Development has really been heating up the over that Justice League movie. A few months ago, Gangster Squad writer Will Beall was hired to handle script duties, there was word Warner Bros. was eying Ben Affleck to direct, and then we got a director short list including the Wachowskis, Ruben Fleischer, and, who could forget, Brett Ratner. Today the project became even more real, thanks to a resolved legal dispute. The Los Angeles Times is reporting the studio is gearing up fast for a 2013 shoot and a 2015 release, which would pit the film up against The Avengers 2. After that, mostly depending on whether the film’s a hit or not, Warners would then follow up the film with a reboot of Batman and solo films following whatever heroes they decide to put in the movie. So if any of you have been holding your breath for a Hawkman movie, then perhaps your big dream may finally come true.

Last week, the utterly shocking news broke that not only was Warner Bros. pursuing a Justice League movie, but it also was in no way at all ever influenced by the unbridled financial success of Marvel’s The Avengers. We can all believe that, can’t we? After all, we read it on the internet. With Man of Steel coming out next year and a no-brainer Batman reboot coming now that Christopher Nolan’s movies are wrapping up this summer, this is an opportunity for Warner Bros. and DC to set a new stage. Plus, with adaptations of The Flash and Lobo, and the potential for a Green Lantern reboot, Warner Bros. and DC have things laid out for them to work out very similar to the pre-Avengers line of films. But this is Hollywood, and so many things can go potentially wrong with a project like this. Here are seven ways Warner Bros. can avoid a potential disaster as they develop this film series.

Sure, The Avengers being really awesome probably had a lot to do with the fact that it’s now the third most money-making movie of all time. But, more than that, the film probably has Marvel’s long term planning to thank for its extreme level of success. Instead of just making a movie about a team of superheroes, Marvel first introduced each member of the team in their own films, they dropped hints about the fact that they would all be coming together at some point, and, when it was all said and done, The Avengers finally premiered after six years of build-up and anticipation. That’s pretty unprecedented. Seeing as they own DC Comics, Warner Bros also has a fairly impressive stable of superheroes at their command. And they’ve even managed to leverage their properties into a bunch of successful animated television shows in the past. But, in recent years, the only character they’ve had any real success with in the live-action feature format is Batman. They’re not even close to doing something with DC’s premier superhero team, The Justice League, that could be on par with what Marvel did with The Avengers.

I’m not afraid of a little capitalism. Hey, we all embrace it, working every day for the man in the city, or stealing shit. Unless you’re high on bath salts and living off the faces of hobos, you need money. People who have money want more money. Money makes the world go round. When people don’t make the money they think they deserve, or the money they want, or they just think that more money would be better, they complain about it. Hollywood is full of whiny babies, whether it’s studios, actors, directors, or theater  chains. They’re all obsessing over money. There are at least a dozen different boiling points that could be about money and who’s crying the most, but this one points the finger at the theater chains.

Now that The Avengers is a Hulk-sized hit on North American shores as well as overseas, the big question is what will Joss Whedon do next. As seen in this interview with Collider, the man appears to be pretty damn tired from this monster film that officially wrapped only a couple weeks ago. But Hollywood moves fast, and Marvel Studios moves even faster. Acolytes of Whedon are sounding the charge as if a revolution has occurred that makes the later seasons of his shows pale in comparison. The question is will Whedon be courted by the inevitable Avengers 2? Will he resurrect his TV series onto the big screen? Will Neil Patrick Harris be involved in any way? Here are the main options Whedon has before him.

When you think of the typical action hero, the image that immediately leaps to mind is undoubtedly that of a bloody, bandana-clad dude with a massive gun, or a rouge tough guy cop, or perhaps a macho kung-fu master. In other words…males. While action is a genre long dominated by men, there have been a few notable (read: 100% ass-kicking) action heroines that have left their own indelible mark: Sigourney Weaver in Aliens, Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2, and Uma Thurman in Kill Bill. To that list, we must now certainly add Gina Carano, star of Steven Soderbergh’s recent action thriller Haywire. Gina however had the advantage of being a certified badass long before throwing her first punch on screen. She is a longtime student of Muay Thai, a former champion MMA fighter, and was in fact involved in some of the first sanctioned female fights in MMA history. With knockout after knockout Carano, an undeniable knockout herself, proved that beauty and strength were far from mutually exclusive. Her work in Haywire, coupled with her successful MMA career, inspired the head honchos at ActionFest to create a new award for which she will be the first recipient. The Chick Norris Best Female Action Star Award, playfully adapted from the name of fest founder (and action legend in his own right) Chuck Norris, celebrates the contribution women have made and continue to make to action cinema. We got a chance to talk to Gina about the award, about Haywire, and, oddly,

What is Movie News After Dark? Usually it’s a recap of what’s happening in the world of film. But on a slow news day such as today with FSR news teamers like Nathan Adams having already done that, News After Dark becomes something far more interesting: a gathering of links that will take you down the rabbit hole of the intelligent thought, analysis and otherwise fun reading that the movie blogosphere has to offer. Also, there was plenty of Mondo news today, so that’s good. We begin tonight with a first look at Ryan Gosling in Only God Forgives, Nicolas Winding Refn’s next film that is currently shooting in Thailand. Radius-TWC, an off-shoot of The Weinstein Co., has closed a deal to distribute the film in the United States. Which means you’ll get to see it. And that’s really all that matters, right?

