David Twohy, the writer/director who brought Pitch Black (2000) to theaters as a quality, sleeper sci-fi flick, has confirmed that not only will he helm the sequel, The Chronicles of Riddick (2003), but that there is likely a third film in the works as well - and maybe more. The notion of turning the series into a franchise caught on big only after Twohy's initial pitch for a sequel was rejected - and the studio execs saw how big of a success a film like The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) turned out to be. Now, Twohy is not only going to make the sequel, but he is working with the current draft to include more ideas from his original pitch and building the story around a plot that could involve two or three more films. The biggest hangup towards launching the next several films will be star Vin Diesel's affordability, now that his elevation to A-list status has considerably upped his price tag. Diesel has already passed on one sequel - The Fast and the Furious 2 (2003) - because the studio couldn't meet his salary demand.

Stunning actress Kelly Hu (The Scorpion King (2002), The Doors (1991)) is the latest cast member to join Bryan Singer's upcoming mutant sequel to X-Men (2000), X2. The Hollywood Reporter announced the casting news, saying that Hu will play Anne Reynolds, a mutant with the ability to manipulate human emotions who becomes the sidekick of the villainous General Stryker - a man determined to eradicate the world of mutants. Hu's film career has really picked up speed this year, following up the television success she had with shows like Nash Bridges and Martial Law. The previous X-Men cast members will all be back for the sequel, which begins shooting this month up in Canada. A few of the lead actors will also be doing some additional pick-up shots for insertion into the original film, to be released later on DVD as a 'special edition'. Twentieth Century Fox is looking to release X2 in the summer of 2003.

Warner Bros. has officially kicked off their advertising campaign for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), set to open this Fall. The teaser poster has just been released, featuring the character of Dobby the House Elf, a little creature that warns young Harry of mysterious goings-on at Hogwarts. Dobby will be an entirely CGI-generated character, and the new poster features the caption "Dobby has come to warn you, sir." Click Here, or on the picture to the right for a full view of the new artwork. A collection of new images from the film are featured in the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly. This second installment will be the last film featuring director Chris Columbus and lead actors Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint as Harry, Hermione, and Ron Weasley, respectively. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is due to open nationwide on November 15th.

Superheroes may save the world from evil everyday - but where does the hard working, blue collar hero in tights go when he needs a little therapy? That's where actress and pop singer Jennifer Lopez comes in - she's just signed on for the lead role in Shrink, a film about a former superhero who becomes a psychiatrist in order to treat the mental stresses of our favorite comic book characters. She will also act as a producer for the movie, which is currently being developed at Columbia. After the box office success of Spider-Man (2002), the studio has caught on to the potential success of anything superhero related, and Shrink will be a satirical approach to the genre which has generated such an incredible amount of revenue for the film industry. The new film will feature popular heroes from all types of comic books. Lopez is the only name currently attached to the project. The actress is currently starring for Columbia in the spousal abuse revenge flick Enough (2002).

Rap artist and actor Ice Cube (Friday (1995), Ghosts of Mars (2001)) is set to star in the motorcycle racing film Torque for Warner Bros. Cube will take on the role of Trey Wallace, the leader of a gang of bikers, joining fellow actors like Jay Hernandez (The Rookie (2002)) in the story that follows the lives of young people involved in the fast and dangerous world of racing. A film like The Fast and the Furious (2001) garnered such success at the box office that Warners picked up the script early on as a spec, a draft that is now being rewritten. Furious producer Neal H. Moritz is on board to produce. Ice Cube is currently producing another film about racing, a story set in the world of NASCAR, opting not to star in the film and instead focus his energy behind the scenes. That film, currently titled Race, is a project in development over at MGM. Torque will be directed by first timer Joseph Kahn, and is set to go before cameras in July.

Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin, the dynamic duo behind the first Independence Day (1996) and the modern day re-imagining of Godzilla (1998), are all set for a sequel to their big alien invasion flick. While the first film was handled in such a way as to be a self-contained story without the possibility of a follow-up, Emmerich and Devlin have developed an idea for a new film that they feel will give the second film its own feel instead of a simple sequel to a hit movie. Even as the events of 9/11 made the producers take a step back and really examine the possibilities of how to handle another invasion film, they were able to work together and come up with an exciting idea with enough interesting aspects to move the development of the film along to the next stage. They've both stressed how much they'd like to get the original cast back, but hip-hop/action star Will Smith has already indicated that he has no interest in starring in another ID4 film. Emmerich and Devlin hope to begin writing a draft of the script by early next year.

Dreamworks, having scored a huge success with the clever and original CGI film Shrek (2001), have begun casting the talent for the follow up movie. British comedian John Cleese will be lending his voice to the cast as princess-turned-ogre Fiona's disapproving father. Taking up where the first film left off, Shrek 2 will find Shrek and Fiona returning from their honeymoon and paying a visit to her parents, who are shocked to learn that she has married the loveable green-skinned monster instead of her Prince Charming. The sequel will feature more storybook characters, including a Fairy Godmother, and a new kingdom called Far Far Away. Jeffrey Katzenberg, co-founder of Dreamworks, has said that Shrek 2 will have all the tongue-in-cheek comedy of the first film, and be "a bit like Shrek meets Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)." Original cast members Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz are all reported to be returning for the sequel, set to be released Memorial Day weekend in 2004.

Walt Disney and Spyglass Entertainment will be developing a new live action Underdog film, based on the cult cartoon that ran from 1964 until 1973. In a strange departure from Disney's usual reliance on their own stable set of in-house characters and stories, the new Underdog will be along the lines of previous films based on recycled cartoon characters like Inspector Gadget (1999) and Mr. Magoo (1997) - the former garnering a bit of box-office success while the latter was essentially a flop. The new project is seen as being a parody of the comic book genre that has been so popular of late, and will combine both live action and CGI animation, much like Warner Brothers' Scooby-Doo (2002) has done. Spyglass acquired the rights to the character from the long-time holders Classic Media for a reported six-figure sum. While no script has been written and nobody has signed on for the project at this stage, the film could be released as soon as two years from now. Spyglass Entertainment will produce the film, with Walt Disney handling all marketing and movie-related promotional tie-ins.

After many months of on-again, off-again production on the claymation feature film Tortoise and Hare, Dreamworks and Aardman Animation have finally pulled the plug on that film and are instead focusing their energies on a fresh project entitled Flushed Away. The new film will be about a British rodent, who lives the high life in a snobby, upper crust home and who finds himself in the underground world of London's sewers when he's accidentally flushed down the loo. Initially horrified by his new surroundings, he begins to appreciate and forge friendships with the inhabitants below as he searches for a way to the surface in his quest to get home. The Hollywood Reporter notes that Dick Clement and Ian LaFrenais, the writing team that penned The Commitments (1991), has been hired to write the screenplay. Peter Lord will produce Flushed Away, with Sam Fell (Chump (2002)) directing.

With casting just about complete on the upcoming The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and shooting just around the corner, some last minute scrambling is happening behind the scenes on Twentieth Century Fox's latest big screen adventure. Actress Monica Bellucci, who had been cast as Mina Harker - one of the league of Victorian-age superheroes - has dropped out of the film citing personal reasons. The producers of the film now have to decide who will replace her, either early favorite Saffron Burrows (Enigma (2002), Deep Blue Sea (1999)) or Milla Jovovich (Resident Evil (2002), The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999)). The League tells the story of England's greatest literary heroes, among them Allan Quartermain (Sean Connery), Captain Nemo (Naseeruddin Shah), The Invisible Man (Tony Curran), and Dr. Jekyll (Jason Flemyng), who are called together to save the world from an evil madman known only as The Fantom. The film is based on a popular series of graphic novels by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill (From Hell (2001)), and will go in front of the lens in Europe this summer with director Stephen Norrington (Blade (1998)) at the helm. It is expected to hit theaters in the summer of 2003.

