

NEXT: What was the best indie movie of the summer? >>

PREVIOUS: What was the best comedy movie of the summer? <<

This poll will close on Aug. 30, 2012, at 12 p.m. ET

Universal

Hmm. So, we get that there's no IQ test to go to the movies, but maybe there should be. Apparently, a patron at the Century 14 theater in Sparks, Nevada, managed to shoot himself in the butt during a showing of "The Bourne Legacy" on Tuesday night.

Yes, that's right, in the butt.

According to NBC, witnesses inside the theater told officers the gun fell from the man’s pocket as he was adjusting himself in the seat… and it fired when it dropped to the floor, striking him in the buttocks. The 56-year-old man then reportedly stood up, apologized to those around him (at least he had some manners) and left the theater before police arrived.

He later checked himself into a nearby VA hospital in Reno, where he was treated for a gunshot wound to his buttocks, according to a police report. The good news is that his butt injury is not considered to be life-threatening.

The moviegoer did have a valid permit to carry the gun, but the theater he was in is part of the Cinemark chain (which also happens to own the Century 16 in Aurora, Colorado), which does not allow guns to be carried inside its theaters.

Gotta say, that seems like a good rule of thumb to us. So next time you go to catch a movie, maybe just sneak in candy instead of a concealed weapon.

Watch an episode of Extra Butter all about 'Bourne' and boobs:

Universal

Matt Damon who? That's what film fans apparently were asking this weekend as according to Film.com, replacement Jeremy Renner helped power "The Bourne Legacy" to a box office victory with an estimated $40.3 million.

The win by "The Bourne Legacy" ended the three week reign of "The Dark Knight Rises," which slipped to third place with an estimated $19.5 million. That put the Christopher Nolan epic well behind the debut of Zach Galifianakis and Will Farrell's political comedy "The Campaign," which earned an estimated $27.4 million.

For a full roundup of the weekend's box office figures, including numbers for "Total Recall" and the Meryl Streep romcomdramedy "Hope Springs," head to Film.com.

Universal

Regarding August science fiction movies about mental enhancements: there was never just one!

"The Bourne Legacy" may look, sound and smell like an action-adventure movie – that's certainly how they're selling it – but at its center is a genuine sci-fi premise. The baddies (the shadowy agency represented by Edward Norton's scowls) are making super soldiers by introducing viruses into field agents via green and blue pills. "Chems," they are called, but hardcore nerds might be forgiven if they flash on Ketracel-white, the drug that the Dominion uses to give its elite band of warriors, the Jem'Hadar, the edge (as well as keeping them in line.)

"The Bourne Legacy" isn't the first movie to obscure sci-fi-ness in its marketing. We offer up this readymade document for you to bring up whenever you feel like being a pain in the ass at cocktail parties.

'Limitless'

This is top of mind (mind!) because, like "The Bourne Legacy" it involves pills giving someone the smarts. To look at the TV ads, however, you'd be forgiven if you thought this were a character drama about the business world. Basically, "The Pursuit of Happyness" with a hidden agenda of psychotropic pharmaceuticals.

'Never Let Me Go'

Focus

Young, earnest love. Young, earnest BRITISH love! Such a chick flick, right? Wrong! It's about cloning and organ harvesting. "Never Let Me Go" isn't meant to express the sentiments of two hearts longing to be one – it's about one heart longing to stay in its native rib cage!

'Dark City'

It was obvious from the trailers that something was odd and ominous about this film, but it was far more than just its slick, neo-Noir look. Yep, trade in those fedoras for space helmets because (spoiler?) that titular city is actually a ship hurtling through the inky blackness of an interplanetary abyss!

'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'

Beneath the evocative music and brooding "gimme-an-Oscar" faces in the trailer, there beats the heart of a screwy sci-fi premise that has tickled some of the dorkier minds in popular culture. Examples? Well, the "aging backward" thing didn't just inspire Philip K. Dick (see novel "The Counter-Clock World") but also the producers of the dweebiest show ever, Star Trek's Animated Adventures (see episode "The Counter-Clock Incident").

'Modern Times'

Today's audiences might look back on this Charlie Chaplin silent film and just think it's an opportunity to laugh at a dude fall down. (Note: Chaplin falling down is, still, one of the more sublime things put to film – it's nothing to scoff at.) However, when the movie was made in 1936, all those gadgets that seem basic today were actually extremely far-fetched. Go call your great-grandparents and see if they remember what it was like to Skype back then. We'll be waiting.

'Indiana Jones and the Island of the Crystal Skull'

Paramount

Huh? Indiana Jones? Mr. Action-Adventure himself? Yeah, the plots would always get a little supernatural at the end, but sci-fi? Oh, I guess those skulls were from aliens, the pyramids were spaceships and there was a theremin on the soundtrack when Cate Blanchett tried to read Indy's mind. Oof, I think we're all better off trying to forget this one.

'Seconds'

John Frankenheimer's film starring Rock Hudson from 1966 may have lured in the audiences as a psychological drama about a mid-life crisis, but this tale of the extreme plastic surgery underworld is hallucinatory and weird and loaded with enough paranoia to be a genuine sci-fi mindscrambler. Plus, cosmetic surgery isn't even this advanced today! Just ask [insert publicly shamed starlet from AwfulPlasticSurgery.com here].

'The Wizard of Oz'

What? You mean all my fabulous friends from the drama club are actually into sci-fi? The friends of Dorothy might also be the friends of Doctor Who? Think about it: portals to other worlds, a robot, color-coded navigation systems, plus water kills the baddie – just like in H.G. Wells' "War of the Worlds!"

Every Single James Bond Movie Ever

007 had a jet pack in 1965. Still waiting on mine.

Now watch: Butter Is All About 'Bourne' ... And Boobs

Come back every Thursday for more intergalactic musings on Planet Fanboy and follow its fearless leader Jordan Hoffman on Twitter!

Starring in two of the biggest movies of the summer, "The Avengers" and "The Bourne Legacy," Jeremy Renner has cemented his spot as the biggest new action star around. While we cheer every time he takes down a bad guy, we can't help but take notice of those bulging muscles and piercing blue eyes. And with two Academy Award nominations already under his belt for "The Hurt Locker" and "The Town," Jeremy clearly has the talent to back up those good looks.

So flip through this Hot People Looking Hot gallery and see why Jeremy lands some of the biggest action roles in Hollywood today. These photos will make you say, "Matt Damon, who?"

Universal

When it comes to CIA super assassins, no one could top Jason Bourne ... except perhaps Aaron Cross, who takes up his predecessor's mantle in "The Bourne Legacy."

This fellow graduate of the Treadstone program has all the badass Bourne skills without any of the inconvenient amnesia. Together with Dr. Marta Shearling (Rachel Weisz), Cross is going to expose his evil superiors and kick a lot of butt, which is just how Bourne would have wanted it.

1. Jeremy Renner does his best "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" impression.

2. The true legacy of Bourne: Using innocuous objects as weapons.

3. Rachel Weisz gives Jeremy Renner five.

4. When it comes to hopping rooftops, Aaron Cross makes even Batman look like a sissy.

5. Edward Norton could rationalize anything with that smooth voice of his ... even murder, apparently.

Universal

The cinematic odyssey of amnesiatic CIA assassin Jason Bourne left a trail of bodies, property damage and wrecked cars, but there's apparently still more carnage to be mined from this franchise in this week's "The Bourne Legacy."

Picking up after (and sometimes during) the previous three movies, "Legacy" presents a new agent named Aaron Cross dealing with government duplicity as many, many bullets are fired at him, seemingly at all times. As Jeremy Renner inherits the Bourne mantle, we look back at his predecessor to help you catch up. It might be difficult, though — Matt Damon can run really fast.

'The Bourne Identity' (2002)

Universal

The inaugural entry in this cinematic legacy begins with our hero (Matt Damon) doing the dead man's float in the middle of the Mediterranean when he's caught by some fishermen. Rather than winding up in a yellow Gorton's box at your local supermarket, the unconscious man wakes up, violent and disoriented, totally unaware of who he is or why he was found in the water with bullets in his back.

He follows his only clue, the number to a safety deposit box in a laser pointer embedded in his skin (what happened to writing something on the back of your hand?), which leads him to a Swiss bank. In the box he finds a smorgasbord of passports and IDs with the name "Jason Bourne" along with piles of cold hard cash and a couple of pistols. Given that the night prior he put a couple ofcops trying to arrest him in the hospital, he starts to get the picture that his Bourne persona might not be the most mellow fella.

Bourne seeks safe haven at the U.S. consulate but he's nearly captured by The Man again and flees, offering high-strung Marie Kreutz (Franka Potente) twenty grand to give him a lift to Paris. During their drive, the nervous blabbermouth ginger girl gets Bourne to open up about his predicament and he confides that she may be his only friend in the world. Aw!

We then abruptly cut to CIA headquarters in Langley, VA — possibly the most photographed-from-a-helicopter location in spy movie history — where we meet Alexander Conklin (Chris Cooper), head of the ominously-named Treadstone program that honed Bourne into the lethal instrument of death that he is. Turns out Conklin had sent Bourne to assassinate a pain in the ass African dictator named Wombosi (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), and now that his agent is suddenly back on the grid he wants him eliminated.

Thus, the movie introduces its coolest feature: Assets. These "assets" are dangerous dudes the CIA just sends a text message to and, whether they're giving their daughter a piano lesson or whatever, they drop everything, grab their guns and get to work. In this case there are three assets activated; the first attacks Bourne in his Paris apartment, only to be subdued by the born-again killer. Marie freaks because the guy had a picture of her on him, too — revealing that she's as much a target as Bourne.

A second asset, code-named "The Professor" (Clive Owen), dispatches Wombosi before Bourne can talk to him, and somewhere during the course of a crazy car chase through the streets of Paris that disregards innocent bystanders and the laws of physics, our hero decides he doesn't want to be the government hit man he once was. Good for you, Jason!

Bourne and Marie attempt to hide out at her stepbrother's place in the country, but The Professor tracks them down. Bourne takes him out in a field, and before the asset dies we learn he's also a noted Treadstone alumni, with his final words to Bourne being, "Look at us. Look at what they make you give."

Marie flees with Bourne's dough while Bourne travels back to the Paris Treadstone safe house run by Ryan Reynolds … er, Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles), where he confronts Conklin. Bourne learns that he himself had planned the whole Wombosi assassination but had chickened out once kids were involved; he then got shot by his intended target and fell into the drink to be caught by the Gorton's fishermen. Bourne warns Conklin not to go after him any more … or else!

From here, Bourne takes out a bunch of armed dudes for no reason other than one last adrenaline rush for eager ticket buyers while Conklin gets his from the third asset, as ordered by his superior, Deputy Director Ward Abbott (Brian Cox).

In the end, Bourne finds Marie in Greece running a scooter shop on his dime and, rather than chastising her for making such a lousy investment, they embrace and live happily ever after … FOREVER!

'The Bourne Supremacy' (2004)

Universal

Okay, remember what we just said about Bourne and Marie living happily ever after? Not so much.

We find the two lovebirds two years later scrounging an existence in some mudhole in Goa, India, where Bourne is trying to piece together his past life through the magic of nightmares. These nightly occurrences have turned him all PTSD, with the only things keeping him sane being Maria and robotically precise marathon runs along the beach.

Meanwhile, CIA Deputy Director Pamela Landy (Joan Allen) has staged a mole hunt operation, but instead of smoking out the traitor, a Russian agent named Kirill (Karl Urban), who looks just like Dr. McCoy from "Star Trek," kills everybody, takes a bunch of money … and leaves Bourne's fingerprints behind. Oooh...

The Russkie then travels to India to take out Mr. Bourne, but his target uses his Spidey sense and hightails it outta there with Maria. Even though he tells her to keep their car moving, she stops the vehicle as she insists on arguing with him — thus giving Kirill his shot, which she takes to the head and sends the car over a bridge into a river. Lesson: Always listen to Bourne.

Kirill thinks his target is done for but all he did was make him mad. Bourne thinks Treadstone is behind the attack, while the CIA thinks Bourne is trying to kill them. This ride on the confusion train continues as Landy gets access to Treadstone files and she's sent with Ward Abbott to apprehend Bourne, who has since intentionally had himself detained by authorities. He soon breaks out, in case you didn't guess.

