The direct-to-DVD Gotham Knight was a fun watch, mostly because of its painterly anime visuals and its tantalizing glimpses of what it would be like to live in Gotham City. The writing ranges from meh to pretty great, with the best segment being the one where Batman tries out a new bullet-deflecting shield. The one where Batman goes to India to learn how to work through his pain is pretty dismal, though, with its weird mishmash of stereotypes and half-baked slogans about working through your pain. (I wanted William Shatner to show up and explain that pain is what makes him who he is.) And the first segment, the "Bat-shomon" with the kids all describing Batman, was the most gorgeous but kind of half-baked. The rest were entertaining but pretty forgettable.

But the visuals totally ruled. And here's our attempt to piece together all of the DVD's clues about the ins and outs of Gotham City.

X-Files: I Want To Believe:

Here are some new pics from the X-Files movie sequel. It looks like Mulder gets fucked up pretty good. A few more pics at the link. [Rope Of Silicon]

Journey To The Center Of The Earth:

Trevor (Brendan Fraser) is a science professor specializing in plate tectonics, whose brother Max went missing ten years ago while doing field research in Iceland. Max's son Sean shows up for a visit that Trevor has forgotten about, and Sean has a box of Max's old stuff, including a copy of Jules Verne's Journey To The Center Of The Earth with cryptic notes in it.

The notes, plus some unusual geological phenomena that match the situation when Max went missing, are enough to send Trevor and Sean to Iceland, where they enlist the aid of a mountain guide named Hannah. Her father, like Max, was a Vernian, a believer that Jules Verne's works were based on fact. They end up going on a roller-coaster ride through a mountain, falling through "volcanic tubes" to the center of the Earth. Trevor and Sean bond, while the frosty Hannah finally warms up to Trevor. [Scripps News]

Star Wars: Clone Wars:

Here are some new (or higher res) pics from the Star Wars: The Clone Wars theatrical release. Including Asajj Ventress preparing to unleash some double-light-saber punishment on Obi-Wan and Anakin. [StarWars-Union.De]

Sarah Jane Smith Adventures:

Huge news about the Doctor Who spin-off series. Sir Alastair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, the military man who helped the Doctor save the world from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, will turn up in an episode. And he'll help Sarah Jane defeat the Sontarans. Not only that, but Miss Wormwood, the evil manager of the Bubbleshock corporation in the first Sarah Jane episode, will be back soon. Meanwhile, Maria Jackson and her dad will only be in one or two episodes of the new season, before they leave and a new Asian family moves in across the street from Sarah Jane. [Blogtor Who and Doctor Who Forum]

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles:

Here's a third promo for the second season of the Terminator TV show. Apparently Summer Glau's chip gets damaged in that explosion, and she reverts to her ebil programming and tries to kill John Connor. I love her tilty head and crazy-blank look.

Caprica:

A few new details about the Battlestar Galactica prequel. Zoe Graystone doesn't just upload her consciousness into cyberspace (allowing her dad to recreate her as a robot) she also spends a lot of time playing around in a holographic world with her friends Ben and Lacy. But they're not just having fun, they're seeking enlightenment and a "higher calling." Also, it's Tamara Adams' birthday when she and Zoe are both killed by Ben's suicide bombing.

Zoe's father Daniel is at the end of his rope, trying to finish a government project to create a robot warrior. He can't get his robotic soldier to think for itself. Meanwhile, Joseph Adams is trying to be a respectable lawyer but his Tauron roots keep getting in his way, especially since his brother Sam Adams is working for some bad people. And of course Daniel Graystone and Joseph Adams are brought together by their daughters' deaths... at least at first. [Collider]

Lost:

We may get to see more of Hurley's dad, played by Cheech Marin, in season five. [Spoilers Lost]

Stargate:

Stargate Atlantis executive producer Joseph Mallozzi teased some upcoming storylines. "Whisper" is a mini-horror movie, in which Shepherd and Beckett join up with an all-female team on an off-world adventure. The all-female team is designed to introduce some hopefully recurring female characters, but also to allow the audience to identify with some characters who might not survive the episode. The mid-season two-parter "First Contact" and "The Lost Tribe," is the story that features Jackson and McKay teaming up. [Cinemablend]