What is Movie News After Dark? Every night, it brings to you a collection of movie and pop culture news that will thrill you, chill you and if you’re not careful, spill you all over the floor. Tonight it takes on a new look — instead of the usual news-news-news-poster-news-news-news-video format, it’s almost all movie posters We begin this evening with a shot of Wonder Woman giving herself a breast exam. Earlier this week, someone told me that my nightly meanderings through the world of pop culture news needed to be sexier. What could be sexier than the fight against breast cancer? Nobody’s immune, people.

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a nightly movie news column that would like you to know that you should not be afraid, for there is far more news in tonight’s edition than the title above might suggest. The title is just a tease to whet your appetite for destruction. Today marked the first official day of shooting on Skyfall, the new James Bond film. The photo above was tweeted out by @007, the official James Bond twitter account, revealing the board for the first shot. In related news: Roger Deakins is shooting this movie? Awesome.

Director Nicolas Winding Refn is making quite a name for himself in the film lover community by making stylish, testosterone-filled films for guys. He blew everybody away by casting Tom Hardy in a movie about an alpha male criminal named Bronson that was so mannishly awesome my meathead, physical trainer cousin watched it three times a week for a year. And recently he started taking his newest effort Drive around to festivals. It’s about cars, robberies, stunt driving, and violence, and everyone who sees it completely gushes about how much it rules. Refn has done other things too, like Valhalla Rising and the Pusher trilogy, that all explore manly themes of violence and grimacing. He’s a man’s man of a filmmaker. It’s a little strange then, that Refn keeps saying his dream job is to make a movie about the girliest of all superheroes, Wonder Woman. Or maybe not so much, if you really look at it. Wonder Woman is a warrior born, an overpowering presence that inspires everyone around her, and she was raised in a culture of violence. Despite getting her face plastered all over little girl’s underwear for the last fifty years, she’s actually kind of a badass, much in the same vein as Bronson. And whenever Refn randomly brings the movie up, he always manages to throw in the notion that he thinks Drive actress Christina Hendricks would be his dream choice to play the character. What could be more appealing to male sensibilities than putting

Actress Adrianne Palicki, fresh off of a press tour where she tried on a bunch of Wonder Woman outfits or something, has already landed her next big job. The Friday Night Lights veteran is set to make her highest profile jump to the big screen yet when she joins the cast of G.I. Joe: Cobra Strikes. There has been a lot of casting news coming out about this one in the last few days, and it’s reportedly because Cobra Strikes got put on the fast track for a release next summer once it became clear that the Star Trek sequel was going to need more time to get made. Recently we’ve gotten news that Dwayne Johnson has joined the cast as Roadblock, the RZA as the Blind Master, and D.J. Cotrona as Flint. Palicki has been chosen to play Lady Jaye, and if I remember my cartoon continuity correctly, she was often romantically entangled with Flint. It might then be important to speculate on whether or not there is any onscreen chemistry to be had between Palicki and Cotrona. On the other hand, if I remember my G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra continuity correctly, onscreen chemistry might not be the sort of thing they’re worried about. Perhaps we should speculate on how she would look in one of those robotic urban assault suits instead. As long as there’s not too much pleather I’m sure it’ll be fine. Yo Joe! [Deadline Valparaiso]

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a nightly column about movie news and things that interest you. Hopefully it finds more of the latter, but it tries to do its best. It’s no super soldier of news aggregating, but it certainly has taken its share of experimental drugs at the behest of Tommy Lee Jones. The characters of Captain America: The First Avenger now have their own posters. Released today via Cinemarcado, the one-sheets feature Chris Evans as Steve Rogers, Hugo Weaving as Red Skull (above) and Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter, Cap’s lady of interest. The most interesting is Red Skull, who looks pretty wicked. Is it me or does he look like Hell-spawn that spent too much time with Michael Jackson’s plastic surgeon?

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.

NBC has decided to be a prima donna today, scattering all their announcements throughout the day. NBC has picked up three more pilots to series, rejected one, and made two more renewal announcements. First is The Playboy Club. As if I even need to explain the plot of the series with a title like that and a cast that includes Amber Heard. Think of the series as a Mad Men style period piece set within the classic chain of night clubs. Next up is Awake (formally known as R.E.M.), from Lone Star creator Kyle Killen, Awake is an Inception-style thriller starring Jason Isaacs. The pilot was directed by David Slade. Finally there’s Grimm, starring David Giuntoli as “detective whose mission is to protect humans living in a world where Grimm’s Fairy Tale characters actually exist.” As for the rejected pilot? It turns out that the reports from Monday were in fact false as NBC has decided to pass on David E. Kelley’s Wonder Woman. The producers are open to shop the pilot to other networks, but it seems highly unlikely it’s going to fall anywhere else before Monday’s upfronts. Well, it was fun while it lasted. As for the two renewals? Some rumors were in fact true on Monday as the other David E. Kelley series Harry’s Law has been renewed for a second season. Also renewed tonight is the hit Jason Katims series (and one of my personal favorites), Parenthood for a third season.

