Well, it seems like this week will be more comic-focused than anything else as kids slobber in anticipation of Watchmen next week.

Samuel L. Jackson squashes any rumor that he won’t be Nick Fury by becoming contractually bound to appear as the character in nine films. Off the top of our head, that’d include Iron Man 2, Avengers, Captain America, Thor…and five others?! Yeesh. Variety has the whole deal.

Speaking of thunder gods, Splash Page spoke with Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada and Brian “WORDS” Michael Bendis after talking to director Kenneth Brannagh. People are wary of Bendis’ involvement, but he laughs it off. Let’s hope so.

IESB claims they found a possible new suit design for Iron Man 2. Mark IV Armor or another unused production model? Still way too early to tell.

Total Recall is being remade and there isn’t a goddamn way to stop or forget about it at THR. Also being geared up for a rehash is The Neverending Story from Leo DiCaprio’s production company.

In yet another “F.U. Joss” moment, the DC Comics series Suicide Squad has a writer in Justin Marks according to THR. Originally a Golden Age title heavy on scientists fighting monsters, was revamped in the 80s to focus on captured B/C-list super villains given a set of impossible missions by the government in return for their freedom. Best known character from it is the Batman villain, Deadshot. Marks’ best known work? The new Street Fighter flick coming out Friday. Oof.

Cate Blanchett joins the clusterfuck that is Ridley Scott’s Nottingham Robin Hood Whatever the fuck it is called now as Maid Marian.

Ed Helms is staring and co-producing with Steve Carell an untitled Civil War comedy about a renactor who gets sent back in time to the actual event.

Diablo Cody is going to produce a zombie love-story thing. No, I know you’re shocked. It’s ok. I’m here for you.

Did we miss anything? Should we care? Leave it in the comments, gentle reader.

Once again, it’s time for me to wrap up the production stories of the week in one big “things you should keep an eye” on fashion. This week, Robert Ludlum spews multiple properties across the board, Ridley Scott abandons Nottingham, Shia LaBeouf will be legally thrilling, Reese Witherspoon teams with Iron Man for a sci-fi actioneer, Halle Berry is a jewel thief, Johnny Quest gets lamer and War Games might be in line for a remake…

A lot of today’s news is people getting attached to different projects that will begin production soon. They aren’t really rumor and they aren’t uber important (’cept maybe the Green Lantern director, which I have been unceremoniously mum about). Under the cut: What Tom Cruise is up to, who is going to write 20K Leagues Under the Sea for McG, Jonah Hex gets some old school actor power, Nightmare on Elm Street haunts a director, and Brad Bird’s 1906…

Sometimes lots of stuff happens, and though I could put up a series of one line posts (and with my current computer-less situation, that would be an attractive option), or I can bring back The Dregs to sum up some of the big, breaking stories of the week.

While I slowly wear down the battery on my friend’s MacBook, I have opted for the latter. So, check it:

Tin Tin has slightly evolved in public perception. The screenplay, written by Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish will be directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by Peter Jackson. It’s called Tin Tin: The Secret Of The Unicorn, and will probably be based on the 11th and 12th books in the series, called Secret Of The Unicorn and Red Rackham’s Treasure. These two books set off a four-book series that conclude with The Seven Crystal Balls and Prisoners of the Sun, probably stories that will be lumped into Peter Jackson’s sequel. Also, Jamie Bell, who was previously Billy Elliot in Billy Elliot will play Tin Tin. You can read what I just wrote, but with another entertaining voice behind it HERE at /Film.

John Singleton was all like: “Hey, I’ll make and A-Team movie,” then he dropped out, because - seriously people - why make an A-Team movie. Then, Tony and Ridley Scott thought: “Hey, maybe we can make a good A-Team movie,” but they set it up at Fox, who branded them with a June 11th 2010 release date and Joe Carnahan (Narc, Smokin’ Aces) to direct, which means A-Team’s crappy concept has been handed over to a crappy studio with a competent director. Now it needs to prove it’s worthy. [THR]

So that long post that we wrote about the Green Hornet maybe being on life support (HERE) may not have been the most accurate thing. Or, maybe it was and the industry buzz had an ulterior motive, like kicking production into gear (nothing starts production like thinking it’s in jeopardy). Now, we’re hearing that it’s still churning at that Adam Sandler and Seth Rogan have apparently made nice on the set of Judd Apatow’s funny people, because Sandler is going to be in The Green Hornet as a superhero cameo. More at HitFix HERE.

