Eonline has broken the news that Theron is director George Miller's number-one pick for the female lead in Mad Max 4. And with end-of-the-world features being all the rage, he may score this Oscar-winning actress.

Tom Hardy, who was in Star Trek Nemisis and Black Hawk Down, is rumored to be taking on the role of "Mad" Max Rockatansk. We're happy that there will be a younger Max who won't get winded chasing down evil biker gangs, and Mel Gibson won't carry through on his threat to change his character's name to "Fat Max."

We just hope they can convince Mel to cameo somewhere. Maybe he can come back as Thunderdome's newest law-maker, replacing Aunty Entity.

But by casting such a well known actress to play the mysterious and female lead role, you have to wonder if this movie will be more of "from the eyes of a she-warrior" story, with Max along for the ride? Either way, if you pay for Theron, I'm sure you're going to want to get your money's worth of screentime. Sadly there are little to no details about the plot, as actors auditioning for the role haven't even been told their character's full names.

Here superninja AEon and her pupil are penetrating the defenses on a building that belongs to the family that fascistically controls the entire society where AEon lives. The premise is that most of the human race was wiped out by plague 400 years ago, and the descendants of the few remaining millions live in a single, techno-perfect city controlled by the Goodchild family. Where the design gets great is in the organic look of the technology: here you can see what are basically fruit-weapons. In other scenes, there are computers made of water (which look a lot like the cylon computers from Battlestar Galactica, actually). I like the way this film evokes a future world without resorting to the usual "blinky lights and computers" look.

Plus, the genemod feet! So cool. It makes no sense that there wouldn't be tons of other genemods running around in this flick, but that's just one of a zillion plotholes. For now, just enjoy the coolness. [AEon Flux via IMDB]

Now that Hancock director Peter Berg is officially remaking Dune, it's hard not to see his superhero romp as a bad omen. Official synopses of Hancock have portrayed it as the story of a drunken has-been superhero (Smith), who gets a press agent (Jason Bateman) but then has an affair with the agent's wife (Charlize Theron). But a rough cut of the film just screened in Texas, and attendees came out with much, much weirder plot descriptions.

According to the early reviews, Will Smith's Hancock is an immortal god, created thousands of years ago. But he's suffering from amnesia and doesn't realize his true nature. Plus he got mugged 20 years ago (when he'd lost his powers) and remains traumatized by the experience. Now he's a superhero who abuses his powers and does more harm than good.

Then Hancock saves Bateman's marketing exec, who offers to salvage his image in return. Bateman's big idea: Hancock should turn himself in and offer to go to jail for all the damage his heroics have caused, plus an underage girl he had sex with. (Apparently, when Hancock ejaculates, his sperm blasts through the roof of the trailer he lives in.) But then it turns out that Bateman's wife (Theron) is also a superhero, and is actually married to Hancock from thousands of years ago. But when Smith and Theron are together, they lose their superpowers for some reason.

When Bateman learns his wife is an all-powerful god who was created thousands of years ago to be Will Smith's perfect mate, he's somewhat distraught. Then Smith and Theron have to stop some escaped convicts, but can't get too close to each other without losing their powers. [Superhero Movie clip from MTV Movies. Hancock reviews at Ain't It Cool News.]

Production Charts just posted this description of how the movie will translate the book's plot:

A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food—and each other.

This novel is about the arduous journey a father undertakes as he tries to get his son to safety after nuclear fallout and war has ravaged the world and turned most of the survivors into flesh-eating cannibals. The father and his son push a grocery cart through the wasteland, scavenging for food and supplies as they try to survive. The father's wife, long dead and seen only in brief flashbacks, will be played by Theron who is apparently a huge fan of the novel.

She'll be joined by either Guy Pearce or Viggo Mortensen as the father. However, having devotedly read all of McCarthy's novels, I'm not sure how what's on the page will translate to the screen very well, especially with these celebricons. Of course, I could be wrong. Even McCarthy's allegedly unfilmable Blood Meridian is getting a movie version, courtesy of Ridley Scott, so maybe filmmakers have cracked the code. After all, I never thought I'd enjoy No Country For Old Men on the big screen, but I was wrong about that one too.

Charlize Theron Hits The Road [Variety]

• The film was supposed to be called Tonight, He Comes, although the title was changed (probably for obvious reasons) to John Hancock, and then later just to Hancock.
• Directors Tony Scott, Michael Mann, Jonathan Mostow, and Gabriele Muccino were all attached to the film at one point before they they attached Peter Berg.
• Hancock was supposed to be filmed before I Am Legend, but during the game of musical directors Hancock got pushed back and the vampire super-plague movie went into production first.
• The font in the trailer mimics the Heroes logo font. Coincidence? Shyeah, right.