Chuck:

As you could have gleaned from the end of Chuck season one, the feds have created a new "intercept" database to replace the one that's in Chuck's head. Which makes Chuck surplus to requirements, so they order Casey (Adam Baldwin!!!) to kill him. Also, a new assistant manager at Buy More wants to get to the bottom of Chuck's mysterious absences. And John Larroquette's alcoholic ex-spy teaches Chuck how to seduce a black widow (Melinda Clarke), while Michael Clarke Duncan plays heavy-for-hire Mr. Colt. [Chuck Online]

Smallville:

Plastique, the explosive Quebec girl who shows up on Smallville in the second episode of season eight, has ties to Level 33.1 or something similar. [KryptonSite]

Gotham Knight:

I almost forgot to post these — here are some pictures of Anita Ramirez, a police officer in the Batman Gotham Knight animated anthology DVD. She's Crispus Allen's partner, standing in for Renee Montoya for some reason.

Knight Rider:

Are you pumped for the smart-car adventure show to come back this fall? No? Maybe the descriptions of the first few episodes will help prime your pump. In the first episode, someone from Mike's past, whom he has no memory of, hijacks "the package," the guy we mentioned whose DNA contains a valuable cipher. And then in episode two, a dangerous virus has to be stopped before it can cause chaos on the internet. (You really need a smart car to save the internet. You just do.) And in the third episode, Mike races KITT in an off-road race, and Sarah Graiman becomes concerned by Mike's bad judgment. There. Pumped yet? [SpoilerTV]

The Middleman:

In an upcoming episode of the best show on TV, Vlad the impaler, the foundation for the Dracula mythos, comes back seeking to raise the undead... and Wendy kills him in very short order. But he gets to have a narrative voice-over throughout the episode. And Vlad gets downloaded into a puppet, and has very, very complicated plans to come back to life. [SpoilerTV again]

Here's the first picture of Keanu Reeves as Klaatu in The Day The Earth Stood Still. Oddly enough, he looks just like Keanu Reeves. (Click to enlarge.) [Film1.nl via New Film Dimension]

The Dark Knight:

Today's Joker-isms: "Does it depress you, how alone you really are?" (to Batman I guess) and: "You had plans. Look where that got you." Plus: "This town is mine now." They come from an exclusive Domino's Pizza trailer for The Dark Knight, which I guess you're only supposed to be able to see, on the Domino's site, if you order some really crappy pizza. But look, it's on Youtube:

X-Files: I Want To Believe

Here's a new TV spot for the second X-Files movie, which gives a few snippets of new footage. Including a body in a tank, for just a split second. [Shocktillyoudrop]

Battlestar Galactica:

A few new snippets about the rest of Battlestar Galactica season four from the Battlestar wiki: The next few episodes are rumored to be called "Sometimes A Great Notion," "The Disquiet That Follows My Soul," "The Oath," "Blood On The Scales," "No Exit," and "Someone To Watch Over Me." And Laura Roslin is still alive (or appearing as a ghost) by episode 15, "No Exit," judging from a call sheet.

Also, BSG was just filming some last-minute scenes in and around Kamloops, BC a couple of weeks ago — Kamloops was the setting for the Algae Planet in "The Eye Of Jupiter" and "Rapture." The scenes, believed to be from the series finale, required a lot of extras who were either clean-cut and athletic, or slim with long hair or dreadlocks. [Battlestar Wiki]

Lost:

When castaway drama Lost finally ends, the ending will take place on the island, according to actor Naveen Andrews. [Hellhound's Lair]

Doctor Who:

Some tidbits from British magazine articles: "Casualties mount" in this Saturday's season finale, and prophecies abound that one of the Doctor's companions will die. (Also, doom is "predicted for Donna," says one magazine.) And the Doctor is "effectively out of action" after getting zapped. "Lots of questions will be answered," including questions about the Doctor and Rose, says producer Russell T. Davies. It's the story of "how far you would go to save the people you love, with the greatest loved one of all being the Doctor." [Blogtor Who and Spoiler TV]