Since I spent a lot of Monday on an airplane when our server wasn’t down, I thought I’d take a moment to update on some new production news that has broken earlier this week.

Covered inside: The Adventures of Tin Tin, Jonah Hex, Halloween 2, Tron 2, and the geek-gasm Quantum Quest…

News is starting to slow down in anticipation of the holiday season and we here at The Bad And Ugly have been slamming egg nogs, like, 6 nights in a row. What’s more fun than egg nog, you ask? Actual film news.

James Cameron has cycled back around to the Forbidden Planet remake. He was originally attached to the film post-Titanic, but has been toiling away for years on the 3D Avatar, which is supposed to blow our tiny little minds when it hits about this time next year. [IESB]

We might have already relegated The Spirit to bad buzz land, but that’s not stopping the Frank Miller, director hype. Now it looks like the comic-book writer/artist has turned full-on into a writer/director. We just wish we would get something more Miller than Buck Rogers. Not that Buck Rogers isn’t awesome, but it’s not right up Miller’s alley…yet. Look for a story shift that will make Rogers more Miller. Though that’s not a good idea. [CS]

The teaser trailer for Night At The Museum 2: Battle Of The Smithsonian is being hosted exclusively at HappyMeal.com. Which should give you an idea of what audience Ben Stiller’s flick is shooting for. Abe Lincoln calling out Stiller for secretly liking Amy Adams’ Amelia Earhart was a particularly forehead-slapping moment [happymeal.com]

Paramount plans to resurrect the Jack Ryan franchise with - gasp! - an origin story! Last time Ryan appeared on-screen, he was Ben Affleck in 2002’s Sum Of All Fears, which was also a re-boot with a younger Jack Ryan. This new movie, though, will NOT be adapted from Tom Clancy’s work, where as Sum Of All Fears was loosly the same. [THR]

And it’s not news, but we thought we’d leave you with this quote from AICN’s Dustin Hoffman interview, since Dustin Hoffman is wise:

But certainly I know what doesn’t exist now in the culture which did exist then - and it’s not just my profession, it’s everything. It’s that the money did not dominate. It was not the definition as it is now. To do good work: that was the emphasis. We didn’t have the top five movies and what they grossed. The public didn’t know, or, when they did, they didn’t care. The studios weren’t trying to make home runs every time because they didn’t have to. They were willing to get their money back or maybe make a few dollars, but they mostly just wanted to make that movie.

Because the film industry is what the film industry does, and what the film industry does is turn out crap and sequels to crap more often than not, it’s no surprise that there are some CRAP-tacular stories this week.

Here’s our Top 5 real-news absurdities:

Absurdity 5: New action figure the upcoming Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins horror-remake flick suggests that they have re-imagined the Wolfman to look like Han Solo turned-werewolf.

This is our first look at him? Marketing faux pas. [ShockTillYouDrop]

Absurdity 4: The good news is that Brett Ratner hasn’t been attached at the director of the Conan re-make quite yet. The bad news is that it’s because he’s doing Beverly Hills Cop 4 first. [CS]

Absurdity 3: Todd Solondz, the director of Happiness, is gearing up his next flick, a dramatic comedy about family against the backdriop of a war. He’s cast Paul Reubens, Allison Janney, Charlotte Rampling…and Paris Hilton [Dlisted]

Absurdity 2: Yes, there really is going to be a Monopoly movie directed by Ridley Scott. As far as we know, this is not a prank. [BWE]

Absurdity 1: Yes, America elected Barack Obama. Yes, Beyonce wants to be Wonder Woman, but why in all holy hell would you do a Karate Kid remake starring Will Smith’s son, Jaden Christopher Syre Smith?!?!?! [IGN]