• Who’s up for some spoooky stories? It seems that god-among-men Steven Spielberg is teaming up with the guys from Fringe to bring Joe Hill’s Locke & Key to the small screen. Did somebody say awesome?

• Ain’t it Cool News’ Harry Knowles has a huge scoop — or, more accurately, clarification — about X-Men: First Class straight from Bryan Singer, and I gotta be honest, it kind of disappointed me. It’s set way back in the 60’s, which could be cool, but there’s no Scott or Jean, and it features the Hellfire Club, which means that Emma Frost would be a generation older than Scott, when in the comics they’re the same age. I wish they would just reboot and start all over with the right ages and relationships. (I just geeked out, there, didn’t I?)

• Here’s some pics from the filming of Captain America: The First Avenger. There aren’t any what you’d call money shots, but if you have to see this kind of thing, by all means, click away.

• While we’re on the subject, Joss Whedon has said that while the Black Widow will be the only female team member in The Avengers, she won’t be the only female character. So, probably not the Wasp, since she was an Avenger. What do you guys think? Any guesses?

• io9 has a pretty awesome article about art appreciation for sci-fi and fantasy, with lots of neat pictures to look at while pretending to read all that text. You should actually read it, though, as the author talks about the esoteric and highly academic attributes to fantasy art, such as the “Holy Sh*t That’s F*cking Cool” Factor.

• Here’s a pretty informative and fun interview with Neville Page, the designer of, well, everything, including the creatures from Avatar, Cloverfield, and the upcoming Super 8.

• And finally, here’s a bit of rampant awesomeness from CollegeHumor. This really takes me back to when my dad used to take me hunting … humans.

• As we all know, the odious Proposition 8 regarding gay marriage was deemed unconstitutional and struck down in California. io9 gives us their opinion through a decidedly science fiction lens.

• I think I’ve made my opinion of the Lost finale quite clear on this site — it sucked as few things in the universe have sucked before it. So it almost hurts to read this collection of theories about Lost written during the run of the series, because each one is about a bajillion times better than the actual ending.

• Ah, geekdom. Some Avengers fan took it upon himself to create a trailer for a non-existent Avengers film from the 50’s using a smorgasbord of source material. See how many you can name!

• If there’s one project that rivals The Hobbit in being stuck in development hell, it’s the big-budget Broadway Spider-man musical. However, that hasn’t stopped them from naming an opening date. Now, as it happens, I’m the only member of TheTorchOnline.com’s staff that lives in New York. Normally, I don’t like to whine, but … Breeeennnnt, can you get me tickets?

• Remember when we called the end of the superhero craze? Well, guess what. Matthew Vaughn, who’s set to direct X-Men: First Class, agrees.

• So this is … a little weird. Turns out the superhero genre and the hand-held genre (think Cloverfield) are about to merge.

• I’m not a huge fan of H.P. Lovecraft, but I do know that he’s a god among horror fans. So kinda weird that his work is getting the cutesy anime treatment, don’t ya think?

• Alien abduction films are nothing new, but this trailer for the upcoming film Skyline looks fairly impressive for the little it shows us, particularly the disturbing last scene.

• Could it be true? The internets are all a-flutter, saying it’s quite possible that High Lord and Master of All Geeks, Joss Whedon, will be directing the upcoming Avengers movie. Please, please, please let this happen.

• I’m open about the fact that I’m a newb to the Doctor Who universe, having discovered it after really enjoying Torchwood a few months ago. But in those months, I’ve gotten to know the world of Who quite well, and while I’m going to desperately miss David Tennant, I’m really looking forward to the new season. io9 has an interview with the cast and writer that’s well worth a look.

• Did you guys know there are fantasy-adventure books out with J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis as the protagonists? I didn’t, but apparently they will soon be turned into movies, and get this: they’ll be produced by Rick Porras, who will be well-known to owners of the DVDs of Lord of the Rings. This is like concentric rings of geekdom. And I love it!