And here are a few new pics from Saturday's episode. [Digital Spy]

An "official" press release announces that Robert "Trainspotting" Carlyle will be replace David Tennant as the Doctor in this Saturday's Doctor Who episode. He'll also appear in the Christmas special, but not in the 2009 specials, which will only feature Tennant. And then Carlyle will take over as the Doctor full time in 2010. The press release is supposedly embargoed until July 6, and it contains a couple of spelling errors... so it's probably not real. [Doctor Who Forum]

Oh, and is it significant that in his Doctor Who Confidential interview, it looks like David Tennant is wearing his costume, but has dyed his hair black? Does his regeneration just change his hair color??? [The Zen Room]

Meanwhile, I feel like I want to defend the honor of spoiler-wranglers here. A lot of websites and newspapers are saying that nobody predicted the Doctor would regenerate in last Saturday's episode. In fact, the idea of a "botched regeneration" happening in episode 12 has been floating around on message boards for months now, and morning spoilers mentioned it at least twice. Spoiler pride!

Eleventh Hour:

And here's a new trailer for Eleventh Hour, Jerry Bruckheimer's remake of the British show about a scientist who steps in at the last minute to stop abuses of science from going too far — with his sexy bodyguard at his side. [Spoiler TV again]

The Middleman:

In the July 21 episode of The Middleman, not only does a boy band (Varsity Fanclub) turn out to be a group of exiled intergalactic dictators — their foul-mouthed 14-year-old superfangirl turns out to be an alien warrior sent to prevent their escape from Earth. But then it emerges that if the girl's plan to prevent the boys from returning and wreaking havoc on their homeworlds succeeds, the Middleman's trusty Ida will be destroyed. [Middlefan]

Eureka:

Season three of genius-town comedy Eureka will be lighter than the tense season two, and the ongoing story arcs will be less blatant. The mortality rate in Eureka will remain three times the national average, but you won't see as many characters in hospital beds. You'll see a lot more gadgets and weird experiments, and glimpse more of the secrets of Global Dynamics. And this year's over-arching mystery may be smaller than the "artifact" was.

As the season begins, we'll get resolution on whether Henry will go to prison after being hauled off by the feds in the second season finale, and we'll get back the happy-go-lucky Henry from season one. We'll also get closure on whether Alison will say yes to Stark's marriage proposal, and the love triangle between Stark, Carter and Allison. Alison and Carter will be working together more closely, and they'll be like the town's Mulder and Scully.

The show also will introduce a new character, the Fixer (Frances Fisher), a corporate shark brought in by the government as an outside consultant, to make Global Dynamics more profitable. [Spoiler TV again]

Gotham Knight:

Here's a new featurette about the direct-to-DVD animated anthology Gotham Knight, showing how Batman has become "like Hamlet" due to dealing with his villains. Ohh kay then. But it still looks mighty purty. [Comic Book Resources]

Next Avengers:

Do you care about Next Avengers, the direct-to-DVD movie about the kids of the Marvel Comics' Avengers superteam? If so, there's a new trailer, and the tracklisting for the official soundrack includes some spoilers. It sounds like Ultron creates his own version of the Avengers called the Iron Avengers, and the Next Avengers have to fight them. The Next Avengers also have to wake up the Hulk so he can help them fight Ultron. [Comic Book Movie]

X-Files: I Want To Believe:

Here's a new trailer for the X-Files sequel, which includes more about Billy Connolly's weird visions, and maybe settles once and for all exactly what it is that scared Scully. [Apple]

And here's one new still from the movie, showing all the main cast except for one. [Multiple Verses]

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen:

Some new locations for Transformers 2 include some library steps at UPenn that could stand in for any number of fancy buildings. Eastern State Penitentiary is being done up as Cell Block 7, with some electronic rigging. And then Philadelphia City Hall was done up as a French cafe in Paris, where Sam's parents are on vacation. Also, a chase sequence was filmed involving Bumblebee, an orange car and a green car. [Transformerslive]

Doctor Who:

The BBC issued a new plot synopsis from the Doctor Who season finale, "Journey's End." It's pretty spoilery, all told:

The entire universe is in danger as the Daleks activate their masterplan... The Doctor is helpless, and even the Tardis faces destruction. The only hope lies with the Doctor's secret army of companions – but as they join forces to battle Davros himself, the prophecy declares that one of them will die.