Bourne steals a SIM card from an agent's cell and taps into Landy's calls, learning everything that they know because they tend to recap it all over the phone (it's just that easy). Bourne develops an uneasy alliance with Landy as he tries to clear his name, traveling to Munich to pick the brain of the only other living former Treadstone operative, Jarda (Marton Csokas).

Jarda proves slightly uncooperative, pulling all sorts of killjitsu or whatever, so Bourne wastes him and blows up his house for good measure. That's called laying it on a bit thick.

Bourne calls Landy and arranges a meeting with Nicky Parsons, who spills the beans that Abbott, not Conklin, was the real man behind the curtain of Treadstone. He goes to the hotel from his nightmares and realizes his first mission was a double murder made to look like a murder-suicide. To get to the heart of this conspiracy, he intimidates Abbott at his hotel room, tape recording his confession to plotting the hotel murder, Marie's death and the agent in Landy's earlier operation. He sends the tape to Landy, and Abbott winds up shooting himself in front of her. That's called an admission of guilt.

Bourne then travels to Russia to apologize to the girl he orphaned when he murdered the couple in the hotel all those years ago. This visit provides a perfect opportunity for Kirill to try to kill Bourne again, but instead it just results in another slam-bang car chase with the Russkie dead at the end of it, presumably all thanks to seat belts (or a lack of them).

Six weeks later, Bourne contacts Landy, who thanks him. He not only clears his name (sorta) but also learns his real one: David Webb. (Not to be confused with screenwriter David Webb Peoples, who wrote "Blade Runner.")

'The Bourne Ultimatum' (2007)

Universal

Okay, now things get complicated.

The movie begins right after Bourne's run-in/drive-in with Kirill as he evades Moscow police and vanishes into the shadows to tend to his bullet wound and fierce limp.

Six weeks later, we find an intrepid reporter for England's The Guardian named Simon Ross (Paddy Considine) has stumbled upon some secrets involving Bourne, Treadstone and Blackbriar, an operation so top secret that just Ross saying the word on the phone makes him a target. Bourne arranges a meeting with Ross, but the reporter soon realizes the CIA is after him. Bourne tries to guide Ross to safety but the idiot journalist deviates from Bourne's instructions and gets himself killed by an assassin named Paz (Edgar Ramirez).

ALWAYS LISTEN TO BOURNE!

Anyway, the orders to ice Ross came directly Blackbriar's director, Noah Vosen (David Strathairn), and Landy is now teamed with him to help bring in Bourne, who has gone to Madrid to find Ross' source. Bourne's investigation comes up empty, but Nicky Parsons comes out of nowhere to help since it turns out she used to have the hots for him. Hey, why not?

Nicky takes Bourne to Tangier, where they discover the source conveniently right before he's car bombed and get chased by asset Desh Bouksani (Joey Ansah), whom Bourne kills with the help of a book from your local library. Seriously, they need to show this scene to kids, it will get them to read — or at least inspire them to beat each other up with some of the heavier dictionaries.

Bourne then flies to New York to find the headquarters of Blackbriar. He makes the same phone call to Landy that we saw at the end of "Supremacy," only now we know Vosen is listening in. Of course Bourne knows this (why wouldn't he?) and puts Vosen on a wild goose chase so he can break into his office and steal his classified Blackbriar documents.

Paz goes after Bourne again, thus giving us a piece de resistance car chase through NYC that ends with Bourne letting Paz live … for some reason.

Bourne gives Landy the files and heads into the Blackbriar building, where he meets Dr. Albert Hirsch (Albert Finney), the dude who ran Treadstone's behavior modification program — essentially the Frankenstein to Bourne's monster. Bourne's declaration that he's no longer Jason Bourne, despite his conditioning, sort of plays like a "telling off dad" scene.

Bourne then flees to the roof, where he encounters Paz again and echoes Clive Owen's line from the first movie, "Look at us. Look at what they make you give." This triggers Paz to put the gun down and Bourne jumps into the East River, with Vosen appearing at the last second and shooting at him. Is Bourne dead or alive?

We then see Parsons living incognito somewhere, watching a broadcast about Hirsch and Vosen being arrested, Blackbriar being exposed and Jason Bourne's body not recovered. Bourne then swims away, off to peace, seclusion or perhaps another sequel. We don't know for sure, but we do know we'll hear Moby's "Extreme Ways" over the closing credits.

New Line

In this weekend's "The Bourne Legacy," Jeremy Renner picks up a mega-franchise from where Matt Damon left off, but it wasn't long ago that the Academy Award nominee was making his film debut as an underachieving student in the long-forgotten '90s comedy  "National Lampoon's Senior Trip."

Renner's interest in acting blossomed relatively late, when the California native decided to pursue a double major in theater and psychology at Modesto Junior College. Shortly after graduation, Renner made his way to Los Angeles to parlay his passion into a career. His first opportunity came via the play "Search and Destroy," which earned him early buzz from critics. From there, Renner jumped into his first film role at the tender age of 24 with "Senior Trip."

In the critically reviled 1995 teen comedy, Renner costars as Mark 'Dags' D'Agastino, a perpetually stoned, flannel-wearing high school senior who, along with his obnoxious classmates, heads to Washington D.C. for a school trip. Dags and his best friend Reggie (Rob Moore) make it their movie-long mission to torment their buffoonish principal (Matt Frewer) by throwing a party at his home, locking him in a flooded convenience store restroom and indirectly destroying his brand new Buick — all against a backdrop of sophomoric humor.

Also Check Out: Jeremy Renner Mistakes Viagra For Ambien on Flight

Unsurprisingly, the movie bombed with critics and audiences and failed to make Renner a household name. Throughout the next seven years, Renner scored a series of bit television parts ("The Net," "The Time of Your Life," "Angel") before making his first career breakthrough in 2002's "Dahmer." His performance as the titular serial killer led to his first Independent Spirit Award nomination and bigger feature projects like "S.W.A.T.," "North Country," "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" and "28 Weeks Later."

In 2009, less than 15 years after his film debut, Renner appeared in his most critically acclaimed role yet -- as bomb disposal expert Sergeant William James in Kathryn Bigelow's "The Hurt Locker." The role earned Renner his first Academy Award nomination. Since then, he's also received acclaim for his loose-cannon turn in Ben Affleck's "The Town" and made a cameo as uber-archer Hawkeye in "Thor."

This weekend, after joining Tom Cruise's super-spy team last year in "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" and saving the world earlier this summer in "The Avengers," Renner returns to the screen for as another hunted secret agent in "The Bourne Legacy." He may be a globe-trotting rogue government operative now, but we'll always remember his first film role as a mischievous stoner looking to pull a fast one on the principal.

Originally published on Friday, Dec. 16, 2011.

Getty Images

Well, we suppose there are worse ways to spend an 11-hour flight.

Jeremy Renner definitely needs a vacation. The "Hurt Locker" star has had a whirlwind year, traveling all to and fro promoting and/or filming the likes of "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" and "The Avengers." And now, with "The Bourne Legacy" about to hit theaters, he's definitely hard-up for a nap.

Heh heh ... "hard-up." You're going to find that choice of term hilarious in just a minute. Allow us to elaborate...

Renner was recently on a flight from L.A. to London, a miserable jaunt that takes the better part of a day. The "Bourne" star admittedly doesn't sleep very well on planes, but as he had to jump right into work as soon as he landed, he decided to take a little something that would help to knock him out.

"So I take a little sleeping pill, pop it and realize nothing's happening — but something else was happening," he said. Renner soon realized that it wasn't Ambien he had taken but Viagra.

Renner certainly didn't sleep on that flight — though he managed to make friends with the flight crew. "They were sort of in on the joke — 'Can I get you anything, Mr. Renner?' Yes, ice!" he joked.

The medication is definitely long-lasting — and makes an impression, no matter how much you try to hide it. "There was no walking," Renner said. "If I had to go to the restroom, it was so embarrassing."

You can watch Jeremy Renner tell the story himself in the clip from "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" below, courtesy of People. This yarn will most certainly enhance our upcoming "Bourne Legacy" viewing experience.

Universal

Universal has a lot riding on its Aug.10 release "The Bourne Legacy," their spin-off film revolving around Jeremy Renner's enhanced field agent Aaron Cross, a fellow graduate from the same dangerous driving school as Matt Damon's Jason Bourne.

Though producer Frank Marshall stated a few months ago that he'd like to see both Damon and Renner's black-ops guys go head-to-head in a team-up movie, he clarified to The Playlist that this was merely his own fanboy dream. Who will star in the next movie? Same as "Legacy": Aaron Cross and his ally/snuggle interest Dr. Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz).

"Well, I think that all those possibilities are open, but we're gonna follow Jeremy's character," clarified Marshall. "But everything else is wide open. That's the great thing about where we are now, the table is set to go any direction we want to, but we will, for sure, follow Jeremy and Rachel and see what happens."

Even Damon seemed pretty adamant that should a sequel arise, he would probably be kept out of the loop.

"The question will be if they can franchise that movie, because if they can, then they'll be done with me," said Damon. "They'll just keep making those."

"Legacy" director Tony Gilroy sounded downright enthusiastic about seeing more Cross-centric adventures in which this new creation shreds badguy ass into mulch.

"If this film works," says Gilroy, "it will very nicely clear some fields to the horizon that are legitimate, interesting things to play with that aren't cheesy."

Universal

If there's one thing we know about Jason Bourne and his fellow secret agents it's that they are survivors. Whatever it takes to survive, they'll do. Kill a guy with a pen? Travel from country to country under a series of assumed identities? Drive a car backwards down the interstate? Done, done and done.

So it should be no surprise that according to Deadline, Universal has just announced that they are moving "The Bourne Legacy" from August 3 to August 10 in order to avoid being steamrolled by "The Dark Knight Rises" and "Total Recall."

Hey, the film may not have Matt Damon, but it clearly still has those survival instincts going full bore.

Of course, it's more than possible for two hit movies to co-exist peacefully at the box office; just two weeks ago, for instance, "Madagascar 3' and "Prometheus" both opened on the same day to big time numbers.

But those are two very different films, while "The Bourne Legacy," "Total Recall" and "The Dark Knight Rises" all fall into the same kind of butt-kicking male action demographic. And even though "The Dark Knight Rises" comes out on July 20, Universal figured it would be wiser just to put things off another week and get the spotlight to itself, especially since they're trying the rather tricky task of re-launching the franchise with a spinoff featuring Jeremy Renner instead of Damon.

So will the new August 10 date pay dividends for Universal and "The Bourne Legacy?" We have a feeling that, one way or another, the film will find a way to survive this summer's crowded box office.

After all, that's what Bourne does best.

Columbia Pictures / Warner Bros.

'Tis the season for massive explosions and people running from them.

Summer movies are coming, and iconic superheroes will dominate as "Dark Knight Rises," "Avengers," and "The Amazing Spider-Man" duke it out for box office supremacy, while the sci-fi derby includes fresh takes on the "Alien" saga ("Prometheus") and Philip K. Dick ("Total Recall"), plus a return visit to MIB headquarters.

Of course, it's not all grenades and gunshots. Just see a shirtless Tom Cruise in "Rock of Ages" and everythingless Channing Tatum in "Magic Mike" representing for the ladies this summer.

We count down the biggest and best blockbusters for beating the summer heat.

