What exactly is this new movie Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges are starring in, called R.I.P.D.? In one respect it’s a comic book movie, seeing as it was adapted from a Peter M. Lenkov graphic novel. In another it’s your typical buddy cop movie, seeing as it teams the new guy on a police force up with the grizzled veteran and sends them out on a case. When you watch this new trailer for the film, you can make connections between it and Men in Black, Ghostbusters, or heck.. even Robocop, so any way you slice it, it sounds like a genre fan’s dream come true. That’s in concept though, in execution things tend not to be so cut and dry, so you’re probably going to have to hit the jump and check out the trailer for yourself.

One of this summer’s less-heralded comic adaptations is Universal’s supernaturally-tinged buddy cop flick R.I.P.D. starring Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds. The latter plays a cop who’s gunned down in the line of duty but comes back to life and joins a very special police unit. The Rest In Peace Department is staffed with undead law enforcement tasked with capturing evil souls, and with their help he sets out to find those responsible for his murder. If it sounds like a mash-up between Dead Heat and Men In Black it’s because it pretty much is a mash-up between Dead Heat and Men In Black. The film is based on the Dark Horse comic series by Peter M. Lenkov and hits theaters July 19th.

Oh, look, it’s time for another Friday edition of Release Date Round-Up, packed to the metaphorical gills with release date changes, switcheroos, change-ups, and push-arounds for all sorts of big-time studio films. Like what, you may ask, what films, why now, why should I care? Well, do you care about the final installment in the never-ending saga that is The Hobbit? Are you anxious to know when you can see Wally Pfister‘s directorial debut? Dying to know which upcoming comic book adaptation is now going the (not totally unexpected) 3D route? Sure ya do. After the break, find out just how much your movie-going schedule is going to change in the coming months. Get ready to change those iCals, folks.

In a genius casting move, R.I.P.D. has brought on Victoria’s Secret model Marisa Miller to act as a beautiful, empty vessel. That’s not a knock on Ms. Miller (who I don’t know personally and couldn’t judge), but a grand statement on the minor trend of hiring models to act. So far, the scientific results of the experiment have been a failure. Although, in a karmic way, I imagine it’s partial payback for so many movie stars being hired as voice actors. They push voice actors out of work, and now models are pushing them out of jobs. The only end to this circle is to see voice actors become models. Billy West in a bikini is our new future now. In the film, Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges both play dead detectives who wrap up cases with dead souls who refuse to move on. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Miller will play the body that Bridges’s character chooses to manifest his ghostly self as when walking amongst the living. It sounds like a small role to be used solely as a gag (and hopefully with Bridges’s gruff tones coming out of Miller’s mouth). So, yes, in a play of stunning exactitude, a super model has been hired to walk around, look good and be inhabited by a better actor.

We announced a year ago that Universal was pushing to get R.I.P.D. off the ground in a major way. If they can close Zach Galifianakis for a co-starring role, that ground is going to be a memory. According to the LA Times, Galifianakis is discussing playing the sidekick role to Ryan Reynolds’s Nick Cruz character – a man murdered who makes a deal to give a century of service to the Rest In Peace Department in exchange for the shot at revenge. Based on the Dark Horse comic by Peter Lenkov, the movie should have an action comedy and feature a lot of souls who don’t want to cross over just yet. This all re-raises some questions about Reynolds’s schedule. He’s said before that he would either do R.I.P.D. or Deadpool, but not both. If this ends up shooting this summer, does it kill Deadpool for Reynolds? Plus, even though David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers) isn’t directing R.I.P.D. anymore (Red director Robert Schwentke is), Reynolds is set to work with Dobkin this fall on The Change-Up which features him switching bodies with Jason Batemen so Batemen’s character can score with Olivia Wilde. Regardless of the other projects, R.I.P.D. is a flick I’ve been looking forward to for a long time. It’s a different brand of comic book movie, and it could be darkly comedic like a version of Lethal Weapon done by way of Constantine. Galifianakis makes a great addition.

In this exclusive interview, Cole takes Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi back to their middle school required reading list and gets the skinny on Clash.

The “buddy comedy in a world of sci-fi and action” might be closer to pre-production than we previously thought.