[BBC Press Office, via Planet Gallifrey]

And here's a bevy of pics from the penultimate episode of the season, "The Stolen Earth." It looks like the spoiler about Dalek Caan being all chained up and fucked up is true. And you can see the Daleks out in the streets, herding humans as in the set report we posted months ago. We'll meet a new UNIT commander, General Sanchez. The red Dalek reminds me more and more of the sports car my friend's dad got — do you think Davros is having a midlife crisis? [Blogtor Who]

Death Race:

Here's a new (I think) pic of Tyrese Gibson in Death Race. [Black Voices]

Lost:

Some guy claims on his Livejournal that not only did Jin survive the freighter explosion, but he somehow made it back to the island. He'll be chillin' with Sawyer and the crew all next season. [Hellhounds Lair]

Heroes:

In a video interview, Adrian Pasdar (Nathan Petrelli) says Angela Petrelli is the mother of three superpowered people. Does he mean that she's Claire's grandmother? Or is there a third child of Angela that we're going to discover next season? [Heroes Revealed]

Batman: Gotham Knight:

Here are a few more stills from Batman: Gotham Knight, the new direct-to-DVD animated anthology. In one, Batman glares upward from the sewers of Gotham City, where Scarecrow and Killer Croc are lurking, in David Goyer (Batman Begins)' segment. In another, the animalistic Man-Bat version of Batman (not to be confused with the actual Man-Bat) flies towards the camera in one of the Rashomon-esque tales told in Josh Olson's segment. And in the third, Batman is wounded and crawling through the sewer while he recalls his training in India, in Brian Azzarello's segment.

Wanted:

The first preview screenings of super-assassin movie Wanted were yesterday, and one guy posted a super-detailed summary to writer Mark Millar's web forum. Here's the gist:

The movie starts out with a super-assassin visiting a woman, and she freaks out. But he says if he was there to kill her, she'd be dead already. He looks across the window and sees some guys with guns targeting him, and he backs up to the elevator, then runs and jumps out the window, killing all four guys. One of the guy's phone rings, and the super-assassin picks it up, telling their boss he shouldn't have sent amateurs to kill him. The boss says those four guys were just decoys, and the guy realizes he's standing on an "X" just before a bullet explodes his brain. We "rewind" the path of the bullet, back to an apartment, where Cross has just fired it with a super-telescope.

Then we cut to Wesley (James McAvoy) in his apartment, with his nagging girlfriend, whom he knows is cheating on him. He's filled with anxiety and hates his best friend for taking advantage of him. Wesley's boss is fat and gives him lots of grief. And then, he meets Angelina Jolie in a drug store and (you've probably seen this clip) she tells him his father was a super-assassin, who just died on a rooftop. She saves him from Cross, the other super-assassin, and tells him he's inherited all his dad's money and guns.

Eventually Wesley gets taken to the HQ of the Fraternity (of assassins, I'm guessing), which is a textile factory. They make him shoot the wings off a fly at gunpoint, and Morgan Freeman offers to train him in badassery. Wesley freaks out and runs home, putting his gun in his toilet tank. He realizes he now has $3.5 million in the bank. He quits his job, telling off his boss and smacking his best friend in the face with his computer keyboard "resulting in lost teeth, blood and keys flying everywhere."

Outside, Wesley sees the newspapers list him as a wanted fugitive, along with Jolie. She's parked nearby and he gets in her car. Wesley realizes his old life is over, so he joins the Fraternity. Then the hazing begins. (Well, it is called the Fraternity!) Wesley is put through tests, in between dips in a super-healing bath that heals all wounds in no time. The Repairman breaks Wesley of old habits by beating him up. The Butcher teaches Wesley to handle a knife, slicing him up in the process. And the Gunsmith teaches Wesley to shoot a gun. And the Exterminator is a Russian guy who likes to attach bombs to rats. Wesley trash-talks the Fraternity, and gets sent to the Repairman for another beating.