After much speculation about who would fill the role of Mina Harker, the only female member of the upcoming League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Twentieth Century Fox has settled on relative unknown Peta Wilson. The actress, who will replace Monica Bellucci in the film, is best known for her television work as the lead in La Femme Nikita. Other actresses reportedly up for the role included early favorite Saffron Burrows and Resident Evil (2002) star Milla Jovovich. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen begins shooting this month in Prague, its 19th century superhero motif the groundwork for a story about Victorian literary legends called together to fight a madman known as The Fantom. The League will also star Sean Connery, Jason Flemyng, and Tony Curran under the eye of Blade (1998) director Stephen Norrington.

Conflicting reports have emerged about who is in the front running to play Colonel William Stryker, the villain in Twentieth Century Fox's upcoming superhero sequel, X2. Veteran actor Brian Cox (Rushmore (1998), Manhunter (1985)) is rumored to have landed the role of Stryker, a human who has dedicated himself to ridding the world of mutants. The character also is more than he appears, as he seems to have some in-depth knowledge of Wolverine's mysterious past - a haunting, scattered vision that was eluded to in the first film. The Canadian newspaper The Times Colonist was the first to break the news, however conflicting reports from both Coming Attractions and Ain't it Cool News say that Cox hasn't been cast at all, and that an American actor will play the part. It was announced earlier this month that beautiful actress Kelly Hu (The Scorpion King (2002)) had been cast to play Stryker's right hand baddie, Anne Reynolds. X2 has already begun filming in Canada under the direction of Bryan Singer, who made the first film. All the actors, including Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, and Halle Berry have returned for the sequel, which will hit theaters in the summer of 2003.

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson is currently in talks with Sony pictures to play Kamehameha the Great, the legendary King who united the Hawaiian islands and its people together. If it goes forward, this would be the first feature film chronicling the life of Kamehameha, who lived from 1758 to 1819. According to Hawaiian history, the infant king was hidden early in his life from the island rulers who wanted to kill him, and in an historic account similar to that of the Bible, all of the male infants in the land were at one time murdered in an attempt to get rid of the future ruler. As the King of the islands, Kamehameha is widely seen as a noble and just ruler, despite the reports of his fierceness in battle as a warrior. With the help of the British (including Captain James Cook), he was able to eventually join all of the islands in the chain under one rule, and to this day, no one is truly sure where the legendary leader was eventually buried. While a promising project, Sony has yet to sign The Rock to the project, having only just acquired the rights to the story.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, pop singer and actress Britney Spears is set to make her next film a project about the world of NASCAR racing. Spears, whose debut film Crossroads (2002) was critically panned, will return to the big screen to play the daughter of a race car driver who inspires her father to get back behind the wheel. An interesting note to this story is that since NASCAR is very wary about the use of its name and the depiction of its participants, they will have a great deal of say on the project and only agreed to go forward with it if Spears' production company depicted their drivers with the highest integrity. The film, which should go into production next year, is budgeted between $40 and $50 million, with a final script expected to the completed this fall by Contact (1997) scribe Jim Hart.

Stephen Sommers, who brought the reimagined The Mummy (1999) and The Mummy Returns (2001) back to life through Universal will be dusting off some more classic creatures from the vaults in his upcoming project Van Helsing. Hugh Jackman is slated to star for the director as the famous vampire killer who hunted Dracula in this new tale which finds Van Helsing summoned back to eastern Europe in the late 19th century in pursuit of some other nasty monsters including the Wolf Man, Frankenstein, and the famous blood-sucking vampire himself. Production on the film will begin this winter in Rome, Paris, and Prague with additional interior set shooting to be done in Los Angeles. Jackman will first be reprising his role as Wolverine in the upcoming X2, which is currently filming in Canada. In addition to directing the two Mummy films and producing the prequel The Scorpion King (2002), Sommers has also been behind the lens on films like Deep Rising (1998) and The Jungle Book (1994).

