Talking to MTV, Raimi confirmed what Campbell himself had told Access Hollywood last month:

I promised him we would write something because I really love putting him in the pictures... I promised him a good, meaty role.

Don't go assuming that this means that those Mysterio (or, for those enjoying the "All of Campbell's earlier cameos are the same person" idea, the Chameleon) rumors are true, though, because Raimi also admitted, "I don't even know what [the role] is yet." We're pulling for an unlikely time travel twist that will show Campbell as an older Peter Parker, just because we'd love to see he and Maguire try and ape each other for ninety minutes.

Sam Raimi Confirms Bruce Campbell Will Have 'Meaty Role' In 'Spider-Man 4' [MTV Splash Page]

Campbell told Access Hollywood that shooting for Spider-Man 4 will start in January 2010, and that he's been told he has a "major part" in the movie. Even Campbell doesn't know precisely what that role will be, but Access Hollywood notes there has been some fan speculation that Campbell could play master of illusions Mysterio — although those were rumors concerning Spider-Man 3.

/Film, on the other hand, speculates that the all the characters that Campbell has played are, in fact, a single character (one who has trouble holding down a job), and suspects that Campbell's "major" role means he'll be an important catalyst in the film rather than having more screen time.

Even if /Film is right that Campbell has been playing a single character throughout the franchise, that doesn't preclude a genuinely larger role for Campbell in the fourth movie, one that could shed light on his earlier performances. Is it possible that Campbell's character has been stalking Peter Parker since that fateful night in the wrestling ring? After all, he witnessed Peter's incredible feats of athleticism, and is the one who dubbed him "Spider-Man."

[Access Hollwood via /Film]

Campbell explained the premise behind the movie to Ain't It Cool:

It's for the fans. It's a cautionary tale of why you should never hire an actor to do anything other than act. Ultimately it's serving as a comedy premise, that's all. It's not to be my definitive statement on my life or career or fans. It's a one off gag movie that hopefully people will be somewhat tormented and confused and hopefully entertained... Look, acting is a heightened version of something. There's no such thing as a realistic actor since it's all make believe. So for the purpose of the movie, it's all about a broken down, loser, schmuck actor who has greatness thrust upon him, and he mostly fails. The fact that he's Bruce Campbell is an extra weirdo bonus that will either help or hurt.

Admittedly, Campbell's official site gives a better idea of the movie's actual plot:

My Name is Bruce is the heroic struggle of a small mining town (Gold Lick, Oregon) to rid itself of a vengeful monster. Guan-di (Jamie Peck), the Chinese god of war and protector of the dead, has been unleashed by cemetery desecrating teenagers to protect the graves of Chinese miners lost in a deadly cave-in of yesteryear.

The deadly demon’s mission is to eradicate all those who transgressed against the tomb (relatives included), which is virtually the entire population of Gold Lick. The inbred community has to find a solution so Jeff (Taylor Sharpe), the sole survivor of a deadly Guan-Di encounter, takes it upon himself to kidnap his idol, Bruce Campbell (Bruce Campbell), star of countless B-movie horror films, and recruit him to be their local savior.

Mortified at first, Bruce eventually goes along with Jeff’s prank, convinced that it’s all an elaborate birthday present from his agent (Ted Raimi), and begins to enjoy the spoils of being a movie hero, including free liquor and Jeff’s attractive mother, Kelly (Grace Thorsen).

But Jeff’s scheme goes horribly wrong when his hero, known more for fighting directors than mythical warriors, haphazardly leads the town in battle against Guan-Di. Confronted by a monster that’s not a guy in a rubber suit, and with the blood of innocents on his hands, Bruce abandons the harsh reality of Gold Lick for the sanctity of his former, artificial life.

In his ramshackle desert trailer, Bruce resumes the daily grind of genre sequels, poor housekeeping and cheap whiskey, but a gut-wrenching call from his biggest fan, Jeff - now forced to take on Guan-Di alone - prompts the actor to re-evaluate his destiny.