Wesley thinks he's ready to go after Cross, the super-assassin who tried to kill him. But Morgan Freeman doesn't agree, so Wesley has to do baby training assignments with Angelina. He learns to jump on and off moving trains.

Wesley fails to kill some rich guy at the last moment, questioning why that guy needs to die. Then Wesley learns the history of the Fraternity: they were medieval weavers who noticed a pattern in the loom, and the pattern generates names in binary code. (ASCII?) The Frat-boys (and Angelina) kill people who would go on to kill thousands of others — and one guy whom a Frat brother failed to kill slaughtered Angelina's parents. It's Morgan Freeman's job to interpret the loom and decipher the names. In the end, Wesley goes back and kills the rich guy whom he failed to kill the first time.

Wesley kills more people, including the clip we showed where he kills a guy in a limo by flipping his car over the sunroof. Cross, meanwhile, is killing Fraternity brothers one by one, and Wesley studies his unstoppable super-assassin ways, including untraceable bullets.

Wesley breaks up with his girlfriend by making out with Angelina Jolie in front of her. Then he spots Cross outside and shoots at him, leading to a big chase. The Exterminator shows up and gets shot, then Cross shoots Wesley in the shoulder, leaving a traceable bullet. Wesley thinks Cross is goading him into a confrontation. Morgan Freeman orders Wesley to go kill Cross. And then as soon as Wesley heads off to kill Cross, Morgan turns and orders Angelina Jolie to kill Wesley.

Wesley tracks the bullet to a monastery and forces the bullet-maker (Terence Stamp) to arrange a meet with Cross at a train station. Wesley spots Cross on the train and Terence Stamp flees the scene. Angelina Jolie chases after Wesley and Cross, who are alone together on the train. There's a big shootout on the train, and then Angelina slams her car into the train, destabilizing it. The train goes careening off the tracks, and Wesley and Angelina are falling. Then Cross pulls Wesley up, saving his life, but Wesley shoots him in the chest.

The train car they're in falls into the chasm, but gets wedged halfway down. Cross tells Wesley that he's Wesley's real dad, and the Fraternity is evil. Cross was never really trying to kill Wesley, which is why he only shot him in the shoulder when he had the chance. He just wanted to get him away from Angelina. She admits it's true about Cross being Wesley's real dad, and he shoots the floor out of the train, so he falls the rest of the way into the chasm.

Terence Stamp rescues Wesley and shows him Cross' apartment, which is right across from Wesley's apartment. Cross took lots of pictures of Wesley as a kid. Terence Stamp explains that Morgan Freeman's name came up on the loom of fate, as a target for assassination. But instead of allowing himself to be killed, Morgan Freeman started manipulating the Fraternity into killing targets of his own choosing.

Wesley stumbles on his dad's secret stash of weapons, and buys a ton of peanut butter. He lures some rats (with the peanut butter) and steals a dump truck. He attaches bombs to the rats and then drives up to the Fraternity's headquarters, dumping the rats so they run everywhere and then blow up.

Wesley jumps out of the truck and starts killing everyone. He grabs guns as they fall out of bad guys' hands and shoots everyone right and left. He shoots a hole in the Repairman's face and then puts his hand through the hole, shooting a bunch of other people through it. He fights the Butcher and gets cut, but finally jams the Butcher's knife blade into his gun, then shoots it into the Butcher and kicks it further into him.

Finally, he confronts Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman, plus their cronies. Wesley shows everyone the "kill order" with Morgan Freeman's name on it. Morgan Freeman admits it's true and says everyone else in the room has also had his/her name come up and been spared. All the other Frat members are welcome to shoot themselves if they want to go by the strict Frat rules — otherwise they should "kill this motherfucker!"

Angelina Jolie winks at Wesley, then shoots a bullet that curves all around, killing everyone in the room, including herself. But not Wesley or Morgan Freeman, who has fled. Then Wesley goes and checks his bank balance, which is back to being pathetic.