After last Tuesday’s TV news bombshell that consisted of FOX obliterating pretty much every under-performing show on their schedule, many wondered what could be next from the networks in terms of picks-ups and cancellations. Well, NBC has decided to answer that question with a slew of pick-ups, none of which involve the words “wonder” or “woman.” At the moment the fourth place network has called for series orders from four pilots including Whitney a sitcom based on the stand-up comedy and starring Whitney Cummings. The Steven Spielberg produced, Gleeish musical-comedy Smash. The U.S. adaptation of the British series Prime Suspect and the Christina Applegate starring Up All Night. But that’s not all. It appears that NBC decided to have a little heart yet again as reports are filing in from all across the internet saying that spy-comedy CHUCK has indeed been renewed for a fifth season. This is by far the best news I’ve heard all day.

After weeks of negotiations between FOX and Universal over the production costs of hit medical drama House M.D., the show has finally been renewed for an eighth season on the network. The issue of the negotiations stemmed from the fact that FOX wanted to drastically cut the cost of producing the show since the recent drop in ratings from last season. Series stars Hugh Laurie, Omar Epps, Olivia Wilde, and Robert Sean Leonard are all signed on to return, but co-stars Lisa Edelstein, Jesse Spencer, and Peter Jacobson are all still in the middle of negotiations. However, their returns are almost a guarantee. In addition to the renewal of House, the network also picked up three pilots to series including the comedy I Hate My Teenage Daughter starring Jaime Pressly, another comedy in the form of The New Girl starring Zooey Deschanel, Bones (which also saw a renewal a week ago) spin-off Finder which had a back door pilot on the hit crime-drama a couple weeks ago, and the new J.J. Abrams series Alcatraz.

With Smallville ending in a few weeks, Human Target (unfortunately) hanging on by a the skin of its teeth in ratings, The Incredible Hulk in pre-production and the Wonder Woman pilot now shot and awaiting word on series pickup possibilities, this is a great time to discuss what other comic book franchises would be well served by a live action TV adaptation. So without any ado at all, I offer five comic book franchises that would make great TV and the networks that would make the best match.

What is Movie News After Dark? Starting tomorrow, it will continue to be your best source of news from around the world of film. Or rather, all the best news that isn’t picked up during the day by the FSR news team. For tonight, it’s going to be avenging, traveling through time and space, and of course, checking in on the lack of development on Ghostbusters 3. Hooray! “Tomorrow we start shooting (I THINK I’m legally permitted to say that). Day one. That’s right. We’ll be shooting the pivotal death/betrayal/product placement/setting up the sequel/coming out scene, at the following address:” That’s Joss Whedon updating fans with a letter to Whedonesque. The Avengers is go, and one of them is gay. I knew it would be you, man with the mighty hammer.

Two weeks ago, the first official image of Adrianne Palicki in her Wonder Woman costume was released, and the response was less than steller. While I didn’t have the same anger to the costume as others, I did feel that it felt like it came out of  a fetish shop rather than a superhero’s closet. Well, there’s some good news for all the fans who cried foul. The costume has been redesigned! The first official images (courtesy of SFX) of Palicki on set have been released and as you can see, the bottom half of the costume has been drastically altered to give the costume a less cheep feel.

The LA Times did a big profile on new Warner Bros. president Jeff Robinov. They talk about a few things in it, from his managerial style to controversial decisions he has made such as passing on Slumdog Millionaire and refusing to work with David Fincher. But what is most interesting about the piece is that it slips in some pretty major news about the direction of Warner’s big, tentpole DC Comics properties. According to Rubinov, he wants both new Superman and Batman films to come out in 2012, and then he’s aiming for a Justice League movie to come out in 2013. There’s even mention of spinning off Flash and Wonder Woman films after that. We already know that the Superman movie is being overseen by Christopher Nolan and is going to be directed by Zack Snyder, and the Batman movie is Nolan’s next directorial effort The Dark Knight Rises, but will these be the same characters that appear in the Justice League movie? Superman doesn’t get a mention, so it seems like the answer for Snyder’s character is yes, but post Dark Knight Rises Batman will be getting a reboot. Much like with the Superman project, Robinov has gotten Nolan on board to oversee the character’s new direction. If you add in this year’s Green Lantern, it’s looking like Warner Bros. finally has the proper leadership in place to give Marvel’s recent spate of film adaptations a run for it’s money. With this news and the announcement of all