It's been a while since we checked in with the Top Cow crew about "The Witchblade," the planned feature film based on the publisher's long-running, fan-favorite comic book series about a female police detective who fights evil with the aid of a supernatural artifact. Back in May, Top Cow president Matt Hawkins said the project was still looking for a writer, but financing had already been secured and director Michael Rymer ("Battlestar Galactica," "Queen of the Damned") was attached.

During a recent conversation with Hawkins, the Top Cow chief said very little's changed in that respect—but they have come up with a new take on the movie's plot.

"We sat down with a couple of guys, [co-producer] Platinum Studios and Marc Silvestri and I, and we banged out a three-page document that says here’s the basic story idea we want to do," said Hawkins. "It’s sort of a balancing act—it’s very different from the book, but thematically, it’s very much the same." Read more...

Last month, it was announced that "Alibi," a Top Cow comic written by Joshua Hale Fialkov and illustrated by Jeremy Haun, was tagged for adaptation by "Surrogates" producer Mandeville Films. A story of twin brothers who lead very different lives (one is a deadly government agent while the other is a wealthy socialite), "Alibi" has only had one issue published—but it was enough to catch the attention of Hollywood.

I recently had a chance to talk with the president of Top Cow, Matt Hawkins, to get a little more info on the deal and what they have planned for the project. As one of the co-creators of "Alibi," Hawkins has a particular affection for the project, and he shared his thoughts on where it's at and where he'd like to see it headed. Read more...

Last we heard from the "Magdalena" camp, the upcoming adaptation of the Top Cow property had landed "Midnight Meat Train" director Ryûhei Kitamura to helm the project, with "The Butterfly Effect 3: Revelations" writer Holly Brix penning the screenplay.

Chronicling the adventures of a direct descendant of Mary Magdalene who protects the world against evil using a variety of supernatural powers, "Magdalena" already has its stars in "Step Up" actress Jenna Dewan (playing the heroine, Patience) and "Hellboy II" actor Luke Goss (playing Patience's mentor, Kristof). Last year, we featured a week of video interviews with Dewan (we've embedded some of them in this post), and now we thought we'd check in with the new "Magdalena" writer to see where the project's at these days—and where she's planning to take it.

MTV: Where is the film at right now? Where are you in the process?

HOLLY BRIX: Right now, we're working out a deal so that I can start writing. We're not at the beginning of the process, but we're just going to script. Read more...

"Wanted" director Timur Bekmambetov has made no secret of his desire to bring Angelina Jolie back for the sequel to last year's hit film based loosely on the comic book series by Mark Millar and J.G. Jones. However, her character's final scene in the film made such a return unlikely—if not impossible.

While Jolie previously told MTV News she didn't think her character, Fox, would be making a comeback for "Wanted 2," it's worth noting that this is still the world of comic books—and as all fans know, no character stays away very long in comics. In fact, when we spoke to Bekmambetov recently, he not only reiterated his plans to bring Jolie's character back, but he said they already have a plan for how it's going to happen.

[SPOILER ALERT!] Read more...

"Alibi," the comic book series about John Stephens and his secretive twin brother who operates as a top-secret government assassin, is headed for the big screen.

Variety reports that the Top Cow Productions series written by Joshua Hale Fialkov and illustrated by Jeremy Haun will be adapted into a feature-length film courtesy of a partnership between the publisher and Mandeville Films.

The comic book was initially conceived as part of Top Cow's "Pilot Season," an initiative that showcases a series of one-shot issues that serve as back-door "pilots" for elaborated ongoing series. Readers vote on their favorite books, with the winning issue -- sometimes the top two -- moving on for full-fledged series. Read more...

Celebrity-created sequential art is always a sensitive subject among serious comic book fans. Many stars, such as “Mayhem” creator Tyrese Gibson candidly address their motivations for entering the medium, while others take a less hands-on approach to addressing audience skepticism. While it’s far too early to tell which route a given star will take, there should be plenty of opportunities to tackle the topic as Jeff Katz's American Original puts comics behind comics with the production of a new line of graphic novels collected under the “Comedy Death Ray” banner.

Announced during San Diego Comic-Con, the line is planned to feature titles by Bob Odenkirk, Sarah Silverman (pictured), Patton Oswalt, B.J. Novak, David Cross, Janeane Garofalo, Paul Scheer and Zach Galifanakis among others. Read more...

The curving bullets and hot kisses of "Wanted" could be returning to theaters quicker than anyone expected. The sequel, written by "Pooh's Heffalump" writer Evan Spiliotopoulos, reportedly has a finished script turned in, and the original comic book property's writer, Mark Millar, claims production is on a fast track.

Millar predicted that shooting for "Wanted 2" could begin within eight weeks' time, according to SuperHeroHype.com. The high-profile comics scribe, who created "Wanted" with artist J.G. Jones, offered his positive assessment of the the movie's productions timeline at Comic-Con this week during a conversation about "Kick-Ass." Read more...

Former X-Men artist, Image co-founder and Top Cow CEO Marc Silvestri seems to have found a new niche in Hollywood production. The "Wanted" executive producer will repeat that role on his company's next movie adaptation "Magdalena" with newly announced director Ryûhei Kitamura.

Valhalla Motion Pictures and Platinum Studios signed Kitamura, who most recently directed Clive Barker's "Midnight Meat Train." Also new to the "Magdalena" team is "The Butterfly Effect 3: Revelations" writer Holly Brix. Silverstri's production team for the religious history-inspired action tale includes Gale Anne Hurd of "Terminator 2," Platinum Studios head Scott Mitchell Rosenberg and Top Cow president Matt Hawkins, according to Variety. Read more...

Last week's poll asked readers to vote on the comic book movie sequel they're most eager to see, and when all the votes were tallied, Hollywood heavy-hitters Spider-Man and Batman both emerged victorious with the most-wanted follow-ups to their respective films.

In the end, "Spider-Man 4" and "Batman 3" tied for the top vote-getters in the poll, each nabbing 29 percent of the total votes. However, Jon Favreau's just-wrapped "Iron Man 2" followed closely on their tails, tallying 26 percent of the votes.

After the top three options, it wasa big jump down to the rest of the poll's choices. Read more...

I'm running a day late on this week's edition of "Best Bets," but I hope you'll excuse the delay. When someone offers advance tickets to "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," any self-respecting geek worth his long boxes knows that decisions have to be made and schedules should be shuffled for Optimus Prime -- and let's be honest here, Megan Fox.

So, without further excuses on my side, let's get right to the best of this week's comics with Hollywood ties, shall we?

"FREDDY VS. JASON VS. ASH: THE NIGHTMARE WARRIORS" #1 (DC/Dynamite) -- Not only is it the sequel to 2007's "Freddy Vs. Jason Vs. Ash" miniseries, which was based on the script to a movie that would have tied together the "Freddy Vs. Jason" movie and the "Evil Dead" trilogy (and that alone should be enough to excite, well... anyone), but "Nightmare Warriors" is co-written by James Kuhoric and comics/movie veteran Jeff Katz -- who provided the script treatment for the original "Freddy Vs. Jason Vs. Ash" story. Basically, "Nightmare Warriors" is likely to be every bit as good as you hope it will be. Read more...