30. 'Battleship'

Universal

Release Date: May 18
Starring: Taylor Kitsch, Liam Neeson, Rihanna
The Scoop: "John Carter" sank, but this feature version of the perennial Hasbro board game may be just the ticket to keep Taylor Kitsch's career afloat. The decision to go sci-fi with invading aliens as the heavies is clearly the filmmakers' attempt to capitalize on the success of "Transformers," but with costars Liam Neeson and singer Rihanna in tow, this could be one unsinkable "Battleship." | Watch the trailer

29. 'Bel Ami'

Magnolia Pictures

Release Date: June 8
Starring: Robert Pattinson, Uma Thurman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Christina Ricci
The Scoop: R.Pattz is a beautiful friend indeed to the many lovely ladies in this 19th-century romp. The "Twilight" superstar plays Georges Duroy, a French libertine using his cunning and sexuality to broker his way from one powerful woman's bed to another. Based on the novel by Guy de Maupassant, this one's sure to get the more literary-minded audience's home fires burning. | Watch the trailer

28. 'Sparkle'

TriStar

Release Date: Aug 17
Starring: Whitney Houston, Jordin Sparks, Derek Luke, Cee Lo Green
The Scoop: Whitney Houston's swan song is a remake of the 1970s cult classic, which she adored as a child. The late singer was set for a big-time comeback, including a soundtrack produced by R. Kelly, before her tragic death in February. Houston and "American Idol" winner Jordin Sparks are "Giving Him Something He Can Feel," and audiences will be floored. | Watch the trailer

27. 'The Expendables 2'

Lionsgate

Release Date: Aug 17
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Chuck Norris, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger
The Scoop: A second helping of brawny, gun-totin' geezers was inevitable after the mighty $275 million haul their pyrotechnics brought in two years ago. Stallone has ceded the director's chair to Simon West ("Tomb Raider," "Con Air") but returns as writer and star, playing mercenary Barney Ross, who leads his team into a trap in which one of them gets whacked. They recruit new members Billy the Kid (Liam Hemsworth) and Maggie (Yu Nan) to get some of that sweet, tasty revenge we like so much. | Watch the trailer

26. 'What to Expect When You’re Expecting'

Liongate

Release Date: May 18
Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Cameron Diaz, Elizabeth Banks, Anna Kendrick, Brooklyn Decker
The Scoop: The go-to chick flick of the summer is based on the classic baby manual and follows five couples as they navigate the ups, downs and hormones of pregnancy. Oh, and don't worry, guys, because Dennis Quaid, Chris Rock, Thomas Lennon, Rob Huebel and Matthew Morrison will be on hand for some much-needed bro time. | Watch the trailer

25. 'G.I. Joe: Retaliation'

Paramount

Release Date: June 29
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Channing Tatum, Bruce Willis, Adrianne Palicki
The Scoop: Because one just wasn't enough. The Joes are back, but this time those Cobra scumbags have hatched a scheme to get their kung fu grip on the White House and eliminate America's last line of defense. Tatum returns as Duke, but it's Johnson as Roadblock and Willis as the original "Joe" who are running the show this time around. Did we mention ninjas swordfighting off a cliff face? POW! | Watch the trailer

24. 'People Like Us'

DreamWorks

Release Date: June 29
Starring: Chris Pine, Elizabeth Banks, Michelle Pfeiffer, Olivia Wilde, Mark Duplass, Jon Favreau
The Scoop: You might know the name Alex Kurtzman as one of the kings of franchise screenwriting with "Transformers," "Mission: Impossible" and "Star Trek" under his belt. Instead of making a splashy debut as a director, he wrote this grounded drama (along with partner Roberto Orci) about a man named Sam (Pine) who has to deliver $150,000 to a 30-year-old alcoholic sister he's never met. He encounters her troubled 12-year-old son and probably learns something about himself, too.

23. 'Katy Perry: Part of Me'

Getty Images

Release Date: July 5
Starring: Katy Perry
The Scoop: This concert documentary chronicles the life of the world's biggest female pop star, from her humble beginnings as a gospel singer to when she kissed a girl and liked it. If you really want to have fun, try hopping back and forth between the theater showing this film and another one showing ex-hubby Russell Brand's "Rock of Ages." | Watch the trailer

22. 'Seeking a Friend for the End of the World'

Focus Features

Release Date: June 22
Starring: Steve Carell, Keira Knightley, Adam Brody, Derek Luke, Connie Britton
The Scoop: Here's a perfect 2012 comedy for the Mayan-minded. With an impending asteroid about to smush the Earth into a pancake, a man teams up with a neighbor to road-trip across an apocalyptic U.S. and reunite with his childhood sweetheart. We'd never have thought to cast Carell opposite Knightley, but that unlikely chemistry might just prove magical, especially given the unconventional nature of the script. | Watch the trailer

21. 'ParaNorman'

Focus Features

Release Date: Aug 17
Starring: (voices) Casey Affleck, Jeff Garlin, John Goodman, Anna Kendrick, Christopher Mintz-Plasse
The Scoop: From the 3-D stop-motion geniuses at Laika -- the very patient animators who brought us "Coraline" -- comes this slab of spooky fun revolving around an outcast kid named Norman Babcock (Kodi Smit-McPhee), who communicates with the dead to protect his sleepy New England town from a horde of ghosts, witches and zombies. The trailers are awesome, with some incredible puppet animation and a hilarious "Monster House" vibe to the story.

Also Check Out: Summer Movie Polls

20. 'Men in Black 3'

Columbia Pictures

Release Date: May 21
Starring: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Emma Thompson, Alice Eve
The Scoop: Call it cautious optimism, but despite some clunky-looking effects and tales of production woes (delays, unfinished scripts), we're still amped to see Will and Tommy back in black. With Josh Brolin doing a so-dead-on-it's-scary Tommy Lee Jones impersonation as a '60s-era Agent K, this will indeed be like walking into a time machine. | Watch the trailer

19. 'To Rome With Love'

Sony Pictures Classics

Release Date: June 22
Starring: Woody Allen, Alec Baldwin, Roberto Benigni, Penélope Cruz, Judy Davis, Jesse Eisenberg, Greta Gerwig, Ellen Page
The Scoop: Woody Allen made box office magic with last summer's "Midnight in Paris," so let's see if he can strike gold twice in a row. The Woodman continues his globetrotting (London, Barcelona, France) with this trip to the boot of Europe as famous Italians (Benigni) mix with American tourists (Baldwin, Eisenberg, Page) in four interconnected comedic vignettes. Throw in an Academy Award-winning Spaniard (Cruz) and Allen himself, and you've got yourself a heaping plate of laughs al dente.

18. 'Magic Mike'

Warner Bros.

Release Date: June 29
Starring: Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, Matthew McConaughey, Joe Manganiello, Matt Bomer
The Scoop: Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody ("Juno") remarked on an episode of "WTF with Marc Maron" that when she released her stripping memoir, it resulted in criticism and controversy, and she wondered if this film -- based on Channing Tatum's teen experiences takin' it all off in Tampa, Florida -- would bring the "21 Jump Street" star equal scorn. Only one way to find out, as Steven Soderbergh directs a beefcake wonderland eager to please. Tatum is, to put this tastefully, the Jedi stripping master, while Pettyfer is his Padawan disciple, and the ladies should look forward to some red-hot "lightsabers." | Watch the trailer

17. 'Moonrise Kingdom'

Focus Features

Release Date: May 25
Starring: Bruce Willis, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman
The Scoop: With Ed Norton as a cigarette-smoking Boy Scout troop leader, Bruce Willis as a sheriff with translucent glasses and Bill Murray as a disenchanted father, this couldn't be anything but a standard-issue Wes Anderson affair. The director of "The Royal Tenenbaums" always has something delightfully eccentric up his corduroy sleeves, and his tale of two young kids in a runaway romance will not disappoint. | Watch the trailer

16. 'Rock of Ages'

Warner Bros.

Release Date: June 15
Starring: Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Malin Akerman, Mary J. Blige, Alec Baldwin, Tom Cruise
The Scoop: Tom Cruise likes his old-time rock 'n' roll Bon Jovi-style as he belts out "Wanted Dead Or Alive." Word on the street is Cruise brings down the house, but for backup you've got pros Russell Brand and Mary J. Blige waiting in the wings to make sure this Broadway musical takes it to the next level. Adam Shankman ("Hairspray") directs. | Watch the trailer

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Universal

The first trailer for the upcoming action thriller "The Bourne Legacy" has just hit the internet and all we can say is, Matt Damon who?

Okay, we're being facetious — we love you, Matt! Don't cut off our water supply! — but ever since it was announced that the folks behind the "Bourne" movies would be going ahead with the franchise even without superstar Damon's involvement, well, let's just say we were as skeptical as everyone else. But now that skepticism has been snuffed out.

All all it took was one high velocity nail to the frontal lobe from new "Bourne" headliner Jeremy Renner.

Before you get up in arms, Renner doesn't actually play Bourne; that role is being left vacant in case Damon decides to return in the future. Instead, the film picks off where "The Bourne Ultimatum" left off, as Joan Allen's government agent, Pamela Landy, continues her quest to track down the sleeper agents created by the shadowy sub-agency Treadstone. But when she stumbles upon Renner, well, let's just say everybody involved may have gotten a lot more than they bargained for.

"The Bourne Legacy" hits theaters on Au. 3, but you can check out the trailer right now, courtesy of Apple Trailers. If you dare.

Universal

Betrayal, character assassination, a contemptuous war of words. No, it's not a description of the latest potboiler novel, it's the actual behind-the-scenes brouhaha that's boiling to the surface over the chaotic production of "The Bourne Ulimatum" more than four years after-the-fact.

To go by The Hollywood Reporter, it started when star Matt Damon was in Vancouver shooting Neill Blomkamp's sci-fi thriller "Elysium" when he encountered freshly-opened offices for Tony Gilroy's Damon-less "Bourne Legacy" right next to his trailer.

This must have pissed the nice guy off something awful, 'cause he promptly went on a tirade against Gilroy to reporters in New York, which got the town buzzing last week.

Now that Pandora's box has been opened, despite the star's quick public apologies, it seems all sorts of the Bourne franchise's dirty laundry is being aired just as Universal is trying to start fresh with Jeremy Renner's Damon-substitute Aaron Cross. Apparently there's a deep power struggle between Gilroy, who had a hand in crafting all three previous screenplays, and parts 2 and 3 director Paul Greengrass whose shakycam aesthetic breathed new life into the spy genre.

"Paul and Tony have clashing styles," says an unidentified source. "Tony does all the work before and delivers a finished script. Paul wants the script to be ever-evolving during shooting."

Damon's loyalties have always resided with Greengrass, and the two went on to detonate the box office bomb "Green Zone" together, but ultimately passed on a fourth "Bourne" when their idea cup runneth dry. However, though "Bourne Legacy" could establish Cross as a viable alternative, there's still only one Jason Bourne and he's not opposed to coming back as long as the Paul Greengrass is greener on that other side.

"I think if ['Bourne Legacy'] doesn't work, we can just ignore it and pretend it didn't happen, and that'd be fine," says Damon. "But I expect that it will work and only help us if we did another one, which I'd love to do."

View Gallery »

Getty Images

Release Date: June 1
Starring: Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Tom Cruise
The Scoop: One of the most popular and acclaimed Broadway musicals in recent memory, "Rock of Ages" tells the story of a couple of small-town dreamers who get caught up in the big-city spotlight -- and it tells that story using the transformative power of '80s rock. That's enough for us, but if you're somehow not sold, the film version of "Rock of Ages" also features a Who's Who of Hollywood stars, including Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Bryan Cranston and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Rock on!

'Snow White and the Huntsman'

Universal

Release Date: June 1
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron
The Scoop: What if the classic fairy tale "Snow White" was actually a dark and moody fantasy epic? That's the premise behind "Snow White and the Hunstman," which features "Twilight" superstar Kristen Stewart as the titular heroine and Chris Hemsworth ("Thor") as the huntsman sent to kill her. Oh, and the evil queen? Well, thanks to Charlize Theron, who knows a thing or two about murdering rival chicks (see: her Oscar winning performance in "Monster"), we're pretty much going to be avoiding apples for the rest of our life. One of the most anticipated films of the year.

'Prometheus'

20th Century Fox

Release Date: June 8
Starring: Noomi Rapace, Charlize Theron, Patrick Wilson
The Scoop: If it seems like decades since director Ridley Scott last filmed a sci-fi flick, that's because it has been. But since his previous two efforts in the genre happen to be the undisputed classics "Alien" and "Blade Runner," well, chances are the wait was worth it -- especially since "Prometheus," which stars the original "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Noomi Rapace, looks to be a prequel to the original "Alien." So will lightning strike a third time? "Prometheus" is set to prove that when you play with fire, you're going to get awesome.

'Jack the Giant Killer'

Getty Images

Release Date: June 15
Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Stanley Tucci, Ewan McGregor
The Scoop: If you think vampires, zombies and robots have all pretty much been exhausted at this point, don't worry, because the next big thing is coming -- literally. Yes, it's giants! "Jack the Giant Killer" stars Nicholas Hoult ("X-Men: First Class") as a regular dude who leads an expedition into the land of giants in order to rescue a princess in a modern mashup of "Twilight" and Jack and the Beanstalk." Stanley Tucci, who is required to be in everything (and be awesome in everything) costars, as does Ewan McGregor and noted non-giant Warwick Davis. No spoilers here, but our money is on Jack.

