"Astro Boy," based on the long-standing manga and anime series of the same name, rockets into theaters this weekend with an impressive voice cast that includes Freddie Highmore, Kristen Bell and Nicolas Cage.

While the animated adaptation already has connections to the comic book world by its very nature, several members of the film's cast have their own ties to the paneled page outside of "Astro Boy"—just check out the following five actors to see their connections to other comic book and superhero-related projects! Read more...

Way back in the '90s, Michael Keaton was Bruce Wayne, comic books came with a dozen variant covers and Nicolas Cage was the actor tagged to bring another DC icon, Superman, back to the big screen. And now we have a peek at what the "Ghost Rider" actor might have looked like as the Man of Steel.

Or do we?

A photo that recently popped up on TimBurton.jp purports to be a leaked image from Cage's screen test for the role of Superman, complete with spandex costume and long, "Death of Superman"-era hair. They've also posted a video that features some of the concept art created for the film, which was set to be directed by Tim Burton and feature a story initially conceived by Kevin Smith. Read more...

Nicolas Cage's departure from "The Green Hornet" created quite a bit of buzz last week, but it was followed up by unconfirmed reports this week that "Inglourious Basterds" actor Christoph Waltz was in talks to replace Cage as the film's villain.

While promoting his upcoming film "Bad Lieutenant, Port of Call: New Orleans" at the Toronto International Film Festival, Cage opened up about the reasons he made such an abrupt exit from Seth Rogen and Michel Gondry's film.

"'The Green Hornet' was something that I wanted to do, I think Michel Gondry is very talented and I had hoped it would work but I think Seth Rogen and Michel had a different take on the character," Cage told The Canadian Press. Read more...

Nicolas Cage is well-known as a comic book fan—after all, his stage name is derived from none other than Luke Cage—but perhaps Cage isn't quite as big a fan of Seth Rogen's favorite comics.

The "Kick-Ass" actor has long been in talks to star alongside Rogen, Jay Chou and Cameron Diaz in "The Green Hornet," the adaptation of the pulp icon directed by Michel Gondry. According to the Hollywood Reporter, however, those talks are over—and Cage will not appear in the film.

The most recent indicator that something wasn't right regarding Cage's casting came in the form of a press release signaling the beginning of production on "Hornet." While the announcement confirmed the casting of Diaz, Chou, Edward James Olmos and even the as-yet-mentioned Tom Wilkinson, it specifically noted that Nicolas Cage was still in negotiations for the movie. Read more...

Footage (and new casting announcements) from "Astro Boy" wowed audiences during Comic-Con, and now Summit Entertainment has released six new images from the CGI adaptation of Osamu Tezuka's massively popular manga.

The film tells the story of a scientist, Dr. Tenma (voiced by Nicolas Cage) who replaces his lost son with a powerful robot (Freddie Highmore), who must then come to terms with his own identity as a child, a robot and, most importantly, a hero. Along with Cage, actors Donald Sutherland and Bill Nighy also voiced characters in the film, and today we have our first look at all of their characters in the new images -- as well as a few more shots from the much-anticipated film. Read more...

It’s been a busy last few days for Seth Rogen and his “Green Hornet” team, who kicked off Comic-Con Wednesday by unveiling The Black Beauty -- the iconic car that the funnyman will be driving when cameras soon begin rolling on the 2010 release. After the unveiling of the sleek auto, we also got them to cough up the name of Cameron Diaz and Nicolas Cage’s characters in the film, as well as some other brand-new details.

“Lenore Case, would be her role,” Rogen said of Diaz, confirming that out of the several female leads in the “Green Hornet” radio, TV and movie incarnations over the last 70 years, the “Charlie’s Angels” star will be playing the character nicknamed “Casey.” “Assuming all the deals close, which it looks like they will.” Read more...

Just as Stephen Chow's involvement in "Green Hornet" has officially come to an end, word comes in that two other actors are circling the project.

Along with confirming an earlier report that actress Cameron Diaz is eyeing a role in the Michel Gondry-directed "The Green Hornet," Variety adds that "Kick-Ass" actor Nicolas Cage is in early negotiations to join the cast of the Seth Rogen movie as well.

If the casting pans out, Cage will play a gangster villain opposite Rogen's masked crime fighter. The report also notes that Diaz's character is a reporter and love interest for the titular hero. Read more...

Just last week we received confirmation from "Kick-Ass" director Matthew Vaughn that Nicolas Cage and Chloe Moretz will indeed be wearing their costumes from the comic book, and also heard that the images of Moretz released thus far are not how her vigilante alter ego will look in the film. Now we have a description straight from Cage himself about his costume for the film -- and what you can expect to see when his character, Big Daddy, appears on screen.

"Yes, yes you will," Cage told MTV News when asked whether we'll see him in full-on costume during the film. "That's going to happen... the cape, the full shebang." Read more...

"Kick-Ass" fans, don't be fooled by the images of Chloe Moretz as Hit Girl circulating around the 'Net -- the father-daughter vigilante team of Nicolas Cage and Moretz will indeed dispense brutal justice while wearing their costumes from the comic.

In an interview with MTV News, "Kick-Ass" director Matthew Vaughn said promotional images of the film's pre-teen vigilante sporting a schoolgirl outfit and gun don't actually depict her costume for the film, and like her "Kick-Ass" co-stars Aaron Johnson and Christopher Mintz-Plasse, she'll have a costume modeled after her comic book counterpart.

"That's not her costume. No one's seen her costume yet," Vaughn told MTV News of the various images that have appeared online. "That's just part of a plan to take some people out. That's her alter ego." Read more...

Last we heard from the "Ghost Rider 2" camp, Sony and the star of the 2007 film, Nicolas Cage, were still looking for a writer and director to helm the sequel. A well-known comic book fan, Cage hasn't been shy about sharing his thoughts on where the studio should go for the sequel and his plans to reprise his role as Johnny blaze, the human side of the Spirit of Vengeance.

While discussing his role in the upcoming CGI/live-action family film "G-Force" (Cage will voice one of the movie's guineau pig heroes), the actor told MTV News that he's looking less toward "sequel" and more toward "reboot" for the next "Ghost Rider" film.

"I would like to do a reconceive," Cage told MTV News. "I would like to go in a whole other direction, and I think that's what they're talking about." Read more...