• I’m not sure how people are reacting to Chris Evans as Captain America on the whole. When I was at PAX East, some dude overheard me talking about it with friends and shouted “Sucks!” So, that’s one guy … with apparently no social skills. What do you guys thing? Anyway, Ain’t It Cool has a little piece about it here.

• Gaaah … this freaks me the eff out, but it might be worth a look if you’re into weird, challenging art. An artist named Jason de Caires Taylor has taken to creating creepy, lifelike sculptures and placing them on the bottom of the sea floor. I don’t know why, but it gives me the serious heebiejeebies.

• I got two items into this list and had to stop, but I know some of you out there live for this kind of stuff, so here is a list of the 7 Most Horrifying Things Ever Found in a Human Body from Cracked. Enjoy the list … freaks.

• Ever wanted to know what the most depressing moments in Marvel history were? Well, look no further!
  

• Number three on the aforementioned list is the entire life of Daredevil. I feel bad for the guy, such a series of unlucky breaks, and then a less-than-stellar movie. Beyond that, he’s also the victim of a pretty hilarious blooper while filming a fight scene … (Warning: Very mildly NSFW language.)

• Apparently not having had their fill of fantasy with Spartacus: Blood and Sand, the Starz network has obtained the rights to Pillars of the Earth, an “epic tale of good vs. evil told against the religious, social and political struggles of medieval Europe.” Man, Starz is becoming the place to be, isn’t it?

• Are people excited about the new V? I can’t seem to get my finger on that particular pulse. Well, if you are, we have promises from the powers that be that we’ll see more, more, more in the coming episodes. As for me, I just want to see mega-hottie Morena Baccarin rip her face off. Is that too much to ask?

• Okay, I thought the idea of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies was genius. I freakin’ loved the title Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. So needless to say, I am super-stoked to learn that Tim Burton will be directing the upcoming film adaptation of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. A possibly risky move considering the novel was just released today.

• The part of Albus Dumbledore’s brother Aberforth has been cast, and it’s … Julius Caesar? Actually, it’s Ciaran Hinds, who played Julius Caesar on HBO’s Rome. From slain emperor to crazy old wizard. Not too shabby there, Ciaran.

• As a New Yorker, the Tribeca Film Festival has always held a special place in my heart. I love that in a city as commercial as New York there’s a festival that really honors the independent, artistic spirit of roll-up-your-sleeves filmmakers. And I’m proud that they’re honoring that tradition by opening the festical this year with … Shrek Forever After? Seriously? Wow, can’t wait till they open next year’s festival with that hard-hitting indie documentary, Transformers 3.

• I ain’t afraid o’ no spoilers. Bill Murray spills the beans on Letterman about the possibility of a new Ghostbusters movie. He doesn’t seem so into it.

• This is the kind of tweet that gets a big ol’ Marvel comics fan like me all in a tizzy. Hint: Anyone feel like assembling?

• While we’re on the subject of comics, here’s a great way to kill 20 minutes: a tour through the comic-book-cum-video-games of yesteryear.

• I have to confess, I never read any of Terry Brooks’ Shannara novels, even though they’ve called to me like sirens every time I pass them in the bookstore. Well, I should get crackin’, because he has three more on the way.

• Anyone else suffering from a little Hobbit rumor exhaustion? It’s cast, it’s not cast, it’s in 3D, it’s not in 3D, oh, wait, it might be in 3D. Just make the freakin’ movie already. (Incidentally, I’m currently reading The Hobbit again just for fun. Guess what? It’s just as awesome as you remember. Of course, the best part of the novel is not having to hear any rumors about the making of it.)

• After the more-successful-than-God run of Avatar, talk of a sequel is naturally in the works, but James Cameron doesn’t want to call it Avatar 2. He’s thinking he might call it Na’vi. I say he can call it whatever he wants, as long as we don’t have to hear rumors about it for years. Damn you, Hobbit.

• Daniel Radcliffe consistently proves he’s a bloody brilliant bloke, most recently for his work with The Trevor Project, a hotline to help LGBT teenagers in crisis. That’s right, a celebrity working for a cause that he’s not personally affected by and doesn’t tie in to a film he’s promoting. He’s just doing it because he knows he has a platform and he wants to use that opportunity for good. Wingardium levi-awesome.