'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter'

20th Century Fox

Release Date: June 22
Starring: Benjamin Walker, Rufus Sewell, Dominic Cooper
The Scoop: If you study history closely, you can learn all sorts of fascinating details. For instance, did you know that our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, was actually a noted vampire hunter? Okay, it's not true, but imagining Honest Abe throwing down with Nosferatu is awesome enough that we're more than willing to overlook any (minor) historical inaccuracies. Benjamin Walker ("Flags of Our Fathers") plays Lincoln, who, after his mother is murdered by a vampire, decides to eradicate the creatures -- creatures which also happen to be behind the institution of slavery. Suddenly that whole Civil War thing makes a whole lot more sense.

'Brave'

Disney/Pixar

Release Date: June 22
Starring: Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson
The Scoop: Pixar has made a living -- and some undeniably great films -- by turning fish, insects, cars and robots into wonderfully animated main characters, but aside from "The Incredibles," actual humans have been few and far between. That's set to change in a big way when "Brave" hits theaters. Stepping squarely into Disney Princess territory, "Brave" tells the story of a plucky medieval Scottish lass who rebels against the traditional female role forced on her. Unfortunately, her desire for independence may unleash a hideous evil on the world, which means one thing: quest time! We'd pretty much follow Pixar into hell itself, so if they're "brave" enough to make this movie, we're "Brave" enough to watch it.

'G.I. Joe: Retaliation'

Paramount

Release Date: June 29
Starring: Channing Tatum, Dwayne Johnson, Ray Park
The Scoop: The first "G.I. Joe" wasn't exactly an overwhelming success, but thanks to J.J. Abrams dragging his feet on "Star Trek 2," Paramount suddenly had a giant, blockbuster-sized hole in their 2012 schedule. And who better to call in an emergency than America's most trusted special agents, the folks at "G.I. Joe"? Things look a little bit different this time around -- Channing Tatum returns as lead Joe, but half the cast has been jettisoned in favor of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson -- and expectations are much higher, as "Step Up" and "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never" director John M. Chu steps up behind the camera. The forces of evil have no shot.

'Magic Mike'

Getty Images

Release Date: June 29
Starring: Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, Olivia Munn
The Scoop: Speaking of Channing Tatum, the beefy star is doing double duty on June 29, as "Magic Mike" and "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" go head-to-head at the box office. But they probably don't have quite the same target demographic anyway; "Magic Mike" is the story of a veteran male stripper (that's Tatum -- try not to hyperventilate, ladies) who takes a newbie ("I Am Number Four"s' Alex Pettyfer) under his wing. This one is directed by Steven Soderbergh, who was hoping Tatum could draw on the experiences he gained working a stripper himself as a young man.

'The Amazing Spider-Man'

Columbia Pictures

Release Date: July 3
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans
The Scoop: Considering Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" trilogy is one of the most successful franchises in film history -- and considering it just ended five short, short years ago -- the folks behind this reboot have some pretty big expectations to fill. Luckily, they've got a not-so-secret weapon: Emma Stone, who plays Gwen Stacy opposite spideriffic love interest Peter Parker ("The Social Network" star Andrew Garfield). We're not sure how amazing this "Spider-Man" is going to be, but we're very sure just how amazing Stone is -- and our Awesome-Sense is tingling like crazy.

'Ted'

Getty Images

Release Date: July 13
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Seth MacFarlane
The Scoop: Seth MacFarlane can pretty much do anything he wants to do inside his Fox animation empire, but it turns out that what the creator of "Family Guy," The Cleveland Show" and "American Dad" really wants to do is direct. Hence "Ted," MacFarlane's directorial debut, which stars Mark Wahlberg as a mostly normal guy with one fairly major quirk: His best friend is his fully sentient childhood teddy bear (voiced by MacFarlane, naturally). That becomes an issue when Wahlberg meets the woman of his dreams (Mila Kunis, aka the woman of everyone's dreams). Sorry, Fox, but it looks like MacFarlane may have just found himself another career.

'The Dark Knight Rises'

Warner Bros.

Release Date: July 20
Starring: Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
The Scoop: When "The Dark Knight" came out in 2008, it became the second highest-grossing film of all time. And the expectations are even higher this time around thanks to a little movie director Christopher Nolan did in his spare time: "Inception." With the "Dark Knight" trilogy and the Christian Bale era both set to come to an end -- and with "Inception" stars Tom Hardy and Joseph Gordon-Levitt cranking up the fan dial -- "The Dark Knight Rises" is poised to become the film event of the summer. We're not sure how you can go higher than the perfection of "The Dark Knight," but if anyone can find a way to rise even further, it's Nolan. We can't wait.

'Neighborhood Watch'

20th Century Fox

Release Date: July 27
Starring: Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill
The Scoop: Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn and Jonah Hill bring the star power and name recognition to this comedy, about a group of bros who form a neighborhood watch to get out of the house and accidentally end up having to save the world. But it's the man behind the camera that has real comedy fans buzzing: Akiva Schaffer. Schaffer, you see, is one third of the "Saturday Night Live" comedy splinter group Lonely Island, and you don't need to be on a boat to know that means major league laughs. His first film, "Hot Rod," wasn't exactly a smash, but with that under his belt, Schaffer is poised to knock "Neighborhood Watch" out of the park. Guess that island won't be lonely for much longer.

'The Bourne Legacy'

Getty Images

Release Date: August 3
Starring: Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton
The Scoop: Matt Damon may be gone, but his film legacy lives on in the form of "The Bourne Legacy," which examines the world of the "Bourne" series without technically being a straight sequel or prequel. Instead, Jeremy Renner heads a mostly new cast as the spy community and the other castoffs from Project Treadstone wrestle with the aftermath of "The Bourne Ultimatum." Film fans looking for some continuity between films can rest easy, as Joan Allen returns in the role of upper level agent Pamela Landy -- and Tony Gilroy, who wrote the first three films, writes and directs -- but this time around it's Renner, not Damon, who will make the movie sink or swim or kill a guy with its bare hands. Or all three at the same time. Hey, it is a "Bourne" film after all.

'Total Recall'

Columbia Tristar

Release Date: August 3
Starring: Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Bryan Cranston, Jessica Biel, Bill Nighy
The Scoop: Philip K. Dick is dead, alas, but his legacy lives on in the unending stream of sci-fi films adapted from his novels and short stories. And just when you thought there were no more to adapt, Hollywood has started remaking the legendary sci-fi author's earlier films, such as this redo of the 199o hit "Total Recall." While the original was a classic tongue-in-cheek Arnold Schwarzenegger action romp, though, the remake -- which stars Colin Farrell in the Arnold role -- aims to be a much more serious and gritty take on the tale of a man who messes around with his own memory and ends up fighting mutants on Mars as a result.

'Warm Bodies'

Getty Images

Release Date: August 10
Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, John Malkovich
The Scoop: The summer of Nicholas Hoult continues on August 10 as the star of "Jack the Giant Killer' takes on a menace of a decidedly ... deader variety in "Warm Bodies." Hoult plays a zombie who ends up beginning a relationship with a living girl. What she doesn't know? Well, the fact that he ate her last boyfriend. That will tend to put a damper on things, assuming the whole "zombie" part didn't do that already. So can Hoult do for zombies what R.Pattz did for vampires? If anyone can make the walking dead seem sexy, it's him.

'The Expendables 2'

Lionsgate

Release Date: August 17
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Jason Statham, Jet Li, et al.
The Scoop: If you've ever wanted to raid the local rest home, today is the day, because chances are  it will be emptied out as everyone heads to the theater to see their peers in action in "The Expendables 2." Okay, we kid. We're actually stoked to see Sly Stallone and his ragtag crew of action film veterans get back on the big screen, especially since Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger are expected to have much bigger roles this time around. Despite the title, this pop culture grouping is quickly becoming irreplaceable.

'ParaNorman'

Focus Features

Release Date: August 17
Starring: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Anna Kendrick, Christopher Mintz-Plasse
The Scoop: "ParaNorman" writer-director Chris Butler may not be a familiar name, but fans of animation are certainly familiar with his work as the storyboard artist on films like "Coraline" and "Corpse Bride." Now he's taking that off-kilter aesthetic to new heights, as "ParaNorman" -- which features voicework from the likes of John Goodman, Caesy Affleck and Anna Kendrick -- tells the tale of a kid who uses his ability to speak with the dead to save his town from an ancient curse. Zombie movies: They aren't just for adults any more.

'Argo'

Getty Images

Release Date: September 14
Starring: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman
The Scoop: Director Ben Affleck -- yes, director is his primary credit these days, thanks to "The Town" and "Gone Baby Gone" -- also stars in this amazing true story about the 1979 Iran hostage crisis. Featuring an all-star cast that includes Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, Kyle Chandler and more, "Argo" relates how a group of hostages managed to escape by pretending to be the crew of a fake movie invented by the CIA. "Good Night and Good Luck" writer Grant Heslov cowrote the screenplay with Affleck, so yeah, this one pretty much has awesome all over it. Is it too early for 2013 Oscar buzz yet?

'Savages'

Getty Images

Release Date: September 28
Starring: Aaron Johnson, Taylor Kitsch, Blake Lively
The Scoop: Based on Don Winslow's bestselling thriller of the same name, "Savages" tells the story of two potheads (Aaron Johnson and Taylor Kitsch) who are blackmailed by Mexican drug lords after their shared girlfriend (Blake Lively) is kidnapped. Naturally, they embark on a mission to save her. And since "Savages" is directed by Oliver Stone, you can pretty much bet the house that all hell is going to break loose -- which may explain why notorious hell-breakers Uma Thurman, John Travolta and Benicio Del Toro are in the cast. It's always interesting when Stone goes to work.

'Frankenweenie'

Disney

Release Date: October 5
Starring: Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short
The Scoop: Way, way back in the day -- we're talking the early '80s -- an unknown artist by the name of Tim Burton developed a short film by the name of "Frankenweenie" for his bosses at Disney. And they hated it. Fast-forward over two decades and Burton, who in the interim has become an icon of cinema, finally gets his chance to realize his vision of a feature-length "Frankeweenie" film. Take one part Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" and two parts "The Nightmare Before Christmas," and you'll have the formula for perhaps the most offbeat animated film of the young century. Looks like Burton gets the last laugh this time -- and best of all, we all get to laugh with him.

'The Gangster Squad'

Getty Images

Release Date: October 19
Starring: Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Josh Brolin
The Scoop: When you see the name of director Ruben Fleischer in the credits, you know it's a certain type of black comedy; after all, this is the guy who brought the world "Zombieland" and "30 Minutes or Less." But not so fast, folks, because "The Gangster Squad" has the kind of cast that serious dreams are made of, with Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin, Nick Nolte and a half dozen other big names powering the story of the cops who cleaned up L.A. in the 1940s. Now that's a gang we'd like to be part of.

'My Mother's Curse'

Getty Images

Release Date: November 2
Starring: Seth Rogen, Barbra Streisand, Adam Scott
The Scoop: Buddy comedies are a dime a dozen, and road movies are just about as cheap. You know what costs a little bit more, though? A buddy road comedy starring Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand. That's right: Rogen and Streisand -- THE Barbra Streisand, mind you -- play a mother and her inventor son who embark on a road trip in a quest to get backing for his latest crazy idea. An idea crazier than Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand costarring in a buddy road trip? Good luck getting funding for that, pal!

'Skyfall'

Sony

Release Date: November 9
Starring: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem
The Scoop: For a while there it looked as though we might never get another James Bond movie, or at least not one while Daniel Craig was still young enough to shake his martini. Luckily all the legal woes that had the franchise stuck in limbo have been cleared up, meaning "Skyfall," Craig's third mission for her Majesty's Secret Service, is a go. And this time around there's a new wrinkle -- or several of them -- as the story focuses on the secret past of Dame Judi Dench's unflappable M. Can Bond save the day again? Unless you're Chicken Little, we're guessing this is one "Skyfall" you can rest easy about.

'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2'

Summit

Release Date: November 16
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner
The Scoop: Yes, you read that date right: Even though filming on "Breaking Dawn - Part 2" has long since been completed, New Line has decided to sock away some savings for a rainy day by waiting an entire year to release the final installment of "The Twilight Saga." That's basically a form of cruel and unusual punishment for the franchise's billions of fans, but we're guessing that any resentment over the long wait will be erased with one final look into Robert Pattinson's smoldering eyes. And hey, look at the bright side: The delay means you have another whole year to revel in "Twilight" mania. Oh, yeah.

