The Internet is bursting at the seams with pictures of Batman (Christian Bale) and Bane (Tom Hardy) fighting it out in an outdoor shoot of The Dark Knight Rises over the weekend, taking place at the movie’s current location of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — specifically the Mellon Institute building, subbing for Gotham on this occasion.

As you can tell, there’s plenty of clear looks of Hardy as Bane (click on any image to enlarge it):

We’ve got a few more photos after the jump, and if you want to check out dozens of them (including a couple who apparently just got married across the street and got to check up the Tumbler up close), click on over to Getty Images. The Dark Knight Rises is in theaters on July 20, 2012.

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New Jersey native Patrick McDonnell’s Mutts comic strip has been picked up by 20th Century Fox to be made into a feature film.

The Hollywood Reporter says McDonnell and his brother Robert will write the script with Patrick also serving as executive producer. If you aren’t familiar, Mutts is a daily syndicated comic strip that began in 1994 and runs in newspapers across the country. It’s about a dog and cat duo, Earl and Mooch, and their daily adventures that occasionally feature their elderly owners or other animals (plus Little Pink Socks!). McDonnell also champions many animal-related welfare causes like adoption and endangered species. There’s even Animal Friendly license plates with the Mutts characters here in NJ.

“Fox has had success in the comics-to-movie genre before,” writes THR, “The studio made two films based on the popular Garfield comic strip that grossed nearly $350 million combined worldwide. The Mutts project was brought in by Fox Animation executive Ralph Millero.”

Here’s  hoping the film is made with classic animation, which would better compliment McDonnell’s style, rather than the Garfield CGI route. Regardless, this is awesome news for me, I love Mutts and it’s nice to see a fellow New Jersyite get the attention he so deserves.

Good news for Marvel: Opening a superhero movie during Comic-Con doesn’t turn out to be a bad idea at all – The first midnight screenings of Captain America: The First Avenger made $4 million last night, which (as Deadline Hollywood points out) is more than Thor, X-Men: First Class and Green Lantern managed for their midnight debuts. So much for so for those suggesting that a superhero movie slump is around the corner.

Harry Potter is on a roll. Not content with finally vanquishing He Who Shall Not Be Named in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2, JK Rowling’s boy wizard yesterday also defeated Darth Vader, as the Potter movie franchise overtook Star Wars to become the most successful movie franchise of all time.

According to Box Office Mojo, by Wednesday the Potter series had grossed a total of $2.223 billion, beating out Star Wars‘ $2.218 billion. The two franchises are the only two movie series to have passed the $2 billion mark, although both Batman and James Bond would get there once adjusted for inflation (Although, considering the latter has had 22 movies to date, that’s not necessarily such an impressive feat for Britain’s most famous secret agent).

The final Potter is continuing to dominate the box office, becoming the fastest-grossing entry in the series, and having broken The Dark Knight‘s record for the highest four-day opening in cinema history.

Keep looking up in the sky – but not for awhile. Variety is reporting that Warner Bros. has moved the release date of Man of Steel, the next Superman movie, from an unscheduled December 2012 date to summer 2013: June 14th, 2013, to be exact.

This is potentially good news for the movie, to be directed by Watchmen‘s Zack Snyder from a script by The Dark Knight‘s David Goyer (That latter movie’s director, Christopher Nolan, is acting as executive producer on MoS), as it seemingly makes the movie Warners’ big summer tentpole of the year, suggesting that the execs are feeling confident about what they’ve seen so far. It also means that it’ll be going up against Disney/Pixar’s Monsters University (the sequel to Monsters, Inc.) and the Ryan Reynolds-starring adaptation of Dark Horse’s RIPD, both already announced for summer 2013 releases. It’ll be interesting to see if it’ll be the only DC superhero movie to hit screens that summer, considering both Green Lantern 2 and The Flash are in development as we speak…

After showing up and disappearing in short order yesterday, the first trailer for 2012′s Amazing Spider-Man looks to be released on board via Movie-List and here for good. Watch below:

While we won’t have the video embedded for you here (sorry, but it’s disappearing just as quickly as it shows up), the Amazing Spider-Man teaser that is likely to premiere at the SDCC panel for the movie later this week has leaked online.

The big focal points for the teaser are a slightly darker tone to the story, Peter being a bit more of a loner by choice, and that crazy POV sequence at the end. Whether the movie itself will ever show us what it looks like being inside the Spider-Man mask, the teaser nailed the effect, and has people talking.

The teaser can currently be found on What Would Tyler Durden Do, but no guarantees, folks. When the real-deal gets released later this week, we’ll have it here for you asap.

Perhaps you’ve seen a bootleg version of this, quickly removed without a trace after Warner Bros. released the hounds on YouTube pirates. But hey: this is the official, above-board teaser trailer for The Dark Knight Rises, the last installment of the Christopher Nolan-directed Batman trilogy. Watch below now, wish that summer 2012 wasn’t so far away later:

The Dark Knight Rises stars Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine, and is scheduled for release on July 20, 2012.