After the success that Universal has had with Robert Ludlum's second incarnation of The Bourne Identity into film (before Matt Damon took to the role to the big screen this summer, Richard Chamberlain starred as Jason Bourne in a 1988 TV movie), the studio is already on the fast track in making a franchise out of the series, having optioned two more Bourne novels for future projects. Damon has yet to sign on for the sequels, but Identity director Doug Liman (Go (1999), Swingers (1996)) has already signed to direct the next film. In addition to the fledgling Bourne series, Universal is also gearing up for another adaptation of a Ludlum book, The Sigma Protocol, as a project for Training Day (2001) director Antoine Fuqua. Scribe Chap Taylor (Changing Lanes (2002)) has been hired to pen the screenplay. The Sigma Protocol is another novel of intrigue, about American everyman Ben Hartman, who runs into an old friend in Switzerland who is more than he seems, and is soon thrust into a world of international espionage.

Samuel L. Jackson, who starred as Mace Windu in this summer's Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) and who will next be seen in the extreme athlete/spy flick XXX (2002) alongside Vin Diesel, is set to star with Ashley Judd in director Philip Kaufman's Blackout for Paramount. The story is about a female cop (Judd), who finds herself in the middle of a conspiracy when lovers from her past begin dying. Jackson will play a veteran cop who acts as a mentor to Judd's character in the case. Kaufman's last film was the Marquis de Sade period piece Quills (2000) with Geoffrey Rush, and the director's other credits include The Right Stuff (1983) and Henry & June (1990. Filming on Blackout is expected to begin later this month.

Comic actor Bernie Mac (Ocean's Eleven (2001), The Original Kings of Comedy (2000)) is currently in talks to star for Columbia Pictures in a remake of the classic Sidney Poitier film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? (1967). Mac, who recently signed on to replace Bill Murray in the upcoming Charlie's Angels 2 (2003), would play the father in the flip-flopped take on the original story, where his daughter would bring home her fiancee who is white (Poitier was the fiancee to a surprised white family in Stanley Kramer's film). The project is very much in the early stages at this point, as Mac's schedule is pretty tight with the filming of his Fox television show and upcoming film projects like the aforementioned Angels sequel as well as the Chris Rock film Head of State (2003) and the holiday themed pic Bad Santa (2003). The new version of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? will be distributed by Columbia and produced through Tall Trees Productions.

The Hollywood Reporter has caught wind of a new project gearing up at Universal. Hot on the heels of Touchstone's big summer release Reign of Fire, Universal has picked up the rights to The Saint of Dragons, an as-of-yet unpublished book from author Jason Hightman. The story concerns a young boy whose father returns from the grave to tell him of his ancient lineage. Seems the kid is the descendent of St. George, the guy famous for slaying dragons so long ago, and now the legacy will be passed on to him. Described by the trade magazine as a mix between Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Harry Potter, The Saint of Dragons is unique because the dragons the boy hunts have the ability to disguise themselves as human beings. The film will be produced through Mandalay Pictures, with Universal set to distribute. At this point, only the rights have been paid for by the studio - casting and the hiring of a director for the picture has yet to be announced.

Popular Friends actor Matthew Perry is set to once again join action hero Bruce Willis on the big screen for a sequel to the gangster/hitman comedy The Whole Nine Yards (2000). The original film found Perry's character, a mild-mannered suburban dentist, thrown for a loop when hitman in hiding Jimmy the Tulip (Willis) moved in next door. The first film did surprisingly well at the box office, almost reaching the $60 million mark in ticket sales, and Franchise Pictures is hoping to recapture some of the magic by bringing back not only Willis and Perry, but fellow co-stars Natasha Henstridge and Amanda Peet, although original director Jonathan Lynn will be out in favor of Howard Deutch (director of the ironically titled The Replacements (2000)). The screenwriter of the first film, Mitchell Kapner (Romeo Must Die (2000)) has been hired to write the sequel, which will likely hit theaters in 2003 after a start date on production in October of this year. Willis will be seen in the upcoming action flick Hostile Rescue, while Perry's next film is the Elizabeth Hurley comedy Serving Sara (2002), which will be released nationwide on August 23rd.