'Gravity'

Getty Images

Release Date: October 19
Starring: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney
The Scoop: Director Alfonso Cuarón has made some pretty sweet movies -- think "Children of Men," "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" and "Y Tu Mamá También" -- so you'd think he wouldn't have much trouble finding stars to appear in his upcoming sci-fi drama about an astronaut who is trapped in space after an accident. But one star after another came and went through "Gravity's" long development process. Luckily, though, Cuarón's own personal gravity finally captured two bona fide A-listers: George Clooney and Sandra Bullock, who's in the lead role. With that kind of star power, chances are you'll have a hard time staying out of this film's orbit.

'The Silver Linings Playbook'

Getty Images

Release Date: November 21
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Julia Stiles, Robert De Niro, Jennifer Lawrence
The Scoop: Bradley Cooper does the rom-com thing in this adaptation of a novel by Matthew Quick. He and his abs star as Pat Peoples, an ex-teacher who is committed to a mental institution for four years. When he finally emerges, he decides to try and get back together with his former wife, with "The Hunger Games" star Jennifer Lawrence acting as a go-between. And you thought your ex was crazy! David O. Russell ("The Fighter") handles directing duties.

'Les Miserables'

Getty Images

Release Date: December 7
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Sacha Baron Cohen, Helena Bonham Carter
The Scoop: This high-powered adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel of the French Revolution has a lot to live up to, considering the "Les Miserables" musical is one of the most popular and successful shows in history. Director Tom Hooper knows a thing or two about period pieces, though -- you might know his last film, "The King's Speech," or his Emmy-winning miniseries "John Adams" -- and with a cast that includes Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe, he certainly has the talent to pull it off.

'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey'

New Line

Release Date: December 14
Starring: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage
The Scoop: The most unexpected part of "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" is the fact that we're getting to see the film at all. Hard to believe, but by the time this thing comes out, it will have been nine long years since Peter Jackson finished off "The Lord of the Rings" by winning 11 Oscars and earning enough money to buy a whole herd of miniature giraffes. Legal matters, though, sent "The Hobbit" into limbo for the last decade, which will make it all the sweeter when Martin Freeman finally gets to don his hairy prosthetic feet and embark on J.R.R. Tolkien's legendary quest as Bilbo, the hobbit who had the courage to leave home to find a dragon. About effing time.

'Life of Pi'

Mariner Books

Release Date: December 21
Starring: Tobey Maguire, Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Suraj Sharma
The Scoop: First off, before you panic, there's not really any math in "Life of Pi." Pi happens to be the name of an Indian kid who survives a shipwreck only to find himself stranded on an island with a menagerie of weird animals. Based on the novel of the same name by Yann Martel, "Life of Pi" is directed by Ang Lee, who previously won an Oscar for helming "Brokeback Mountain." "Life of Pi" was originally scheduled to debut on December 14, but wisely moved to avoid being steamrolled by "The Hobbit," so adjust your calendar accordingly.

'This Is Forty'

Getty Images

Release Date: December 21
Starring: Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Jason Segel, Melissa McCarthy
The Scoop: Paul Rudd and his best bro Judd Apatow are back together for another comedy from the Apatow factory, this time with a bit of a twist: Rudd and costar Leslie Mann are reprising their roles from the 2007 film "Knocked Up," with Jason Segel in support this time instead of vice versa. So what can you expect from "This Is Forty"? Well, given the cast and the pedigree, expect more of the patented Apatow humor -- and don't be surprised if a couple of years from now there's another spin-off featuring one of this film's supporting players.

'World War Z'

Getty Images

Release Date: December 21
Starring: Brad Pitt, Matthew Fox, James Badge Dale
The Scoop: There are zombie movies, and then there are zombie movies starring Brad Pitt. Which are you going to go with? Well, if you answered Brad Pitt, then you're in luck, because "World War Z" stars Pitt as a member of the human resistance fighting back in a war against the zombie horde. He's joined in his efforts by Matthew Fox ("Lost") and the always awesome James Badge Dale ("Shame"). And it's not just the talent in front of the camera that deserves a nod; directed by acclaimed filmmaker Marc Forster ("Monster's Ball," "Finding Neverland"), this adaptation of the popular Max Brooks novel was produced by Pitt from a screenplay cowritten by "Babylon 5" creator J. Michael Straczynski. Zombies, you don't stand a chance.

'Django Unchained'

Getty Images

Release Date: December 25
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, Christoph Waltz, Kurt Russell, Samuel L. Jackson
The Scoop: Quentin Tarantino might have killed Hitler in his last movie, but that was pretty much just a warm-up for his most audacious film yet, "Django Unchained," which stars Jamie Foxx as a runaway slave who returns to the plantation to wreak vengeance on those who mistreated him. An all-star lineup of superstars (Leonardo DiCaprio, anyone?) and Tarantino favorites (Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson) round out this revenge fantasia. A Tarantino movie about slavery? That comes out on Christmas day? We're not sure the Internet will be able to handle it.

'The Great Gatsby'

Getty Images

Release Date: December 25
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton
The Scoop: The novel that has been described as the quintessential American story is being adapted for the big screen by a fairly unlikely figure: the unabashed ambassador of all things Australian, Baz Luhrmann. Frankly, though, it's hard to imagine the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic being in better hands, especially with Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan on board in the lead roles. Of course, audience attention may be a bit split -- DiCaprio's collaboration with Quentin Tarantino, "Django Unchained," comes out the same day -- but that's fine, as a Luhrmann-Tarantino double feature is a real Christmas gift.

'Lincoln'

Getty Images

Release Date: December
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tommy Lee Jones
The Scoop: There are films with serious pedigrees, and then there's "Lincoln," which exists on a whole different level: The story of America's most beloved and revered figure is being directed by Steven Spielberg, with acting legend Daniel-Day Lewis in the lead role. He's also supported in this adaptation of the Doris Kearns Goodwin book "Team of Rivals" by the stellar Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Tommy Lee Jones among many, many others, leaving us with just one question: Is Spielberg also going to adopt a third name for this production? Either way, "Lincoln" is the perfect way to cap off what is shaping up to be a great year of cinema.

Universal Pictures

Some familiar faces have returned to the "Bourne" franchise.

It looks like "The Bourne Legacy" won't be a complete reboot, as both Joan Allen and Albert Finney have signed on to reprise their roles from the original "Bourne" adventures, according to Variety.

Joan Allen will return as CIA Deputy Director Pamela Landy, the driven Jason Bourne hunter in the second film of the original trilogy, "The Bourne Supremacy," and one of the rogue agent's greatest allies in the third installment, "The Bourne Ultimatum."

Albert Finney was a surprise addition to the series, appearing in the last act of "The Bourne Ultimatum" as Dr. Albert Hirsch, the man in charge of Operation Treadstone, the behavior modification program that gave birth to Jason Bourne.

No word yet on how these two fit into the new "Bourne" spin-off, though we're sure at least Allen is in for more sessions of staring at giant computer screens as CIA minions furiously type away on their keyboards.

Joan Allen and Albert Finney join a cast that includes Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton and Oscar Isaac. This new round of spy games is written and directed by regular "Bourne" scribe Tony Gilroy.

"The Bourne Legacy" will hit theaters on Aug. 3, 2012.

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Edward Norton wants to play spy games, too... the evil kind!

The "Fight Club" star will bring antagonism to Jeremy Renner's top-secret mission as he signs on to play the villain of "The Bourne Supremacy," according to Heat Vision.

Details on the plot of the Matt Damon-less "Bourne" reboot are still confidential, though we do know that Norton and Renner will be at odds with one another, probably as a team of CIA employees frantically type on their keyboards.

It'll be fun to see Norton in another villain role, something he hasn't indulged in since 2003's "The Italian Job" (you may remember he was a big baby about having to appear in that movie due to contractual obligations with Paramount).

We were recently impressed with Norton's dramatic turn in "Stone," in which he plays an incarcerated arsonist who finds religion (or does he?) as he tries to manipulate his parole officer (Robert De Niro) via the affections of his hot wife (Milla Jovovich).

"The Bourne Legacy" will be directed by regular series screenwriter Tony Gilroy. The cast also includes Rachel Weisz as Renner's love interest (uh oh -- we hope she fares better than Franka Potente did in the original trilogy).

Look for the new "Bourne" adventures to commence in theaters on Aug. 3, 2012.

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Rachel Weisz may joining in on some spy games.

The "Lovely Bones" beauty could potentially have a very busy rest of the year ahead of her, as she's currently being courted for the female lead in "The Bourne Legacy," according to Deadline.

Weisz would be joining Jeremy Renner, who's playing an operative from a covert government program that is even more dangerous than the Treadstone brainwashing program from which sprung Jason Bourne. And everyone remembers what a mess that was, right? 

Rachel Weisz was recently cast as wicked witch Evanora in Sam Raimi's "Oz, the Great and Powerful," which begins shooting this summer. "The Bourne Legacy" starts shooting in September, so doing both projects would mean little to no time off for Weisz for the rest of 2011 (and some possible overlap, as we have a feeling shooting on the gargantuan "Oz" will bleed into the fall).

Hey, she can do both. Well, we want her to do both, which isn't exactly the same thing, but still.

No word on what Rachel's character would be in "Bourne," though with news of her being pursued to join the cast, we hope some details on the plot will finally emerge. Or at least an idea of how many different countries will be featured in this one.

Getty Images

The search is over... and now the chase begins!

Universal is ready to commence with the fourth installment of the "Bourne" franchise now that -- at long last -- Matt Damon's successor has been chosen. And it is Jeremy Renner who will soon be on the run with "The Bourne Legacy," according to Deadline.

Almost every young (or at least young-ish) actor in Hollywood has been rumored to be in the running (pun intended, you betcha) to star in the new "Bourne" adventure, and Universal has certainly taken its time in making its decision. Renner was one of the many actors that had been mentioned to be up for the role before, and now the Oscar-nominated star of "The Hurt Locker" and "The Town" has officially received his orders.

"The Bourne Legacy," which will be directed by Tony Gilroy, will feature Renner as an operative from other covert government organization, this one even more sinister than the Treadstone brainwashing program that hatched Jason Bourne.

Jeremy Renner is right on the verge of becoming quite the movie star in the next year or so, as he'll be appearing in both "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" and the Marvel superhero team-up extravaganza, "The Avengers" (as Hawkeye), even before "The Bourne Legacy" opens on Aug. 3, 2012.

Fox

Since the beginning of time, books have been a conduit of learning, a cornerstone of human communication and, most important of all, the primary source for awesome movies.

Just check out the new Robert Pattinson vehicle "Water for Elephants," based on Sara Gruen's bestseller, if you don't believe us -- only a true literary genius could have ever dreamed up that gravity-defying head of hair.

And considering that some of the most beloved movies of the past decade have come straight off of the page -- "Harry Potter, "Twilight" and "The Lord of the Rings" just to name a few -- the marriage between books and film has never been stronger.

With that in mind, then, we decided to put together a sneak peak of all the coolest books currently being turned into major motion pictures.

Because every time you open a book, you're seeing tomorrow's movies today.