This is a teaser trailer for 2012′s The Avengers. Watch at your own risk — as I viewed the clip, all I could think to myself was how cool it would be if I saw it for the first time in a theater, instead of a shaky fancam YouTube clip — and read on after the jump for some more potential fun-ruining details. (Pro tip: only click “read the rest of the entry” if you want to deprive yourself of an awesome surprise.)

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The Boy Wizard overtook the Dark Knight over the weekend to become the highest grossing weekend film opening of all time with $168.8 million dollars in ticket sales in the North America alone. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 made a whopping $476 million worldwide.

Deathly Hallows Part 2′s $168.8 million easily overtook the previous record holder, 2008′s The Dark Knight’s $158.4 million, over the weekend. It also beat Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides from earlier this year which at the time held the biggest debut at the international box office when it made $262 million.

Warner Bros. Pictures President of Domestic Distribution, Dan Fellman said in a statement, “These numbers are amazing, but they are only part of the story. It is impossible to quantify how thrilled and grateful we all are that both critics and audiences — especially loyal Harry Potter fans — continue to support the film. This is the culmination of an extraordinary decade, and a reflection of the hard work and dedication of many, many people on both sides of the camera, beginning with the brilliant J.K. Rowling, as well as producer David Heyman. We applaud them all.”

President of International Distribution, Veronika Kwan-Rubinek said, “Harry Potter is truly a cultural phenomenon the world over. Whether in German, French, Japanese, Russian, or any language, international audiences have embraced the Harry Potter films over the years, with the powerful finale punctuating just how special the property is.”

The fellow Warner Bros. franchises shared the screen over the weekend as well. The first teaser for The Dark Knight Rises played before Deathly Hallows Part 2.

Archaia’s forthcoming graphic novel, Rust: Visitor in the Field, has been acquired by 20th Century Fox to be adapted into a film.

The book, set to be released this September, was written and illustrated by Royden Lepp. From Archaia: “Rust is a high-octane adventure set in the prairie lands of an unknown time. Life on the Taylor family farm was difficult enough before Jet Jones crashes into the barn, chased by a giant decommissioned war robot! Oldest son Roman Taylor struggles to keep his family’s small farm afloat as the area heals from a devastating world war. While the rest of his family may not trust the mysterious boy with the jetpack, Roman believes the secrets of Jet’s past may be the key to their survival.”

Deadline reports writer Aline Brosh McKenna (The Devil Wears Prada) will handle script duties while Simon Kinberg (X-Men: First Class) and Archaia’s own Editor-In-Chief Stephen Christy will produce. Some very nice news for Archaia to walk into San Diego Comic-Con with next week to be sure. Congrats to them!

“When Captain America throws his mighty shield, all those who chose to oppose his shield must yield.” It’s hard not to think of those enduring (albeit somewhat awkward) ’60s cartoon lyrics when watching this brand new Captain America: The First Avenger clip that debuted on IGN. In it, he slings his shield for offensive purposes in the classic comic book fashion. Watch below!

Captain America: The First Avenger, directed by Joe Johnston and starring Chris Evans, is out July 22.

2012′s Spider-Man reboot film, the Marc Webb-directed Amazing Spider-Man, is on the cover of Entertainment Weekly‘s annual pre-Comic-Con issue, and the accompanying images show that Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy essentially looks like a John Romita Jr. drawing come to life, Cool World-style.

Plus, definitive confirmation of what has been the going assumption for the last few months: that the film will have mechanical webshooters rather than the organic ones seen in Sam Raimi’s 2002-2007 trilogy.

The nine images posted on EW.com also show Rhys Ifans as Dr. Curt Connors, Sally Field and Martin Sheen as Aunt May and Uncle Ben, and detail shots of the back and front of Andrew Garfield in the new Spidey suit. The magazine goes on sale tomorrow, July 15.

You’re familiar with J’onn J’onzz of Mars but do you know John Carter? The trailer from Disney’s epic adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Barsoom series has made it’s way to the internet.

The film stars Taylor Kitsch, formerly of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, in the lead role as well as several other superhero film alums: Willem Dafoe (Green Goblin), Thomas Hayden Church (Sandman) and Mark Strong (Sinestro). Previously referred to as John Carter of Mars (the way the character is often referred to in the book), the film is based on the first book from the Barsoom series, A Princess of Mars, first printed in 1912. Carter is an American Civil War vet, who turns out to be more than that, transported to Barsoom (Mars) which he finds inhabited by large green aliens (not unlike our J’onn).

Studios have attempted to make a John Carter film since 1931 when Looney Tunes director Bob Clampett asked Burroughs to make it into an animated film. It never took off and neither did any other attempt until now. Directed by Pixar’s WALL-E director Andrew Stanton, John Carter hits theaters March 9, 2012.