• Finally, I’m trying to figure out an excuse I can come up with to post this next link … ooh, I got it. You all saw Look Who’s Talking, right? That was kind of fantasy … wasn’t it? Babies talking to each other? Yeah, that should work. Anyway, here’s 6 scientifically-proven facts that show that babies are completely evil, spiteful, petty A-holes.

Franchises, like Goonies, never say die, and Marvel is a company built on franchises. Now with their own film company, Marvel is bringing the complexity of their comic book universe to the silver screen. Here’s a look at some of their upcoming projects.

X-Men

Arguably Marvel’s most popular title (and the flagship of an infinite number of X-book spin-offs), the X-Men have appeared thus far in three movies, and Wolverine just had his first solo outing. What’s next? There are a few possibilities:

X-Men: First Class - A film focusing on the younger members of the X-Men clan, namely Iceman, Rogue, Kitty Pryde, Angel, and Jubilee, as well as others, who get up to their own wacky high school adventures without Storm and Wolverine, two of the few surviving adults from the X-Men trilogy. The verdict? A possibility, but Shawn Ashmore and Anna Paquin are a little long in the tooth to play high school students, which may mean…

X-Men 4 - The long-rumored fourth entry into the main X-Men franchise may just be another version of First Class, since many of the first few films’ stars are not contractually obligated to appear, which means they can hold out for more money. But why pay the big bucks when you can just use other, younger, less expensive actors (like Paquin and Ashmore)?

Wolverine 2 - This is almost a sure thing, as talk of a sequel began even before the first Wolvy film opened, and despite being a critical flop, the film did okay in the numbers. Expect it to cover the samurai era of Logan’s past.

Deadpool - Ryan Reynolds is a hot ticket these days, and rumor is he’s been longing for a hero franchise of his own ever since playing second fiddle to Wesley Snipes in Blade: Trinity. But now that he’s scored the part of Green Lantern in the upcoming film, will two superhero franchises feel like overkill?

X-Men Origins: Magneto - Though it’s been in “development” for a long time now, not much progress has been made on this one. It’s not an easy task to design a prequel film focusing on a villain, so whether it will ever see the light of day is anyone’s guess.

Blade

Speaking of prequels about villains being a bad idea…

Untitled Blade Prequels - As if one film weren’t bad enough, actor Stephen Dorff, who played villain Deacon Frost in the first film, had this to say about an upcoming project:

“It will be a prequel to the ‘Blade’ movies, Deacon’s story. It’s a new trilogy the director [Stephen Norrington] has created. It will [be] cool.”

You read that correctly - not just one film, but a trilogy.

Avengers

The extraordinarily well-received Iron Man was the first step towards a filmic tapestry leading up to The Avengers, as displayed by the final scene in which Tony Stark is approached by Nick Fury to speak with him about “the Avengers initiative,” and then Tony Stark’s cameo in The Incredible Hulk where he mentions a “team.” This sort of cross-pollination is enough to make even casual readers geek out, so here’s a look at what’s to come.

Iron Man 2 - Duh.

The First Avenger: Captain America - Though it has an unnecessary prefix, the Captain America movie was the first and most obvious choice when building a slew of films gearing up towards the Avengers. Shooting is set to begin next summer.

Thor - Shakespearean actor/director Kenneth Branagh is helming the epic fantasy about the mythical Norse god Odin. Super props to Marvel for not shying away from this utterly magical piece of the Avengers puzzle in the wake of the Dark Knight-inspired love for grittier, realistic superhero flicks.

And, of course:

The Avengers - The current expected premier date of The Avengers is May of 2012, which means they have to work fast with the other films if they want to make that goal.

Spider-Man

Oh, yeah, they’re making Spider-Man 4. And 5 and 6. These could really go either way. I’m hoping they’re like the first 2 and not the unwatchable Spider-Man 3.