'Snow Flower and the Secret Fan'

Fox Searchlight

Attached: Bingbing Li, Hugh Jackman, Gianna Lun, Vivian Wu
Status: Based on the acclaimed novel of the same name by author Lisa See, "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" tells the story of two women in 19th century-China whose friendship is sustained through a secret code written on fans. Originally set to star Zhang Ziyi, "Snow Flower" was filmed in China by the Chinese studio Hengdian World Studios, but is being distributed by Fox Searchlight. Hugh Jackman is one of the first A-list Hollywood stars to work under the Chinese studio system, a fact which no doubt influenced Fox's decision to bring the film stateside.
Release Date/Year: July 15, 2011

'The Help'

'Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close'

Attached: Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, John Goodman, James Gandolfini, Thomas Horn
Status: Now that it's been a decade since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, we're likely to see 9/11 in more major Hollywood movies. "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" tells the story of a little boy whose father is killed in the bombing; when the kid finds a mysterious key, he goes on a quest to unlock the secrets of his dad's life and death. Author Jonathan Safran Foer was accused by some of exploiting the tragedy; now director Stephen Daldry is said to be trying to rush production in order to release the film on the 10^th anniversary of the attacks on September 11, 2011. Take that for what you will.
Release Date/Year: September 11, 2011 -- but probably not actually until 2012

'Breaking Dawn'

Summit

Attached: Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Kristen Stewart
Status: Author Stephenie Meyer penned this obscure little novel a few years ago, to little fanfare, but now it's… oh, who are we kidding. You probably already know everything there is to know about the eagerly awaited adaptation of the fourth and final (?) novel in Meyer's record-shattering "Twilight" series. The action is so big this time around, though, that they had to break it into two parts; the second half of the story won't land in theaters until Nov. 16, 2012.
Release Date/Year: Nov. 18, 2011

'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo'

Attached: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Robin Wright, Stellan Skarsgard
Status: Stop us if you've heard this before; since his death, Steig Larsson's 2005 novel "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" and its two sequels have become the hottest literary sensation in the world. They've already spawned a trilogy of acclaimed Swedish movies, but Hollywood doesn't like subtitles quite as much as they like money, so director David Fincher has put together a new, big budget version for domestic audiences to throw cash at. Ourselves included, of course; we can't wait to see "The Social Network's" Mara as iconic punk hacker Lisbeth Salander.
Release Date/Year: Dec. 21, 2011

'The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn'

Attached: Daniel Craig, Cary Elwes, Simon Pegg, Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis
Status: Filming has already been completed in this big budget adaptation of the classic children's series by legendary cartoonist. Herge. "The Secret of the Unicorn" was actually the 11th book in the series when it came out in 1943, but hey, who's counting? Certainly not Steven Spielberg, who directed the movie using motion capture and CGI goodness and who has promised to film a whole bunch more of these suckers if people enjoy the first one. We're inclined to give Spielberg the benefit of the doubt; after all, he has a pretty good track record with these kinds of things.
Release Date/Year: Dec. 28, 2011

'On the Road'

Attached: Kirsten Dunst, Garrett Hedlund, Kristen Stewart, Amy Adams, Viggo Mortensen
Status:Based on the classic 1951 beat novel by Jack Kerouac, "On the Road" has been adapted for the screen several times, but few of those productions have the kind of acting pedigree this latest version can boast: besides big names like Viggo Mortensen, Amy Adams,  Kristen Stewart and Garrett Hedlund, critical favorites like Steve Buscemi, Elisabeth Moss and Terrence Howard help round out the terrific cast. Filming finished late last year, but we're still waiting for the trailer to come out. Let's go, people!
Release Date/Year: 2011

'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy'

Attached: Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Colin Firth, Ciaran Hinds
Status: This popular 1974 novel by espionage author John le Carre stars Gary Oldman as Smiley, a retired spy who is forced to come out of retirement in order to root out a mole that has infiltrated the upper echelon of his own intelligence agency. The red hot Tom Hardy joins him in the first Hollywood film for acclaimed Swedish director Tomas Alfredson, who wowed audiences with his 2008 horror movie "Let the Right One In." Not to mention the movie also features a certain Oscar-winning actor by the name of Colin Firth. Count us intrigued.
Release Date/Year: 2011

'Neuromancer'

Attached: Director Vincenzo Natali
Status: "Cube" writer and director Vincenzo Natali is working hard on an adaptation of William Gibson's seminal 1984 cyberpunk novel "Neuromancer," but sometimes hard work doesn't necessarily pay off; despite years of development, this project seems to be stalled out right now. Last year, rumor had it that Liv Tyler was going to have a starring role, but at this point, it's anyone's guess who will be cast. The 2011 release date for "Neuromancer" seems extremely optimistic.
Release Date/Year: 2011

'The Woman in Black'

Alliance Films

Attached: Daniel Radcliffe, Ciaran Hinds, Janet Mcteer, Shaun Dooley
Status: Daniel Radcliffe knows a thing or two about starring in a book adaptation, so the latest version of "The Woman in Black" (the moody horror story from author Susan Hill was previously adapted in Britain back in 1989) would seem to be in good hands. Of course, the big question is whether or not audiences are ready to accept Radcliffe in any role other than "Harry Potter," which he has been intimately identified with for over a decade. We're curious to see the results.
Release Date/Year: February 10, 2012

'Dr. Seuss' The Lorax'

Attached: Zac Efron, Ed Helms, Danny DeVito, Betty White, Rob Riggle
Status: Back in 1971, beloved children's author Dr. Seuss published "The Lorax," a timely parable about the imminent dangers facing the environment. And since then, of course, all humanity has embraced its message and cleaned up the world. No? OK, well maybe they will after they watch this big-budget animated version featuring the voices of stars like Betty White, Zac Efron and Danny DeVito. Probably not, but here's hoping.
Release Date/Year: March 2, 2012

Scholastic

'The Hunger Games'

Attached: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Director Gary Ross
Status: "Seabiscuit" shot-caller Gary Ross is set to helm this eagerly awaited adaptation of the first book in this wildly popular series from author Suzanne Collins; maybe you heard the shrieks of joy and despair that eminated from every corner of the internet when "Winter's Bone" star Jennifer Lawrence was signed on as main character Katniss Everdeen. With Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth also on board as rival hotties vying for her heart, "The Hunger Games" is on track to begin filming in May.
Release Date/Year: March 2, 2012

'Atlas Shrugged: Part 2 and 3'

Attached: Taylor Schilling, Edi Gathegi, Paul Johansson, Matthew Marsden
Status: After 35 years in development hell, the first part of Ayn Rand's politically charged manifesto finally hit the big screen just in time for tax day this year after being rushed into production literally at the last possible moment; John Aglialoro, who owns the film rights, got the film underway just one day before his rights were going to lapse. Assuming the first film does well enough to warrant filming the rest of the book, the movie is set to become a tax day staple, as the final two installments are tentatively scheduled for April 15 of 2012 and 2013.
Release Date/Year: April 15, 2012; April 15, 2013

'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter'

Attached: Benjamin Walker, Dominic Cooper, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rufus Sewell
Status: Seth Grahame-Smith's historical horror mashup just came out last year, but filming has already begun on the big budget adaptation, with "Wanted" director Timur Bekmambetov behind the camera. And in front of the camera is a cast of fresh-faced stars-in-the-making, including Benjamin Walker ("Flags of Our Fathers") as Lincoln and Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World") as his wife. Gnarly.
Release Date/Year: June 22, 2012

'The Bourne Legacy'

Attached: N/A
Status: Here's what we know about the fourth movie in the "Bourne" franchise: It will be released in 2012 and it takes its name from the 2004 novel by Eric Van Lustbader, who was charged with continuing the series after creator Robert Ludlum's death. And Tony Gilroy, who wrote the first three movies, will apparently be directing this one. Here's what we don't know: who will be in it, as Matt Damon has dropped out in favor of a yet-to-be-cast group playing black ops members affected by the events in the first three movies. We've heard of sequels and prequels, but are you ready for the side-quel?
Release Date/Year: Aug. 3, 2012

'The Life of Pi'

Attached: Suraj Sharma, Tobey Maguire, Gerard Depardieu
Status: Acclaimed director Ang Lee ("Brokeback Mountain," "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon") is behind the push to adapt the popular 2001 novel by Yann Martel about an Indian boy who survives a shipwreck and spends months afloat with only a giant tiger as a companion. Several previous attempts at making a film version failed, with folks like M. Night Shyamalan and Alfonso Cuaron failing to get it done, but this time around it looks like the film is a finally go; shooting began in January with Tobey Maguire and Gerard Depardeiu now on board as well.
Release Date/Year: December 14, 2012

New Line

'The Hobbit'

Attached: Martin Freeman, Bret McKenzie, Ian McKellan, Director Peter Jackson
Status: Ever since "The Lord of the Rings" blew up the movie landscape last decade, fans and Hollywood pundits alike have been wondering just when director Peter Jackson would get off his duff and film J.R.R. Tolkein's classic 1937 prequel "The Hobbit." Well, it's finally happening, with the UK's "Office" alum Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins (and a bunch of relative unknowns as his dwarf entourage). Fans still have a while to wait though; the movie, which is being divided into two parts, has just begun production down in New Zealand and won't be in theaters for almost another two years. That gives us plenty of time to work on our Smaug costumes at least.
Release Date/Year: December 19, 2012

'Lay the Favorite'

Attached: Director Stephen Frears
Status: Stephen Frears has made some cool flicks in his day -- "The Queen," "High Fidelity," etc. -- but "Lay the Favorite" has the potential to be one of this coolest. Based on a memoir from author Beth Raymer which was just published a few months ago, "Lay the Favorite" tells the tale of how Raymer went to Las Vegas and got a job as a bookie's assistant. Considering the film recently signed on Bruce Willis, Justin Timberlake and Catherine Zeta-Jones, it looks like "Lay the Favorite" just became one of the favorites itself.
Release Date/Year: 2012

'The Caster Chronicles'

Little, Brown

Attached: N/A
Status: The latest young adult fantasy series to be gobbled up by execs hoping to recapture the magic of "Harry Potter" (no pun intended… or is it?!), "The Caster Chronicles," from authors Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, tells the story of a guy who gets pulled into a secret world of witches and whatnot. Screenwriter Richard LaGravenese, who recently penned the adaptation of the Robert Pattinson vehicle "Water for Elephants," wrote the script and will be stepping behind the camera as director as well. Pre-production is expected to begin this year, with casting to follow. Fingers crossed.
Release Date/Year: 2012

'Odd Thomas'

Attached: Anton Yelchin, Willem Dafoe, Nico Tortorella, Addison Timlin, Patton Oswalt
Status: Horror author Dean R. Koontz is no stranger to having his books adapted for the big screen -- and he's also no stranger to seeing them completely tank (anyone remember "Watchers 3" or "Phantoms?"). This time around, though, it looks like the story of a guy who can see evil spirits is in pretty good hands: "Star Trek's" Anton Yelchin has signed on as the lead, while up-and-comer Nico Torotrella ("Scream 4") and veteran Willem Dafoe (the guy with that face) are set to join him. Filming is set to begin on May 2.
Release Date/Year: 2012

'Anna Karenina'

Attached: Keira Knightley, Jude Law, Aaron Johnson
Status: Little is known about this latest adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's 1877 classic other than the fact that it will have to go a long way to stand out from the field; according to IMDB there have already been no fewer than 24 previous versions of "Anna Karenina." But Joe Wright is doing his best to put together an all-star cast for a projected fall shoot; his "Atonement" star Keira Knightley is already on board, with fellow "Atonement" alum Saoirse Ronan rumored to be involved as well, along with Jude Law, Aaron Johnson ("Kick-Ass").
Release Date/Year: 2012

'The Perks of Being a Wallflower'

MTV Books

Attached: Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Mae Whitman
Status: "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" was originally published by MTV, but it's the three-headed monster of Touchstone, DreamWorks and Summit that is bringing Stephen Chobsky's teen novel to the big screen. One of the most controversial books in recent memory, "Wallflower" tells the story of a high school kid (Logan Lerman, who previously headlined the adaptation of "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief) who comes out of his shell thanks to friendship, books, sex, drugs and rock & roll -- only without the rock & roll. Emma Watson has also signed on for one of her first big post-"Harry Potter" roles. Should be interesting.
Release Date/Year: 2012

'Cosmopolis'

Attached: Robert Pattinson, Jay Baruchel, Paul Giamatti, Kevin Durand, Juliette Binoche
Status: This ought to be an interesting one: Weirdo auteur David Cronenberg (we say that lovingly) is set to adapt Don DeLillo's modern existential epic about an investment banker who tries to drive across Manhattan for a haircut. The fact that the entire story takes place in the back seat of a limo isn't what's got us going crazy, though; it's the idea of leading actor Robert Pattinson actually getting his hair cut. Nooooo! One way or another, though, this is likely to be one of the most interesting films of 2012; it's set to begin shooting on May 24.
Release Date/Year: 2012

'The Bell Jar'

Attached: Julia Stiles, Virginia Madsen, Rose McGowan (rumored)
Status: This isn't the first time that doomed poet Sylvia Plath's semi-autobiographical 1963 novel "The Bell Jar" has been made into a movie; back in 1979, an adaptation hit screens and spawned a lawsuit from one person who thought the semi in semi-autobiographical was a little bit too biographical if you know what we mean. That likely won't be a problem now due to the simple fact that, another three decades later, just about everyone in the book is now dead. That hasn't helped speed up production, though, as Stiles has been preparing for the role for over four years without the cameras actually rolling. With a director (Nicole Kassell) and script in place, though, it looks like this is just a matter of time now. Maybe.
Release Date/Year: 2012

'Oz: The Great and Powerful'