Once a week I sift through the millions of Etsy listings to find the best in geek chic for Blog@ readers. Last week I gave you a Grab Bag assortment of geeky items from the crafting website but this week is something closer to my heart – Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling’s über-successful book series has already come to a close but this week sees the final installment of the film franchise. And boy am I bringing tissues with me to the theater. Even though the end will be sad, Harry Potter will remain awesome in my eyes forever. Here is a special extended edition of Etsy Made Me Do It. Accio crafts!

One of the biggest parts of going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry is getting sorted into one of the four Houses. User TheTrendySparrow lets you choose for yourself! (Something Harry was able to do) Here is a Slytherin Keepsake Trinket box measuring 6 1/4″ x 3″ x 3 1/2″ with Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff also available for $17 each. A larger Gryffindor box is also for sale for $27 or a Golden Snitch box for $22.

The crazy words Rowling created for her magical spells have become imbedded in my brain. Why not wear them? These Harry Potter Custom Word or Charm Necklace Silver or Gold are certainly one way to do it! User chloe24k will send you one of your choice for $24.

Although each House has their own crest, Hogwarts itself has one that combines all four. You can show your school pride with this Harry Potter Antiqued Looking Crest Wall Art Print. User pixturethis created a collage of 8.5″ x 11″ prints, 9 of them making a minimum size of 25.5″ x 33″ wall hanging overall. The collection comes framed, $45.

The films have spawned countless amounts of fan art through the years but some of my favorites have been fan-made posters. These Vintage Harry Potter Movie Poster Collection are some of the best I’ve seen. But then again, I’m a sucker for the minimalist approach. The posters are 11×17 and user balancedpersonality has a set of 7 for $90. He also has them each sold separately in his shop for $15.  (more…)

The Dark Knight Rises promotion starts in earnest with the first — and very stylish — teaser posters surfacing online today, via TheDarkKnightRises.com. That’s the film’s official website, so this is the genuine article, unlike that elaborate fake teaser trailer that popped up online a few weeks back.

Movie isn’t coming until summer 2012, but check out the full poster after the jump.

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Jim Shooter continues to reveal all manner of unseen material from the past of Marvel Comics over on his blog, including this tidbit: A treatment for a Spider-Man movie from the mid-1980s, written for Cannon Films, that went nowhere. Just think, the career of Judd Nelson could have been so different…

There’d been a concern that Marvel’s Captain America: The First Avenger would not be carrying its patriotic name overseas. Well it turns out that will NOT be the case. Mostly.

An Associated Press report today says, “Paramount Pictures and Marvel Studios gave distributors around the world the option of shortening the title of  ’Captain America: The First Avenger’ to simply ‘The First Avenger,’ out of concern about anti-American sentiment.” Turns out, only three countries decided to take them up on that offer: Russia, Ukraine and South Korea. “In other territories, the movie will go out with the full title, a sign that the brand value of the Marvel Comics hero trumps any potential anti-U.S. feelings in some parts of the world,” writes the AP.

Paramount declined to comment to The Hollywood Reporter recently, on rumors that the film would be screening at San Diego Comic-Con in two weeks. We already know Marvel isn’t having a big Hall H panel for the film like they did last year with their Avengers cast but we could still see something of Captain America or at least its star. THR writes, “while details are still being worked out, Marvel and Paramount, which is distributing the film, are planning a military salute that would involving star Chris Evans and soldiers stationed in San Diego. They also mention he would be doing signings at the Marvel booth but that all of those plans depend on working out his busy schedule.

We may not know who will direct the second Thor movie, due out in 2013 – which means it’ll accompany Iron Man 3 into theaters that summer – but we do, at least, know who’ll write it: Deadline is reporting that Don Payne, one of the writers of the first movie, has signed on to write the screenplay for the sequel. Before you get too excited, however, it’s worth remembering that Payne was one of five writers who worked on the screenplay for Thor, and that Payne’s solo credits include the screenplay for Fantastic 4: Rise Of The Silver Surfer… It’ll be interesting to see if Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz, who worked on a different draft of the Thor script, get brought into the production at some point, as well. They might be the only thing left standing between us and the possibility that Hela will be turned into a nondescript cloud of randomness.

NBC’s Wonder Woman pilot is long dead at this point, but that doesn’t mean that title star Adrianne Palicki isn’t going to get to play a famous fictional female known for beatin’ up bad guys. Deadline reports today that she’s enlisting to play Lady Jaye in summer 2012′s G.I. Joe: Cobra Strikes. This joins recent official word that The Rock is officially on board as Roadblock.

Lady Jaye, of course, is the javelin-throwing main squeeze of Flint — who will also be in the movie, played by D.J. Cotrona.