• 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.

• Every now and then I see book covers of the pulp novels and magazines from decades ago and wish I could have been born back when pulp fiction was fresh and un-ironic. Then I remember how much I love the internet. Fortunately, those two things are coming together thanks to Pro Se Productions.

• The always amusing FactPile matches recently put up a knockdown-dragout between Link and Eragon. Who would you guys choose for the win?

• Blastr has the first pics of Joseph Fiennes as Merlin in the upcoming Camelot. There’s also a brief interview with Fiennes where he says, when describing their version of Merlin, that “he is more of a warrior monk and less of a Zen Obi-Wan Gandalf,” thus immediately earning my love for dropping a ton of nerd-bombs in one sentence! You go, Shakespeare!

• Anyone else wish they would stop mentioning all these extra roles for X-Men: First Class? I like Rose Byrne, and I think she’ll make a good Moira MacTaggert, but each new character on screen means less actual time for character growth, which made the first two films so great and the most recent two so dizzyingly awful, almost on par with the Street Fighter film.

• Speaking of which, Hugh Jackman has dropped out of the film Avon Man so he can train for Wolverine 2. Hopefully the writers are training, as well, by watching Bryan Singer’s films and seeing what he did right.

• Ever notice how when you walk into the fantasy section of a bookstore, you’re suddenly surrounded by millions of covers with a beautiful woman holding a weapon? Orbitbooks examines this phenomenon, and notice that the ladies have gotten increasingly bad-ass in the last year. Awesome.

• You know what, I’m just going to let this video speak for itself.

EMBED-Living Stormtrooper Prank Scares Girl - Watch more free videos

• I’m not the kind of person who immediately dismisses a movie based on the trailer — which is probably naive, for the most part. But I don’t know … this trailer for the upcoming alien film Monsters looks like there’s absolutely nothing original in it. But who knows? Might be worth a look.

• 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.

• Lost showrunner Damon Lindelof recently shared his top 5 hate-tweets he got after the season finale of Lost. In my opinion, he deserves about a million of those every day for six years (the length of time Lost was on the air). Only then can he be forgiven. My favorite tweet: “My very first tweet. I started this account just to let you know how disappointed I am in you.”

• Did Syfy rip off Buffy’s Amber Benson (Tara)?

• Matthew Vaughn made sure he didn‘t rip off Inception (or, at least, made it clear that’s not what he was doing) by getting rid of 12 pages of the X-Men script — which featured a psychic battle in a dreamscape — after he saw Christopher Nolan’s film. That sound you hear is all the nerds in the world lamenting in unison. And I’m the chorus leader!

• Speaking of choruses, hold on to your mushrooms! Alice in Wonderland is coming to Broadway.

• There’s a new Torchwood comic on the way, written by Captain Jack himself, John Barrowman. If the cover art is any indication, the story will include Ianto, perhaps being set before his character’s untimely death. Considering he was the best character on the show, I will definitely be picking this up.

• As we all know by now, Lorena met her demise on the most recent episode of True Blood. So, long, Lorena! You were just the darn prettiest psycho this side of the Mason-Dixon, I do declare! (What? I never said I could do a Southern accent.)

• Okay, I was instructed to watch the trailer for Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark with all the lights turned off and the sound up all the way. I did. And almost peed myself. So go ‘head, y’all!

• Finally, the merry jokesters over at College Humor give us their take on the overly-complex dream rules of Inception:

• In Marvel casting news, Alice Eve has been tapped to play Emma Frost in X-Men: First Class, which would imply they’re going to follow the continuity laid down by X-Men Origins: Wolverine. I say if you’re going to reboot, then just reboot. According to the comics, the first class of X-Men was Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Ice Man, Beast, and Angel. How great would it be to see just those guys on screen, working as a team?

• In further Marvel casting news, the reliably grizzled Tommy Lee Jones has been cast in Captain America: The First Avenger as Colonel Phillips, who in the comics recruited Steve Rogers into the program that turned him into the star-spangled Cap.

• By now we’ve all seen the trailer for the upcoming Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, but here’s a funny take on it.

• A few years ago, I first heard the term “cinematic Marvel universe” and swooned with delight. Well, now the gods of Marvel are conquering the medium of television as well. How awesome would a few live-action series, a la Smallville, be? The possibilities are limitless.

• If your brain doesn’t explode with information (mine did), here’s a fascinating look at whether or not we live in a multiverse. And I’ll own it: I’m only interested in finding a double of myself so we can make out.

• Do to circumstances beyond our control … er, I mean from beyond the grave! Woooooooo … we don’t have one of our “goth recaps” of True Blood this week. But as a consolation prize, I can give you io9’s hilarious (and NSFW) review. And for those who saw the episode … some ending, huh? I’m going to need some serious therapy to erase that image from my mind.

• And while we’re on a NSFW kick, here’s a funny video from the folks at Cracked, which follows Toy Story’s Andy when he goes to college.