The next scene shows Wesley back at a desk, with a voice over as Morgan Freeman approaches and points a gun at him. But it turns out not to be Wesley at the desk but a decoy. Morgan Freeman looks down and sees that he's standing on an "X" and says "Fuck!" and then a bullet ruptures his brain. Then we "rewind" the path of the bullet to see it went through Wesley's boss' donut, and his former best friend's energy drink, and then we're back at Wesley's dad's apartment. Wesley turns to the camera and says something along the lines of, "I had a sucky life, job, girlfriend, best friend and gave it all up. What have YOU done lately?" [Millarworld]

In a interview released by Warner Bros., Kevin Conroy shared a few details for fans on being the voice of Batman for so many years. The studio almost put someone else on the voice of young Batman until Conroy reminded him that he could be all forms of Bat-Age and Bat-Maturity.

On Bringing Back The Voice

Getting back into the Batman voice was not hard - after so many years, it's so familiar to me now that it's like putting on an old coat. As you live with a character over the years, you fill out the skin. You don't even realize you're doing it. Sometimes they ask during a recording session, "What sound would Batman make here?" or "What would he say here" and they trust me to do that. They know I've been living with him for so long, I know what he'd say, and how he'd react.

On Getting the Part

To tell the truth, after reading the original script, I really went to audition for the character voices - like Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Bullock. Like most actors, I really love to be challenged, and I thought they'd be more interesting and really push me. And then Bruce (Timm) and Andrea (Romano) said they wanted to hear me do Batman. The only exposure I'd had was the campy Adam West live-action series, and they said that wasn't what they wanted. So I put myself into a very dark place in my voice, and my voice got deeper and darker and huskier, and it came out very mysterious. I really just took a stab at what I thought the voice would be, and then I saw Bruce and Andrea and Paul (Dini) running around the booth, so I knew I either was very good or very bad. That's how it started — just me in a sound booth, them on the other side of the glass describing the character, and then the voice just came out of my imagination. And it worked. So initially I was much more interested in doing the character voices, but luckily they talked me into Batman.

Young Bruce Wayne gets into a scuffle in "Batman Gotham Knight."

On Conjuring Up His Character

There's an emotional place I go to - Bruce (Timm) says he see it in me in the booth. It's much more a psychology than just producing the sound. Batman is very complex. The Bruce Wayne voice is the real put-on. This is a guy who saw his parents murdered in front of him, and nobody would be normal and together after that. He feels like a freak inside. So to do the voice, you have to take on all that drama.

That's why everyone relates to Batman - because everyone feels like a freak inside. Everyone has ghosts that they don't want to show anyone else. All of us feel like we have that inside us. For me, that's one of the most interesting aspects of the character - that a super hero would ultimately be based on that inner-freak that we all feel that we have.

Iron Man:

I know I said we weren't going to talk about the Samuel L. Jackson cameo in Iron Man ever again, but then people started posting cameraphone copies of it on YouTube. Here's our version. [Thanks, Greg!]

X-Files: I Want To Believe:

X-Files 2 is a return to the "horror genre X-Files started in," says David Duchovny. Also, Scully is working in a Catholic infirmary called Our Lady Of Sorrows Hospital, which is really an abandoned mental hospital in Vancouver. One scene involves Scully, a bed-ridden boy, and a "vulture-like priest." And there's a scene which takes place in the hospital's chapel. Also, that rural house where Mulder is living at the start of the movie? He's hiding out there, because he's still a fugitive. [X-Files News]

Indiana Jones And the Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull:

A memorabilia site has photos from Indiana Jones And the Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull for sale, and some of them are quite spoilery, including some pics of Indy handling the eponymous skull of crystal. Plus, Indy in quicksand! (Is Mutt using a snake to get him out, or a big stick?) And Indy getting choked by soldiers! And Indy in a weird 1950s pastiche with plastic kids. Huh? [Worst Previews and Slashfilm]

Batman: Gotham Knight:

