While Monster director Patty Jenkins would have been a fascinating choice to direct the upcoming Thor 2, she dropped out after some creative disagreements with Marvel. C’est la vie. Now, after a brief search, the job falls to Alan Taylor. According to Deadline Marienville, the Game of Thrones director will be telling Chris Hemsworth where to point his hammer. What else is there to be said here? The first film had a classically trained Irish talent better known for his Shakespearean work (and for his ridiculous mustache-beard combination in Wild Wild West). The sequel now has an extensive television resume in the driver’s seat – work that spans from the action drama of Game of Thrones to the sassy whatever of Sex and the City to the dry wit of Bored to Death. If Taylor’s previous work is any indication, the second film might become something of a true adult drama. Of course, his feature film work to date includes the historical comedy (that was actually pretty damned funny) The Emperor’s New Clothes. Otherwise, it’s mostly dramatic work at play here. The film is scheduled for release in November of 2013, so they’ve got some breathing room. Plus, Thor will be seen next in The Avengers next summer, meaning we can’t go a year without seeing that cape. We just can’t get away from it. It’s also funny how much the feel of this article would change if the headline had been “‘Sex and the City’ Director tapped for ‘Thor [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

Wow. Wow is all there is. With all eyes on Christopher Nolan to find a fitting ending for the massive phenomenon that he’s turned into an even more massive phenomenon, the director and everyone involved seems to have pointed beyond the bleachers and out into the parking lot with this full length trailer for The Dark Knight Rises. It’s got Christian Bale getting existential as Batman, Tom Hardy as Bane looking ominous with a bomb and Anne Hathaway representing the unwashed masses as a masked Selina Kyle. In fact, it’s got enough red meat to make any old fan happy – and to prove that Nolan and company are not shying away from the greatness of their challenge.

Just because it was raked over the critical coals this past summer doesn’t mean that Green Lantern can’t be fun. And even though St. Patrick’s Day is five months away, this would be a perfect time to get your hands on some green beer and watch the film again on DVD or Blu-ray (or if you’re really ambitious, on 3D Blu-ray). Remember that a Green Lantern’s might comes from the power of will. Here is your chance to test the strength of your will and intestinal fortitude. Who knows? By the end of the movie, you might just believe that you can create things with your mind.

Hopefully the spoiler warning is loud and clear enough here, and, yes, I still take them seriously. Even if a fancy scientific study shows that we like things that are familiar, there’s still no replacement for being surprised or awe-struck with the wonder of newness. So if you’re avoiding information about Superman: Man of Steel, you can stop reading now. And if you keep reading, simply know that all of this might be untrue – it’s the work of an “insider” with the production that scoop site Comic Book Movie trusts. Their track record is pretty stellar, but nothing is confirmed until it’s truly confirmed.

“What I’m doing is more important than who I am.” The words of a man wearing a cloth skeleton mask over his face, a fedora, and a full length trench coat that hides every inch of skin. He is inhuman. Completely anonymous. And yet, his words ring true. His actions speak louder than what he’s wearing and who he defines himself as. He’s a real-life superhero. In a cinema world saturated by them, Michael Barnett chose to turn the cameras on those among us who don a cape and cowl in order to patrol the streets. The documentary Superheroes gets to the very heart of noble intentions, dangerous work, and a complex sense of humanity that comes from trying to be something beyond human.

Director Joe Johnston loves good old fashioned fun. The Rocketeer, Hidalgo, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, and Captain America: The First Avenger don’t contain a dark or cynical bone in their bodies. While some superhero films try to go to darker places nowadays — usually by just having their hero mope around — Johnston has no interest in a sulky hero. Captain America is all about adventure, charms, and simply being a kid from Brooklyn. While many people question if Cap can reach an audience outside of the States, Johnston thinks differently. The Boba Fett and Iron Giant creator didn’t want to make a commercial about America’s awesomeness; he wanted to explore themes that nearly everyone can relate to. Like his previous films, the idea of finding one’s identity and coming of age is present in Captain America: The First Avenger. Despite being a super solider who looks the way that he does, Captain America is like any other kid trying to become the man he’s meant to be. Here’s what Joe Johnston had to say about Raiders of the Lost Ark, fully embracing the color palette of comics, the ego of Red Skull, staying sincere without being cheesy, and why he’s a true film school reject:

It’s tricky tackling a comic book film. For starters, one is generally adapting fairly fantastical ideas. Secondly, if a comic book film gets too serious, it can easily lose a sense of fun and self-awareness. Director Matthew Vaughn seems to have found a good middle ground for his superhero epic, X-Men: First Class. The genre favorite director could not have made more of a 180° turn from Kick-Ass to X-Men: First Class, both in terms of scope and his approach to the genre. Kick-Ass was the first – or most notable – modern comic book film to turn the genre on its bloody ear. Now, Vaughn is working in the genre he just previously deconstructed, which, as Vaughn says, makes him even better suited for it. Here’s what the candid and always confident Matthew Vaughn had to say about not taking comic book properties too seriously, making a film for his broadest audience ever, and reading fanboys on the internet.