• Anyone who’s been keeping up with the Buffy Season 8 comics knows that the last issue was pretty intense, as Buffy and Angel, who had been masquerading as Twilight, once again got all groiny with each other. But this time it has something to do with the nature of the universe. Uh-huh. You can read all about it in this interview with writer Brad Meltzer.

• Here’s a pretty funny list about the the things that Hollywood thinks computers can do. All you need to do is watch one episode of any primetime procedural to know it’s true.

• Not too long ago, I made up a Fantasy Casting list for The Hobbit, and chose Brian Cox as Thorin Oakenshield. Often those lists are wishful thinking, but I really thought Cox had a good shot. However, he might have been beaten out by Australian actor Jack Thompson, who certainly does have a dwarvish appeal. Here’s a pic:

• Well, Lost fans, it’s been quite a run, hasn’t it? Soon we’re going to be leaving the island for good, but before that happens, check out this cool interview with Daniel Dae Kim about his character Jin and his love for his wife Sun. Made me all sorts of sentimental.

• Cracked has a pretty awesome list of the 7 Most Soul-Crushing Series Finales. Did you know that Alf got caught by the government?! Turns out it was supposed to be a cliffhanger to set up the next season, but the show got canceled and so it never resolved (except for in a weird TV movie). Please, please, don’t let something similar happen to Legend of the Seeker. That show deserves closure and dignity.

• It looks it’s really happening: X-Men: First Class will be released in June of next year. Be still my geeky heart …

• Finally, this caught my eye as being really cool. As we all know, the two feature films based on Street Fighter … what’s the word I’m looking for … sucked. So actor/stuntman Joey Ansah, who had one of the best fight scenes in the Bourne movies (and how’s that for street cred?) took it upon himself to create his own fan film. You can find out more on his website, but to whet your appetite, here’s a trailer.

• John Bernthal (The Ghost Writer) has signed on for AMC’s zombie series The Walking Dead. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about a zombie television series – it’s weird thinking about zombies being the protagonists of the story, but considering it’s from Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, best movie ever), I’m will to entertain the concept.

• Shrek Forever After is happening whether we want it to or not. I have to admit chuckling at some of the character posters they just released. This is my favorite of the seven:

• Bryan Singer will not be directing X-Men: First Class, but he is producing. Singer can’t get away from his existing contract to direct Jack the Giant Killer, so Fox is going to get another director to create Singer’s concept. Please be more X-Men than X-Men 3.

• Doctor Who is less than a week away for our British readers, and just a couple weeks for those in the States. So it seems only fitting that there’s a new season 5 trailer that premiered on Jonathan Ross.

• Jonathan also has some footage from “Vampires In Venice” which is the sixth episode from the season. I’m warming to Matt Smith — the more I see, the more I like him. He feels very much The Doctor.

• A concept I’m not sure about is Zac Efron as The Flash. I like him better in the role than Sam Worthington who seems a little old for the role in my mind. Still, it’s all rumor at this point.

• I’m sure some of you are fans of the nerdtastic The Big Bang Theory. Despite protesting that Sheldon is asexual, they have cast a female version of Sheldon to appear later in the series. They do spend the night together, but if she’s actually just like him, I assume they argue the whole night rather than get frisky. The actress is a flashback though - Mayim Bialik, better known as Blossom to those of us of a certain age.

• J.D. Shapiro, the man who wrote the original screenplay for Battlefield Earth has penned an apology to the entire world for ever having visited it on the world. He’d like forgiveness, because he was young and horny at the time, and just trying to get laid.

• The Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards were this weekend, and the main fantasy bit was Taylor Lautner’s abs were voted best actor. But more importantly, they ran a new spot for Iron Man 2 during the show, and it may finish with the best line ever in a movie trailer.

• The Los Angeles Times is reporting that the leading candidate to play Maleficent in the Disney adaptation of their greatest villain is none other than Angelina Jolie. Take this with a huge grain of salt, since there’s no script, no director, and no timeline, but she does look the part.

• Vampires, Werewolves, Zombies: The Compendium Monstrum is a travel-sized book with everything you need to know for surviving the titled monsters or traversing Transylvania. Complete with historical information and hand-drawn maps of the most infested parts of the globe, this $10 book is a must-have for surviving in a world-gone-mad.

• Josh Cochran is selling a limited edition print of his poster Zombies vs. Unicorns. It’s not necessarily a battle that had crossed my mind, but inked in four colors, it truly is epic, even if the primary weapon seems to be unicorn horns for both sides.

• How To Train Your Dragon was a strong hit this weekend, raking in $43.3 million and getting mostly positive reviews from people who saw it. This bumped Alice In Wonderland down to #2 with $17.3 million, giving fantasy both top slots. Hot Tub Time Machine was a disappointing #3 at $13.7, and may be the final nail in MGM’s coffin.

• Australia’s Hungry Beast Comedy Troupe managed to hit every science fiction and fantasy movie released in the last ten years when they made this parody trailer for Avatar 2. Best joke about blue people since Dances with Smurfs.

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.