Jun 15 2009 Gambit is John Carter (of Mars)

Taylor Kitsch, the man with the playing cards, staff, and magenta dress shirt in Wolverine, has been given the lead in Pixar's live-action adaptation of John Carter of Mars, while Lynn Collins, also unfortunate enough to have explained the X-man's origins, is set to co-star. Says The Hollywood Reporter:

Taylor Kitsch and Lynn Collins will star in "John Carter of Mars," the adaptation of the Edgar Rice Burroughs book series that Andrew Stanton is directing for Disney.

"Carter" centers on a civil war veteran who finds himself mysteriously transported to Mars, where his involvement with warring races of the dying planet force him to rediscover his humanity.

Kitsch will play the title character, while Collins is playing Dejah Thoris, heir to the throne of Mars' Helium kingdom.

Collecting actors from Wolverine seems an odd choice, given that the most commonly-gathered thing from that movie is contempt, but I guess these two are as good as anyone else to sell the unlikely story of A Civil War Veteran in Mars' Helium Court. With Disney pulling the strings, I'm just happy it isn't Family Favorite Adventurer Brendan Fraser and his Hammy, Wide-Eyed Stares of Mars.

Feb 18 2009 'Wolverine' Television Spot Number Three

Yahoo! Movies has posted the third and final X-Men Origins: Wolverine TV spot. This is the one that reminds you that Wolverine's origin somehow involves a maskless Deadpool, young Cyclops, Emma Frost turning into diamond, and the presence of Will.i.am. Enjoy.

(Oh, and thanks to Carter.)

Jan 19 2009 A Somber Moment with the Cast of 'Wolverine'

I'll accept that someone has seen fit to simplify every superhero/villain costume in this universe down to either a sleeveless shirt or trenchcoat, but what is with this forced mournfulness? The best way to show a movie has the dark, brooding quality of The Dark Knight isn't necessarily to take a photo of the actors doing some kind of stilted group-brood.

Dec 1 2008 Hey, It's the Gambit Guy from X-Men

From Empire Magazine, here's the first look at Taylor Kitsch as the cajun, energized playing card-throwing hero Gambit in Wolverine. You can really see the intense thought that went into the casting and wardrobe: "Just get some shady but good-looking dude with long hair, let him grow a day of stubble, boom. There you have it. Gambit. Wait, Gambit is also typically portrayed with red eyes, and wearing a fuschia and black spandex bodysuit, trenchcoat, weird metallic collar thing and earless black fabric head adornment? Yikes. Give ours a purple button-up and a velvet vest. Done. Next."

I'm telling you, movie producers, just make the characters look exactly like the comic. That's practically all that will keep the fans happy. Some costumes may seem ludicrous or even impossible in the real world, but that can be glossed over using a Will Smith-style turn to the camera and the line, "I make this look good."

First Photo of Gambit in Wolverine [Coming Soon]

Feb 20 2008 'Wolverine' Adds Reynolds, Kitsch, Black Eyed Pea

It's starting to sound like Wolverine may be the latest superhero movie to fall victim to a classic case of "too many spices in the stew." And while I don't think that's an actual saying, I think you get the point: there's a f***ing ton of characters being added to this movie, making it more and more likely this will turn into a Batman and Robin scenario (i.e., a terrible movie).

Fox has added three more superheroes to "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," with Ryan Reynolds set to play Deadpool, "Friday Night Lights" regular Taylor Kitsch to star as Gambit and hip-hop artist will.i.am joining the cast as John Wraith.

Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston and Lynn Collins round out the cast as Victor Creed/Sabretooth, Col. William Stryker and Kayla Silver Fox, respectively.

Admittedly, Reynolds as the wise-cracking Deadpool is spot-on casting, Kitsch at least looks the part of Gambit, and will.i.am will surely come in handy when the film needs an inspirational theme song that mixes celebrity endorsement with an unlistenable quality. But really, are they just filling out the toy line at this point? At this rate, I fully expect a scene where Wolverine jumps in a manhole, justifying the "Sewer Swimmin' Wolvie" action figure.

Reynolds, will.i.am join 'Wolverine' [Variety]