"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...

I'm here in Hall H, where the room is packed with shrieking "Twilight" fans and the geeks that are trying their best to not have their ears shattered. Some big news, however, has already been made by "Astro Boy," the new adaptation of a sci-fi cartoon classic.

Moments before unveiling the eye-popping new trailer for the flick, Summit (the studio releasing "New Moon" and "Astro Boy) announced that two new actors had signed on to join Nicolas Cage, Kristen Bell, Freddie Highmore and the rest. And they ain't lightweights.

Samuel L. Jackson and Charlize Theron will be loaning their familiar pipes to the fall flick. Although it was not revealed which characters they'll be playing - and they could not be heard in the trailer- both are expected to voice prominent characters.

The trailer for Astro-Boy featured some amazing CG-animated footage of the boy robot, an enormous "Peacekeeper" evil robot, and even depicted a moment when Astro Boy comically discovers that he has machine guns in his butt. The clip also took the relatively-rare Comic Con approach of revealing several unfinished shots, encouraging fans to use their imagination.

Stay tuned to MTV News for further developments on Samuel L. Jackson and Charlize Theron's roles in "Astro Boy," as well as other breaking Comic-Con news.

Last week news broke that Image Comics' "Proof" had been optioned by Kickstart Entertainment with intent to make it an animated series. "Futurama" writer Evan Gore was named as the potential writer for a pilot and comic book film veteran Samuel L. Jackson was rumored to star. However, since the report came from an anonymous source, there was a distinct lack of, well... proof.

Fortunately, "Proof" writer, letterer and co-creator Alex Grecian was willing to not only confirm the news, but also to share some insights into an animated world showcasing supernatural species and sasquatch action. Read more...

Back in early May, we got our first look at Samuel L. Jackson as S.H.I.E.L.D. Chief Nick Fury on the set of "Iron Man 2," looking every bit the bad-ass in black leather and eyepatch -- or at least, as bad-ass as someone can look when standing next to a giant donut.

Never mind the environment, we said, Nick Fury is sure to be kickin' butt and taking names alongside Tony Stark in the "Iron Man" sequel, right? Not so, according to Jackson. In fact, when we caught up with the actor during an event commemorating the 20th anniversary of Spike Lee's film "Do The Right Thing," Jackson said fans will likely have to wait for "The Avengers" for Fury to see some action.

"Not this time, not yet," Jackson told MTV News of the likelihood we'll see his character become the action hero fans know in "Iron Man 2." "We still haven't moved Nick Fury into the bad-ass zone. He's still just kind of a talker." Read more...

With comic books such as "Human Target" and "Fables" heading to the small screen, it's only a matter of time before television gives movie theaters a run for its money in terms of graphic novel fare. If you need further proof of that claim, look no further than "Proof."

Comics2Film is reporting that Kickstart Entertainment has optioned Image Comics' "Proof" as an animated television series. According to the site's anonymous source, Samuel L. Jackson is attached to the project and could provide the voice of the lead character. Read more...

One way or another, "The Avengers" is coming, even if some involved in the production are skeptical about successfully bringing Marvel's hottest properties together in one film. But there's one member of Marvel Studios that's confident in the film's prospects -- Doug Finberg.

Finberg, the head of marketing for the comic book movie studio, revealed his thoughts on Marvel's movie slate during the recent Saturn Awards ceremony. According to him, the essential ingredient involved in getting superhero team-up film "The Avengers" right is, ironically enough, teamwork. Read more...

Just last week, word broke via Jon Favreau's never-ending Twitter rampage that Tony Stark and Nick Fury -- the heroic "Iron Man 2" leads played by Robert Downey Jr. and Samuel L. Jackson respectively -- had shot their very first scene of the film together.

Given the two characters' proclivity towards high-octane action -- Tony being a superhero and Nick being a super-spy, after all -- fans got to salivating thinking that these two comic book icons would be back to back trading firepower with renegade HYDRA Agents or similar baddies. Read more...

The "Iron Man 2" news keeps coming in, thanks to Jon Favreau's very active Twittering. Today, the director of the "Iron Man" franchise has provided fans with two bits of information sure to get the crowd buzzing -- the first of which involves the film's new female lead.

"Scarlett's first day on set in the Black Widow outfit," the director wrote today. "You've never heard a crew get so quiet so fast." Read more...

Fresh off a new, nine-movie deal, Samuel L. Jackson recently commented about his return to the role of Marvel super-spy Nick Fury, claiming that his on-and-off status with the studio wasn't posturing, and that he was genuinely surprised things worked out.

"No one was more surprised than me that it turned around," Jackson told LA Times blog Hero Complex. "It's great that it did." Read more...

What do "Batman," "Superman," "Akira," "Hellboy," "The Hulk," "Iron Man," "The Punisher," "Spider-Man," "The Spirit," "Dragonball," "Wanted," "Transformers," "X-Men" and "Watchmen" all have in common? Easy!

It's no secret that the comic-to-movie translation can be hit or miss. On one hand, you have someone like the Punisher — one of the most intense, complex and dark characters ever created in the comic book universe — so you would have thought his story and swagger alone would be enough to make a great action movie with maybe even a good sequel. Apparently not! The movie studios messed up that franchise not once ... not twice ... but three times (once with Dolph Lundgren, then Thomas Jane and most recently with some guy called Ray Stevenson).

But then, on the other hand, we all know the $1 billion story of "The Dark Knight," not to mention "Iron Man," which totally revived Robert Downey Jr.'s career.
Read more...