Attached: James Franco, Mila Kunis, Director Sam Raimi
Status: L. Frank Baum's 1900 children's classic "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" has, as you may know, already been made into a movie. Maybe you've heard of it. Riffing on Baum's extensive writings about Oz, though, director Sam Raimi and the gang at Disney are looking to do for "The Wizard of Oz" what Johnny Depp did for "Alice in Wonderland" last year -- namely, make a massive pantload of greenbacks. "Oz: The Great and Powerful" will be a prequel that tells the story of how the wizard ended up behind that big curtain to begin with. Currently scheduled to begin shooting in July with James Franco and Mila Kunis anchoring the production.
Release Date/Year: 2012

'Fahrenheit 451'

Attached: Tom Sizemore, Director Frank Darabont
Status: "The Green Mile's" writer/director/producer Frank Darabont is behind this latest effort to bring Ray Bradbury's classic 1953 sci-fi novel "Fahrenheit 451" to the big screen. The story, which details a future where books -- and critical thinking of any kind -- are outlawed by a repressive, hedonistic society, would seem especially ripe for commentary in today's entertainment-driven, social media age. Darabont is currently searching for a lead actor with the chops to play the part -- and the pull to secure some major funding too, of course.
Release Date/Year: 2012

'The Great Gatsby'

Scribner

Attached: Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Director Baz Lurhmann
Status: Australian auteur Baz Lurhmann is hard at work adapting one of the most essentially American novels of all time, F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 magnum opus "The Great Gatsby." Leonardo DiCaprio is already on board as Gatsby, with awards darling Carey Mulligan also attached and Hollywood stalwarts Tobey Maguire and Ben Affleck apparently in the mix as well. Luhrmann, of course doesn't do anything by halves; "The Great Gatsby" is set to film on location in Australia this summer in bigger-than-life 3-D. Should be interesting at the very least.
Release Date/Year: 2012

'The Tiger'

Attached: Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie (producer)
Status: Brad Pitt and his little lady, Angelina Jolie, are both on board as producers for this adaptation of John Vaillant's acclaimed book "The Tiger," which was just released earlier this year. The story of a man-eating tiger and the warden who has to track him down is hot enough for Pitt to secure the rights himself with an eye towards starring in it, and acclaimed director Darren Aronofsky is reportedly on board and aiming for a 2011 shoot. But we're guessing getting insurance for this project is going to be a complete beyotch.
Release Date/Year: 2012

'World War Z'

Attached: Brad Pitt, Director Marc Forster
Status: Max Brooks began his crusade against the undead with 2003's "How to Survive a Zombie Attack," but it's his 2006 follow-up, "World War Z," which has been getting the play in Hollywood circles; the book, which tells the story of those who survived the zombie apocalypse, is set to star Brad Pitt as one of those who stood in the thin red undead line. "Quantum of Solace" director Marc Forster is attached to helm the project, though recent rumors suggest the project may be scrapped due to the horde of zombie films being pumped out. We'll see.
Release Date/Year: 2012

'The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel'

Attached: Director Eric Bress
Status: Lorenzo di Bonaventura, the power producer behind epics like "Constantine," "Transformers" and "G. I. Joe," is throwing his considerable weight behind this adaptation of the first book in Michael Scott's young adult fantasy series. And bringing the book to life as a film-ready screenplay? "Final Destination" and "Butterfly Effect" scriptwriter Eric Bress. Well, we'll reserve judgment until we see it. The good news, though, is that with di Bonaventura behind the movie, it's almost certain to get made.
Release Date/Year: 2012

'Septimus Heap: Magyk'

Attached: Director David Frankel
Status: "Septimus Heap" would seem to be the perfect candidate to conquer a post-"Harry Potter" film world: The first book in the series, "Magyk," tells the story of a seventh son of a seventh son who becomes apprentice to the world's bigwig wizard, which comes in handy since his adopted sister is actually heir to the throne. Not quite as obvious: the decision to turn the franchise keys over to "Marley & Me" and "The Devil Wears Prada" director David Frankel. We're curious to see how that… unusual… choice works out.
Release Date/Year: 2012

'Startide Rising'

Attached: N/A
Status: Turning David Brin's acclaimed 1983 sci-fi novel (it won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards for Best Novel) into a feature film is a bold move considering some of the inherent difficulties presented by the story; most of the cast, after all, are hyper-intelligent dolphins who, along with a handful of humans, crew a spaceship being chased by the combined armadas of the entire galaxy after they stumble upon an important historical artifact. Unknown director Lorna Davis has recently been tapped to helm the project, so things are still moving along.
Release Date/Year: 2012

'The Host'

Attached: N/A
Status: Screenwriter Andrew Niccol and director Susanna White ("Nanny McPhee Returns," of all things) have been chosen to spearhead the latest adaptation from "Twilight" author Stephanie Meyer. "The Host" tells the story of an alien who comes to Earth an inhabits a girl's body, which sets in motion a whole slew of really complicated romantic entanglements due to the whole split personality type thing. But with aliens. We're sure that Meyer's legion of fans are probably already waiting in line for this one, but while we're just as excited, we're not quite ready to get our sleeping bag out just yet; casting hasn't yet begun, so it will likely be more than a year before this actually hits theaters.
Release Date/Year: 2012

Margaret K. McElderry

'City of Bones' ('Mortal Instruments')

Attached: Lily Collins
Status: Every studio in Hollywood -- and every fan of films and books -- has been searching for the next "Harry Potter" since the moment that series came to an end. And Constantin films thinks they have found it in "City of Bones," the first installment of Cassandra Clare's popular young adult fantasy series "The Mortal Instruments," which tells the story of a seemingly average girl who discovers she has incredible powers -- powers that she must use, naturally, to save humanity or somesuch. Director Scott Stewart has cast his "Priest" star Lily Collins in the main role and is currently scouting locations in New York City for a big 3D conversion, with more casting news to follow.
Release Date/Year: 2012

'Paradise Lost'

Attached: Everyone in Hollywood
Status: When John Milton wrote his classic poem "Paradise Lost" back in 1667, he probably didn't imagine that one day he would also be creating a cottage industry in Hollywood. But that's the case, as multiple versions of "Paradise Lost" are currently being worked on, some of which borrow as little as the title while others are full-fledged adaptations. No fewer than three versions are set to be released in 2012 alone, the biggest of which likely being the version from Legendary Pictures and "I, Robot" director Alex Proyas.
Release Date/Year: 2012, 2013, etc.

'20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'

Attached: Only half of Hollywood
Status: It's a race to the finish to see which studio can complete their version of the classic 1870 Jules Verne novel first: Disney is reportedly trying to get David Fincher to helm their adaptation, while Fox has producers Ridley and Tony Scott working on a version with director Timur Bekmambetov. Of course, Disney has done this before -- their 1954 adaptation was a massive hit -- but whether or not that will give them a leg up this time remains to be seen. In the meantime, a third version by much smaller Ghost House has jumped into the mix, slated for 2012. Three down, 19,997 to go
Release Date/Year: 2012, 2013, ad infinitum.

'The Seventh Son'

Attached: Sam Claflin, Julianne Moore, Jeff Bridges, Alicia Vikander
Status: Everything is going full steam ahead for this adaptation of Joseph Delaney's young adult fantasy novel "The Spook's Apprentice" -- everything except the title, that is. After trying out a number of monikers including "The Last Apprentice," producers finally settled on "The Seventh Son," just in time to also settle on a cast that includes Sam Claflin in the lead and Oscar winner Jeff Bridges as his magical mentor. With everything seemingly in place, it's possible we could see this in theaters next year, but for now a 2013 release date is the official company line.
Release Date/Year: 2013

'Legacy of Secrecy'

Attached: Leonardo DiCaprio
Status: Nearly 50 years after his death, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy continues to fascinate Hollywood and the latest example is one of the next projects for superstar Leonardo DiCaprio: Based on the 2008 book of the same name by Lamar Waldron and Thom Hartmann, "Legacy of Secrecy" tells the story of an FBI informant who claims to know the truth behind the shocking murder. Warner Bros. is pushing this into production with an eye on a 50^th anniversary release in 2013.
Release Date/Year: 2013

'Robopocalypse'

Attached: Director Steven Spielberg
Status: Spielberg is set to produce and direct this post-apocalyptic robot thriller from author and all-around robot guy Daniel H. Wilson. Don't worry if you've never heard of "Robopocalypse," though; the book isn't even going to be published until next year, so there's no reason on God's Earth why you should know about it unless you're either working for Spielberg or, of course, reading this story. That's just how inside you are now. Production on the film isn't set to begin until January of 2012, so you have lots of time to prepare your anti-robot defenses.
Release Date/Year: 2013

Quirk Books

'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies'

Attached: Director Craig Gillespie
Status:Less than a month after Seth Grahame-Smith's mashup novel "Pride and Prejudice and Zomies" -- a take off, of course, of Jane Austin's 1813 classic "Pride and Prejudice" -- hit stands last year, there was already a deal in place to bring it to the big screen. Mike Smith, whose only previous directing experience was the arthouse comedy "Year of the Dog," has been charged with bringing the film to life (or rather, to undeath) and a script is already in place, leaving just the minor details of finding a cast and filming them. "Fright Night" director Craig Gillespie is reportedly on board for a 2013 release. Hey, take your time, guys.
Release Date/Year: 2013

'The Piano Tuner'

Attached: Director Werner Herzog
Status: Daniel Mason's 2003 novel about a man charged with the mission of tuning a piano in 19^th century Burma in order to help soothe political turmoil between the locals and the British Empire may not immediately seem like the most likely candidate for a big-screen treatment. But it makes a lot more sense once you hear that legendary auteur Werner Herzog is directing it; the environment and stoyline sounds just about perfect for the mind behind films like "Aguirre: The Wrath of God." We're looking forward to this one.
Release Date/Year: 2013

'Hyperion'

Attached: Bradley Cooper (rumored)
Status: "The Day the Earth Stood Still" director Scott Derrickson is behind this adaptation of this seminal 1989 sci-fi epic from author Dan Simmons. "Hyperion" shouldn't be confused with the John Keats poem or the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow novel of the same name; the story of seven pilgrims heading to the shrine of a deadly alien being is actually based in part on Geoffrey Chaucer's classic "Canterbury Tales." Of course, in Hollywood, that and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee, which may explain why Warner Bros. hasn't yet begun casting this tricky adaptation, though Bradley Cooper is rumored to be… at least interested in reading the books. Hey, it's a start.
Release Date/Year: 2013

'Girls Like Us'

Attached: Director Katie Jacobs
Status: Screenwriter John Sayles, who previously wrote the adaptation of "The Spiderwick Chronicles" for the big screen, has been tapped to write up the script for this story of the early lives of the singer/songwriter trio of Carly Simon, Joni Mitchell and Carole King. Katie Jacobs, who makes her living as executive producer of Fox's wildly popular TV series "House M.D.," is producing and will be stepping behind the camera for her directorial debut. The script is still being written, though, so casting is still a long way off.
Release Date/Year: 2013

'A Wrinkle in Time'

Attached: N/A
Status: In a post-"Harry Potter" world, Madeline L'Engle's seminal young adult fantasy novel would seem like a no-brainer, considering " A Wrinkle in Time" is one of the foundations of the entire genre. And apparently Disney agrees, as it is teaming with Bedrock Studios to adapt the book for the big screen. Right now the movie is still in the early stages, but it seems to be in pretty good hands; Jeff Stockwell, who previously penned the acclaimed adaptation of the young adult classic "Bridge to Terabithia" for Disney, is working on a screenplay.
Release Date/Year: 2013

'The Martian Chronicles'

Attached: N/A
Status: "The Martian Chronicles," which tells the story of humanity's attempt to colonize Mars and the subsequent nuclear war waged against the red planet's native inhabitants, has been an acknowledged sci-fi classic ever since Ray Bradbury wrote it over 60 years ago. So Paramount's decision to try a big-budget adaptation makes sense. Less clear? The fact that producer John Davis is heading the attempt; after all, Davis is best known for films like "Garfield," "Marmaduke," "Dr. Doolittle" and "Daddy Day Camp." But, hey, who knows.
Release Date/Year: 2013

'Men Are From Mars…'