Against his better judgment (and the angry citizens of Gold Lick), Bruce returns to defeat Guan-Di, save Jeff, and snag his hot mother. In the climactic, mano-a-monster, Bruce tries to rise above the miserable, off-screen schmuck that he is and become a hero…in real life.

Be afraid, Gold Lick – be very afraid.

If that doesn't sound like your cup of tea, then Bruce has one last pitch that may sway you:

This is Bob Hope with decapitations; this is not SAW IX. So if folks are looking for the hardcore stuff, it ain't here. I mean, you're going to get the body count, you'll get that, but there's no torture porn in this. Torture porn, the great new phrase that's been invented.

The anti-Saw? Come on, surely that's reason enough to make this movie a smash-hit success.

Capone catches up with sex-god Bruce Campbell on his MY NAME IS BRUCE U.S. tour!!! [Ain't It Cool]

Our favorite part about the Bruce doll (which spins out of the My Name Is Bruce movie)? The accessories:

The fully articulated doll is formed from a 3-D scan of Campbell himself. Besides a custom fabric miniature version of his actual Hawaiian shirt, which was loaned to us by Mr. Campbell, proving that he's the kind of partner who would "give you the shirt off his back," an array of movie-specific accessories are included.

Two of these are miniature "angel" and "devil" versions of Mr. Campbell. They attach to his shoulders using hidden magnets. Additionally, we have:

Shemps Olde Tyme Whiskey
A Bruce collectible toy in melted package
Refreshing Lemon Drink bottle
A miniature Chins book
A big honkin' gun with price tag still attached

Puzzled? You won't be once you have seen the movie.

Yes, we know that $90 seems like a lot of money, but come on: How can you say no to this?

Dark Horse Solicitations, February 2009 [Comic Book Resources]

Even though the original Ho-Tep writer Don Coscarelli was connected to Bubba Nosferatu, Bruce Campbell's decision to pass on the idea seemed to doom this picture to development purgatory. But this week, Ain't It Cool News brings us news from Paul Giamatti that hope is not lost. And it sounds like instead of doing a story about an Elvis impersonator, they are thinking about doing a fake story about an actual "lost" Elvis movie.

I don’t want to give too much of it away! So yeah I’ll be playing Col. Parker, who… You know part of the great thing about this is not only are these wonderful genre movies, but he’s actually taking a weird, interesting take on the whole Elvis myth and kind of investigating the whole Elvis myth in a really interesting way, so it’s got a lot of stuff about Col. Parker being responsible for a lot of what happened to Elvis and kind of literally making him a vampire in some ways, you know? A kind of a blood sucker… It plays on a lot of things, this movie, in a great way and it’s got Sitting Bull in it and there’s a peyote trip in it that is amazing and it’s just a big leap beyond the other movie. It’s ten times more insane and bizarre and it’s great and hilarious, too. It’s funnier than the other one is even. It still ends up being this great character study of this Elvis guy.

But more importantly tam all of this is the news that Ron Perlman is being vetted for the role of Elvis:

And his movies are amazing. They are totally unique, you know? So then he asked me if I was interested in doing this one and I was just like “You have got to be kidding me. Yeah, absolutely!” I said, “I have a little production company and we can help you guys do this” and he brought me in onboard and now we have got Ron Perlman interested in playing Elvis.

Now, I know that Campbell played the aged Elvis impersonator, but I'm not entirely sold that Perlman can pull off The King. I wish they would just approach Campbell again to play Elvis as he did such an amazing job last time, and it would be pretty hard to top. Perlman is great and all, but I dunno - Is there really an actor out there that can fill the shoes of Campbell? His chin alone would take at least 4 actors. I mean, Perlman can deliver playful lines as Hellboy, but does he have the snide and charisma of Campbell? Does anyone? I put it to you dear readers: Who do you think can top Bruce?