Last year, I had the honor of traveling down to New Orleans, piling in a van, heading to a secluded warehouse and talking to an alien. I also spoke with the first human member of an elite group of interstellar heroes, a director who has more energy than anyone at his age has a right to, and I got a glimpse into a world beyond our own. So before comic book purists protest the insanely small number listed in the headline, these are the Green Lanterns hanging up on a wall somewhere in New Orleans – character design sketches to fill out the alien landscape of those who bravely, selflessly, and fearlessly patrol the universe. Some were born from the comic books, others from the minds of the production team. Some will be featured heavily, others will be hanging out (valiantly) in the background. We’ll be bringing Green Lantern set visit coverage to you all week, but to get things started, we figured it would be a good idea to do a round of introductions. Some you already know, and some you haven’t yet had the pleasure, so we wanted to make it official. Green Lanterns, meet the world. The world, meet the Green Lanterns.

Why Watch? Because all week long we’ll be featuring short films featuring the gang from Community. Today’s comes from the show’s creator Dan Harmon. Since we featured an Oscar nominee yesterday, this should show the…range…of the column. Harmon’s short (which is totally, legitimately listed on IMDB) is immature, slightly insane, and it creates the kind of laughter that you feel embarrassed by. The kind of humor that makes you immediately need to read a religious text in the shower. When Dan (the character, played by Dan Harmon) eats a burrito from a malfunctioning microwave, he gains the power to shoot lasers out of his anus. With a rapist murderer stalking the city, how will Dan put his new powers to good use? Maybe by trying to kill the rapist murderer? Maybe! From humble beginnings, the man who brought us Community. What Will It Cost? Just 3 minutes of your time. Check out Laser Fart for yourself:

Sorry Wonder Woman fans, but the patriotically clad superheroine won’t be coming to television screens anytime soon, at least not on NBC. Considering how all the other networks passed on the project from the start, I’m not sure there’s any network left for it, unless the CW wanted to weaken its line-up. Zing. As nerds on the internet, it is our job to question why this show was canceled. After all, we love comics and we love TV, so there you go. After many seconds of deep, introspective thought, I figured out why Wonder Woman won’t be appearing on any screen in the near future. Wonder Woman sucks, that’s why.

Jaws didn’t mean to do it, but Summer has become the biggest business in movie-making. This summer, we’re getting a new batch of movies that the studios are hoping to be gigantic, but thankfully for us, they fit into 6 handy categories. Rob Hunter and Cole Abaius have worked tirelessly (except for five or ten naps) in order to break these movies down and present them to you. What will you be watching this summer? What excites you the most? What do you have the highest hopes for? These films all have the potential to bust blocks, but will it be your block they’re busting? Here they are, the six types of films coming out in the following months.

After minutes of speculation, it looks like Warners may have settled on the director of steel to take on Superman. Zack Snyder is an unsurprising name considering his working relationship with the studio and his position as a hit maker (particularly among the comic book world). However, they might need to rethink that “faster than a bullet” thing. [Deadline Topeka]

As the only literate Reject, it’s my duty to find the latest, the greatest and the untouched classics that would make great source material for film adaptations. I read so you don’t have to. This week, Print to Projector presents the story of a library destroyed, a desperate move to secure the hope of the future, and the 99 superheroes that emerge.

Marvel Studios hitting hard out of the gate with Iron Man as their first independent production was a lot like seeing a high school draftee hit a home run in his first major league appearance. Hence, the blended horse racing and baseball analogies. It was equal parts right place, right time, and right cultural momentum blended with choosing the right personnel to bring the lesser-known hero to life. This was the beginning of a huge new moment in superhero films. Fans had grown exhausted by Fox’s attempts to understand comic books, and 2007′s melee attack of Ghost Rider, Spider-Man 3, and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer had audiences reeling. Thus, the news that Marvel would be striking out on their own to make their own way in the world was refreshing. The comic book people were going to be making comic book movies. Unfortunately, there’s a problem that threatens to slow Marvel’s momentum and change the way it makes movies altogether.

For some reason, they also show Ryan Reynolds with bleached out hair. Because that’s what Superheroes do.

After the usual editorials about the death of a genre, I’d like to offer some common sense.

When you think of American Gladiators, the television game show of sorts from the late-80s and early-90s, I’m not sure that you think about superheroes.

We tow the line between spoiling everything (we don’t spoil anything) and educating (just some slight preparation) in order to give a decent look at what to expect from a film based on a book that you might not have read yet.

Watchmen extras give us proof that the U.S. won the Viet Nam War, that flamethrowers make a handy accessory and that giant, blue supermen walk among us.

Does it make you a pervert if you choose Invisibility over Flight? Yes. But it doesn’t keep you from making a great film.