Attached: N/A
Status:John Gray's wildly popular and occasionally controversial book on relationships, "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus," blew up book stores when it dropped like a megabomb back in 1992 but so far has defied attempts to turn it into a movie. This is likely because, you know, it's a self-help book, meaning there are no characters or plot. That didn't stop it from already being turned into a TV talk show back in 200 (starring, obviously, former "Monkees" drummer Mickey Dolenz), but hopefully this time around they come up with a way to make it work on the big screen; "Leap Year" writer Harry Elfont is currently hard at work trying to do just that.
Release Date/Year: 2013

'Wake'

Attached: Miley Cyrus
Status: Our good pals (and, you know, employers) over at MTV are set to distribute this adaptation of Lisa McMann's bestselling 2008 young adult thriller about a girl who develops the power to enter other people's dreams. One of several books being developed around Hollywood in hopes of capturing the post-"Twilight" crowd, "Wake" will likely star teen singing sensation Miley Cyrus in the lead role, which could give her a nice career boost should the film prove successful enough to warrant filming the two sequels, "Fade" and "Gone." The fact that the release date has been pushed back again, this time to 2013, may be due to Cyrus' busy schedule.
Release Date/Year: 2013

'The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner'

Summit

Attached: Jodelle Ferland (rumored)
Status: So what is Hollywood going to do once the "Twilight Saga" has ended? Easy: make more "Twilight" movies anyway. At least, that's the rumor that surfaced last, as "The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner" is apparently being bandied about by the powers that be for its own full-length film adaptation. Jodelle Ferland played the doomed Bree in "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" and recently told reporters the film was still a distinct possibility, but unless they go into production right away, chances are she'll be too old to play Bree by the time they get the ball rolling. Darn those ageless vampires!
Release Date/Year: N/A

'How to Survive a Robot Uprising'

Attached: Jack Black
Status: Daniel H. Wilson is aiming for a rare Hollywood two-fer: Not only is his 2005 tongue-in-cheek guide to the coming robotpocalypse being made into a film by "Hot Tub Time Machine" director Steve Pink, but the upcoming sequel that describes that robotpocalypse (titled, appropriately, "Robotpocalypse") is also being made into a movie (more about it later on our list). Jack Black is rumored to be the star of choice for Wilson's attempt to both set it up and knock it down.
Release Date/Year: N/A

'Airborn'

Attached: Christian Vandal, Styna Whatman
Status: If you check your online resources, you'll see that this adaptation of Kenneth Oppel's popular young adult novel is listed as having a 2011 release date. Considering that director Stephen Sommers is currently in the process of filming "Odd Thomas," however,  a 2011 release date is extremely unlikely -- if this project is even still alive at all. We still have high hopes that Sommers can pull things together, though, because we really want to see this award winning series get the treatment it deserves.
Release Date/Year: N/A

Originally published Nov. 23, 2010; Updated with new titles April 18, 2011.

JamesWorks

Who is Jason Bourne?

Once upon a time, that was just a tagline for "The Bourne Identity," but three hit films later, it's become an industry meme. Universal Studios is now searching for someone to take on the task of stepping into Matt Damon's shoes in the franchise's upcoming fourth installment, "The Bourne Legacy."

Everybody wants to know who the next Jason Bourne will be  -- and we can exclusively report the answer might be Erryn Arkin, as the Australian actor read for a role in "The Bourne Legacy" just last week.

Of course, Arkin wouldn't actually be playing Bourne himself, as the studio is still holding out hopes that Damon will eventually want to reprise his role as the memory-challenged super spy. Instead, "The Bourne Legacy" focuses on how the events in the "Bourne" trilogy affect some of the other top black ops agents out in the field -- and that, in turn, means there are opportunities for new faces to make big names for themselves as Bourne stand-ins.

It's an opportunity that Arkin welcomes.

"The entire Bourne series is so compelling in many ways," Arkin told NextMovie in an email. "It's great to be considered among the actors who are testing for this exciting project at the moment."

If picked for the gig, Arkin would be the latest Australian star to storm America's shores; while he is still mostly unknown on this side of the pond, the veteran actor has been a staple of Aussie TV for years and has several films in the pipeline, including "Man on a Ledge" opposite Sam Worthington and Elizabeth Banks.

A mysterious figure who comes out of nowhere to save the day? Sounds to us like Arkin is already on his way to becoming Hollywood's own Jason Bourne.

Getty Images

Tony Gilroy's quasi-sequel spin-off thing to the "Bourne" series, which will not actually feature Jason Bourne, has become a hot piece of real estate in Hollywood.

Many young actors are champing at the bit to take up the mantle of high-intensity shaky-cam action hero from Matt Damon, and, in the first week of April, they'll get their chance to go before cameras and pose with all the weapons Damon's rogue spy was best known for utilizing (gun, cell phone, book, etc).

Deadline reports that the following beefcake slabs will get their shot at living up to "The Bourne Legacy" next week: Joel Edgerton ("The Thing"), Dominic Cooper ("Mamma Mia!," "An Education"), Garrett Hedlund ("TRON: Legacy," "On The Road") and Luke Evans ("Clash Of The Titans," "The Three Musketeers").

Interestingly enough, Cooper and Evans played opposite each other as romantic rivals in "Tamara Drewe," and now the two Brits are letting that competition bleed into real life. Representin' the US of A is Hedlund, who has proven how "Country Strong" he is but is he "strong" strong? Ozzie thesp Edgerton made a splash last year in "Animal Kingdom," and after years of toiling in the background of big movies (he has maybe two lines between the two "Star Wars" prequels he was in) this could be just the break he needs, assuming he can break a dude's neck with a karate chop.

According to the piece, these are not the only muscle men in contention for "Bourne Legacy" either, as more established stars like Shia LaBeouf and Taylor Kitsch are also in discussion for the role but, as of now, have refused to screentest. Well la-de-freakin-da.

Getty Images

Matt Damon was honored at the Critics' Choice Awards last night for co-founding Water.org, an organization dedicated to providing safe drinking water and sanitation to developing countries.  Damon continued to speak up in the press room, reiterating how every 15 seconds a child dies from having no access to clean water. 

On a lighter note, the "True Grit" star's eyes lit up when the subject of Jason Bourne came up, admitting that he hopes he will be able to get back in action and return for another installment, contrary to previous reports!

"I really hope it's gonna happen... It's really up to Paul Greengrass.," Damon told the press.

"I always said I wouldn't do [another one] without him... I think it would be a bad idea to do it without Paul," Damon continued.  "[Greengrass] is probably going to do one or two other films that he's got cooking, but then after... I think enough time's passed that it won't matter if we wait five more years to do it."

So will we really have to wait five years to get Bourne again? Perhaps. Will the fourth adventure be based on the 2004 novel, "The Bourne Legacy?"  There's always the possibility that project will go on and shoot without him for its planned 2012 release, and Damon will hold back and wait to star in one of the subsequent stories.  Nothing is confirmed.  The one thing we do know is that if and when Damon resumes his Identity for box-office Supremacy, we can count on a worthy continuation of the series.

Damon explained, "We just want to make sure if we do it, we do it right.  There's been a lot of pressure... because it's successful. But that's that moment you have to step back and make sure you make it for the right reasons.  When we feel like it's the right time, I think Paul will be open to doing it."

Here's hoping that Greengrass retracts recent statements that he was finished with the franchise and that the "right time" comes sooner than later, leading to the birth of a new Bourne before 2016!

Universal

Production is rapidly forging ahead on the upcoming fourth entry in the popular "Bourne" franchise, directed by Tony Gilroy.

Here's what we know: the movie, slated to come out in 2012, is called "The Bourne Legacy" and will further explore the series mythology by introducing a new bad guy assassin who is tangled up with the mysterious government agency Treadstone. And Matt Damon won't be starring in it.

And because Damon won't be there, "Bourne Legacy" won't have Bourne in it at all. Instead, it'll feature an all-new superspy as the main character living in his world. This got us to thinking -- who in Hollywood has the stones to step into Damon's iconic shoes?

The possibilities are pretty much endless -- Joseph Gordon-Levitt? Alex O'Laughlin? Seth Rogen? -- but we've managed to narrow it down to a few worthy finalists.  Here, then, are our top picks for the role of America's top secret agent:

Mark Wahlberg

Hey, if one hardscrabble Boston boy isn't available, why not turn to another instead? Wahlberg's proven in films like "Shooter" and "The Departed" that he's got the action gene and the acting chops to pull off the dramatic mix that the "Bourne" franchise demands. His biggest problem would probably be finding time in his busy schedule to fit in another film.

Idris Elba

As Russell "Stringer" Bell on "The Wire," Elba blew away critics and fans alike, but so far he hasn't found the right film franchise to turn him into the superstar he so obviously deserves to be; "Bourne Legacy" would be a big step up from stuff like "The Losers," for instance. This needs to happen.

Chris Pine

Are we the only ones who think Pine is Damon's secret brother or something? He's got that perfect, clean-cut, all-American look and would make a fitting follow-up to Damon's corn-fed goodness. Plus, thanks to 'Star Trek," he's already proven he can headline a successful relaunch, a vital skill given the iffiness of staging a "Bourne" production sans Bourne himself.

Noomi Rapace

Who says we can't have a Jill Bourne, right? Rapace enthralled audiences as the tough-as-nails computer hacker Lisbeth Salander in foreign version of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" series and she's fast becoming Hollywood's hottest new commodity. We'd love to see what she can do in a big budget, high profile espionage thriller like "The Bourne Legacy."

Jake Gyllenhaal

We wanted to make sure Rapace wasn't the only pretty face on the list, so we included the dewey-eyed Gyllenhaal as the sensitive man's action hero. But don't let those baby-faced looks fool you: behind that boyish exterior lies the heart of a cold blooded action killer, as proven in films like "Jarhead" and "Prince of Persia."

Robert Pattinson

Let's think: what does the star of a "Bourne" movie need to do? He needs to be able to pull off action sequences; he needs to be able to do some deep brooding; and he needs to do both while looking good. A brooding, good looking action star? That's what Pattinson's business cards say, people. Could there be a more perfect fit for the part than RPattz? We didn't think so either.

Donald Glover

Okay, so Glover, who's best known as Troy Barnes on the popular sitcom "Community," isn't exactly the most obvious choice for the role. But that's why we think he would be so great. Why go for the expected when you can go for the unexpected? Plus, we're still disappointed that he didn't land the lead in "Spider-man," so this seems like the next best thing. Are you listening, Hollywood?

OK, so now that you have our supreme seven, tell us what you think!

(All photos by Getty Images)

Universal

The realm of international intrigue just got a little less intriguing with Jason Bourne going completely underground.

It has been confirmed that Matt Damon will not be appearing in the fourth installment of the "Bourne" franchise, "The Bourne Legacy."  Jason Bourne is gone -- for now, that is.

According to Collider and as we previously posted, director Tony Gilroy will be exploring the "world around Jason Bourne" in "The Bourne Legacy," going deeper into the CIA conspiracy and exploring the secrets of Treadstone and Blackbriar.

While Bourne himself won't be appearing, his presence will most definitely be felt throughout "The Bourne Legacy," and the film could be setting up Jason's eventual return.

However, the question is: Does anyone really want to see a "Bourne" movie without, well, Bourne?  Matt Damon is the heart and soul of those movies.  Mr. Gilroy is taking quite the risk with his Bourne-less "Legacy."

"The Bourne Legacy" opens in Aug. 2012.  We'll see if anyone shows up.

Universal

Jason Bourne lives on, though maybe not in the way you were expecting.

As a follow-up to the announcement on Deadline that Tony Gilroy ("Michael Clayton," "Duplicity") has signed on to direct "The Bourne Legacy," Gilroy himself has chimed in with some details on the fourth installment of the action franchise at Hollywood Elsewhere.

Gilroy insists that "Legacy" is not a reboot or prequel to the "Bourne" trilogy, which starred Matt Damon as an amnesiac rogue CIA agent being hunted by his own organization.

"No one's replacing Matt Damon," says Gilroy.  "There will be a whole new hero, a whole new chapter... This is a stand-alone project."

Gilroy also says that while Matt Damon will not be appearing in the film, Jason Bourne is very much alive.

"The easiest way to think of ["The Bourne Legacy"] is as an expansion or reveal.  What happened in the first three films is the trigger for what happens. I'm building a legend and an environment and a wider conspiracy... the world we're making enhances and advances and invites Jason Bourne's return [down the road]."

Gilroy also says that while the project is taking the title of "The Bourne Legacy" from Robert Ludlum's novel, the original screenplay is not based on the book.

Actually, this all sounds like a conspiracy in and of itself... as it should be.