Warner Home Video released some new images for Batman: Gotham Knight, its direct-to-DVD animated anthology that comes out July 8. And Alan Burnett, who edited all six of the scripts, revealed some new details about the sixth segment, which he wrote. Titled "Deadshot," it features the gunman with perfect aim from the Bat-comics. Says Warner, "The segment ties together threads from all the film's chapters as Batman must thwart an unerring assassin whose love of guns and disregard for human life lets him cross lines that even a Dark Knight shies away from." Burnett, who worked on the seminal Batman: The Animated Series says he was never allowed to use Deadshot in the TV cartoon because they weren't allowed to show real bullets. In the DVD, Deadshot's first murder takes place against a backdrop of fireworks and balloons. [Warner Home Video]

Amazing Spider-Man:

On the heels of that picture we showed you of Anti-Venom, who's like the antifreeze to Venom's engine oil, more details about this summer's Amazing Spider-Man storyline have come out. "New Ways To Die" runs from ASM #568-573, and features Norman Osborn, current Venom Mac Gargan and original Venom Eddie Brock... who is now Anti-Venom.

Besides totally radical fashion sense, these villains have one thing in common: they knew Spider-Man's secret identity long before he unmasked in the "Civil War" storyline. Now that the timeline has changed in the wake of Spider-Man's deal with the Devil (don't ask), suddenly these three villains don't know his identity any more. The storyline crosses over with Thunderbolts, where Norman Osborne is in charge, and culminates in one of the most asked-for battles of all time. Oh, and it's written by Dan (She Hulk) Slott, who's quite good when he's allowed to be fun. [Comic Book Resources]

We already featured a promo reel for this Animatrix-style tie-in with The Dark Knight, but this trailer gives more of a feel for the range of styles in the finished product. We'll be seeing six different visions of the Bat here, but it looks like they mesh pretty well, partly thanks to consistent voice talent across all the films. [HD trailer at Yahoo Movies]

Terminator 4:

Terminator 4 will be about the relationship between John Connor and Kyle Reese, who is destined to go back in time and become Connor's dad. It'll be just like the Star Wars prequels, which were about the relationship between Anakin and Obi-Wan. Except that Kyle and John are friends and father and son, and John knows he has to send Kyle back in time. And the movie might be connected somehow to The Sarah Connor Chronicles, even though the show contradicts Terminator 3. [ScreenRant]

Meanwhile, here's a new description of the movie's storyline: the teenage Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin), one of the children who've survived a nuclear holocaust caused by intelligent machines, befriends Marcus (Sam Worthington), who's an early version of the Terminator cyborg. The good news is Paul "Crash" Haggis may be rewriting the script. {Screen Rant]

Battlestar Galactica:

Some spoilers for the Battlestar season four opener went online. But just to be incredibly annoying, the writer included one false spoiler, and you have to guess which one it is. Lee Adama wonders whether his dead brother was a Cylon and Tigh shoots Admiral Adama, but not fatally. Meanwhile, Baltar discovers a shrine in his honor and has sex with a non-Cylon female. Starbuck believes she's only been gone a matter of hours, and there's something strange about her Viper. Tyrol and Sharon pick up their romance again after Sharon learns Tyrol's a Cylon. And Anders makes eye-contact with a Cylon centurion (which we've already seen happen in the clips.) My guess for the false spoiler? Sharon cheating on Helo with Tyrol. [Digital Spy]

Doctor Who:

I think this is all information we've blogged before, but in any case here's the official plot description of the Doctor Who season four opener:

Donna Noble is determined to find the Doctor again - even if it means braving the villainous Miss Foster and her hordes of sinister Adipose, as Russell T Davies's Bafta Award-winning time-travelling drama returns for a fourth series. But when the alien threat escalates out of control, can Donna find her Time Lord before the march of the Adipose begins?

Lost:

The funeral Sayid attends in the next Lost episode is Nadia's, and it happens in Tikrit, Iraq, according to an extra who was on set. [Lost Spoilers]

And an upcoming episode features a scene at the barracks, featuring Sawyer, Locke and Hurley. Sawyer talks to a group of kids. And then there's a scene where one of the barrack houses is on fire, and "tons" of soldiers in military uniforms and war paint, clutching guns, storm the barracks. [Lyly Ford]

Batman: Gotham Knight

Here are a couple of new stills from the Batman: Gotham Knight animated DVD. [Daily Game]