Sadly though it sounds like Giamatti and friends did everything they could to get Campbell involved and he just wasn't interested. Sad.

Bubba Ho-Tep Trailer:

Erasure Children:
But not to leave you trailer free, we've got word of a crazy new low budget called Eraser Children, and just the name sounds like a total trip. The movie takes place in the future where Misner Corporation runs the land and will fine you for any violation they see fit (even if you laugh too loud). In this dystopia, you can buy your dreams... but you may be subjected to a few police beatings. Check out the trailer below, and for more information check out the official Erasure Children site.

[AICN and Quiet Earth]

It really is a week where you can pick up those classics that you never quite got around to reading. DC are putting out an oversized reprint of Frank Miller's pre-Dark Knight series Ronin (soon, like almost everything else Frank Miller has touched, to be a motion picture, as they say) as well as a regular sized new edition of apocalyptic superherofest Kingdom Come (You'll believe a man can fry!), while Image reissues Madman creator Mike Allred's secret origin of rock'n'roll odyssey Red Rocket 7 (in preparation for Neon Monster's Red Rocket 7 party a week on Saturday, of course), IDW collect some of the best Star Trek comics ever made in Star Trek Archives Volume 1: The Best of Peter David, and even Marvel gets in on the act with a new hardcover edition of Grant Morrison and JG Jones' very enjoyable Marvel Boy miniseries from the beginning of the century... all of which are easily recommended (especially Red Rocket 7).

Equally as recommended is Wonder Woman: The Circle, the hardcover collection of the start of Gail Simone's run on DC's favorite Amazon, which is just one of the non-contemporary collections also hitting shelves this week - In particular, you should pay attention to Star Wars: Clone Wars Vol. 1: Shipyards of Doom (for the title alone, I mean, come on), Marvel's time-traveling cyborg mutant book Cable Volume 1: Messiah War, and the weird-but-enjoyable Uncanny X-Men: Divided We Stand, which makes io9 hometown San Francisco seem even weirder that normal.

In terms of all-new material this week, it's a tough one: do you go for Marvel's Skaar Son Of Hulk Presents The Savage World Of Sakaar, which spins a one-off special issue about the home world of the Hulk's son, or Dark Horse's one-off My Name is Bruce, where Bruce Campbell kicks ass in a way that the Hulk could never manage?

Much easier to choose is the collection of the week - even with all of those classic books available above, there was no way that anything would seem more essential this week than Star Wars: Luke Skywalker, Last Hope for the Galaxy, an 800 page hardcover collection of comics from the last thirty years proving why George Lucas' favorite son isn't entirely overshadowed by Han Solo after all. In case you need some convincing, here's a preview of what to expect inside.

Whether you're following the force or just out for your own personal gain, you can find a complete list of this week's new comic releases here, and the whereabouts of your closest comic store at the Comic Shop Locator Service. Now let's blow this thing so we can all go home.

Here's what you'll see when you're home on Saturday nights in 2009:

Malibu Shark Attack. Peta Wilson, the crazy blonde from La Femme Nikita, chases down giant prehistoric sharks that attack Malibu Beach.

What If? (a back-door pilot for a new series.) It starts when comet just misses Earth, but sets off a second ice age. The whole movie will be shot Cloverfield-style on cellphones and handy cams. And it may give rise to a whole mockumentary-ish series, because the shaky-cam will never die.

Relic Quest follows a group of scientist on a "quest" to search for the greatest artifacts in history, some of which have unknown powers.

Soul Advice (this is supposedly a working title... yuck.) NBC's resident psychic Allison Dubois (from Medium) leads a team of mind-readers and scientists. Together they use their science and mental powers to solve impossible crimes.

And here are some of our favorite moments from Sci Fi Channel original movies past:

The Man With The Screaming Brain:

Decoys:

Ice Spiders:

[Futon Critic and Sci Fi Wire]