X-Files 2

So that scene in X-Files 2 where Mulder and Scully kiss? The one that David Duchovny swore at a press conference was just a hoax, staged to confuse the fans? Apparently, it's actually a real part of the movie, according to a new leaked call sheet, and it's towards the end. Also, Mulder cuts up a newspaper, and Scully goes over a toxicology report. Meanwhile, one fan has heard a crazy rumor: the movie will end by revealing that Mulder and Scully are actually one person. It totally makes sense! [X-Files News]

Battlestar Galactica

Here's a new official plot description for Caprica, the TV movie prequel to Battlestar Galactica that may launch a new series:

Set 50 years before Battlestar Galactica, Caprica follows two rival families - the Greystones and the Adamas - as they grow, compete, and thrive in the vibrant world of the 12 Colonies. Enmeshed in the burgeoning technology of artificial intelligence and robotics that will eventually lead to the creation of the Cylons, the two houses go toe-to-toe. Caprica will deliver all of the passion, intrigue, political backbiting, family conflict and hardcore action that always leaves Galactica fans begging for more.

Speed Racer:

Okay, I may just be slow, but I hadn't seen this detailed plot synopsis for Speed Racer before:

Born to race cars, Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) is aggressive, instinctive and, most of all, fearless. His only real competition is the memory of the brother he idolized—the legendary Rex Racer, whose death in a race has left behind a legacy that Speed is driven to fulfill. Speed is loyal to the family racing business, led by his father, Pops Racer (John Goodman), the designer of Speed's thundering Mach 5. When Speed turns down a lucrative and tempting offer from Royalton Industries, he not only infuriates the company's maniacal owner (Roger Allam) but uncovers a terrible secret—some of the biggest races are being fixed by a handful of ruthless moguls who manipulate the top drivers to boost profits. If Speed won't drive for Royalton, Royalton will see to it that the Mach 5 never crosses another finish line. The only way for Speed to save his family's business and the sport he loves is to beat Royalton at his own game. With the support of his family and his loyal girlfriend, Trixie (Christina Ricci), Speed teams with his one-time rival—the mysterious Racer X (Matthew Fox)—to win the race that had taken his brother's life: the death-defying, cross-country rally known as The Crucible.

Meanwhile, real-life race-car driver Milka Duno appears in Speed Racer as Kellie "Gearbox" Kalinkov, a "Roo-ssian race car driver, very eccentric and aggressive." [PR USA]
Heroes

Heroes season three may finally reveal what Angela Petrelli's superpower is — and it's something dangerous and potentially harmful. Also, Angela probably won't get a boyfriend next season. But actress Christine Rose believes her character hooked up with both Linderman and Kaito Nakamura. In fact, Linderman may be Nathan and Peter's dad, while Angela may be Hiro's mom. Or maybe not. Also, Adam will be back within the first six episodes of the new season. [SyFy Portal]

Doctor Who

The new season apparently ends with Mickey walking away with Martha and Captain Jack... leaving the Doctor alone. But where's Rose? Has she already disappeared by this point? Or is she waiting in the TARDIS? (Actually, this spoiler makes me sort of hope Mickey joins Torchwood along with Martha. That would actually rule.) [Grunge Bunny]

And meanwhile a new article claims the Cybermen will be back once again, in this year's Christmas special. (I wasn't sure if they were doing a Christmas special this year, actually.) [TARDIS Newsroom]

Smallville

Smallville will kill off a major character on April 17, and he or she won't be coming back. It's someone who's been around since the first season, and who has never been presumed dead before. And the only thing more shocking than the death itself is the identity of the killer. (Has Pete Ross been presumed dead before?) [Comic Book Resources]

Batman: Gotham Knight

The animated DVD that accompanies the release of The Dark Knight, Batman: Gotham Knight, will feature one of my favorite Gotham characters, Crispus Allen — and he won't be a vengeful ghost, the way he is in the comics nowadays. Allen will be paired up with a cop named Anna Ramirez (not Renee Montoya, as in the comics) and the duo will appear in multiple segments and learn to trust Batman. Also appearing will be Cassandra, "a mystical Indian woman who teaches Bruce Wayne to endure and manage his pain." But who will manage our pain? [ComicMix]