The week in geek: Lies, lies and Justice League damnations

The next time you read a story about one of Warner Bros's stable of DC comic book heroes, it might be worth readying a large pinch of salt. Last month, there was an explosion of fanboy excitement over a website that purported to reveal Megan Fox as the new Wonder Woman. It turned out to be a very convincing hoax, the combination of wishful thinking and Photoshop skills.

Earlier this week, the usually reliable Dark Horizons claimed that director George Miller had left the troubled Justice League project. The report met with a chorus of approval in the blogosphere, mainly because Miller's ideas for the film, which would have featured Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman, were dumber than buying shares in Icesave.

For a start, the Mad Max director wanted to completely ignore the current celluloid incarnations of the Caped Crusader and the Man of Steel and cast it with unknowns. In for Christian Bale was the hapless Armie Hammer, who was even measured for the Batsuit before the production ground to a halt, presumably in the wake of The Dark Knight's huge success. Megan Gale, an Australian actor who looks the part but has spent less time on the big screen than Lenny Henry, was due to play Wonder Woman.

Yesterday, however, Dark Horizons admitted that its report, which was picked up by many of the major film blogs and websites, was a load of baloney. Miller had not, as reported, appeared on the Australian morning TV show Sunrise to announce his departure from the project. And he certainly never uttered the words, "The studios seem to want bigger stars in their superhero movies now."

Whoever the hoaxers are, they certainly have their fingers on the pulse. Most humans in possession of a Y chromosome, and more than a few without, would like to see Fox in the guise of Wonder Woman. Is anybody awaiting Miller's Justice League with bated breath?

Watchmen is another project that could live or die depending on the reaction of fans. So far, rumours that Zack Snyder has changed the ending of Alan Moore's seminal graphic novel have been met with stares slightly harder than granite. But news this week that an extra-long cut is being prepared alongside the main theatrical version, which arrives in March, should go some way to boosting good feeling towards the project.

Producer Deborah Snyder, the director's wife, says the editing team has been desperately working to get the film down from its original 200-minute running time to a more easily digestible 165 minutes. However, a 220-minute version will also be available on the eventual DVD, featuring the interlocking narrative from comic-strip-within-a-comic-strip, The Black Freighter.
In other superhero news, it looks like Marvel's Thor is slowly coming together. Firstshowing.net reports that Kevin McKidd is in the running to play the son of Odin, appearing first in a standalone, Kenneth Branagh-directed film and then in Marvel's Avengers flick, which will unite Thor with Captain America, Iron Man and (most probably) The Hulk.

McKidd first came to public attention as the unfortunate Tommy in Danny Boyle's Trainspotting more than a decade ago. Since then he's carved out a career in Hollywood in mostly supporting roles in period fare such as Kingdom of Heaven and The Last Legion. While an excellent actor, I'd be surprised if McKidd got the part, as Marvel has so far gone for A-listers in its productions and the Scots thesp certainly isn't in the same league as Robert Downey Jr or Ed Norton.

Then again, one can imagine the studio bending over backwards to accommodate the requirements of Branagh who, despite his track record being tarnished by the likes of Sleuth, remains an Oscar-nominated director. If the British film-maker wants McKidd, there's a good chance he'll get him.

As reported here recently, Marvel also offered the role of Thor to Daniel Craig, which the actor turned down. I always felt Craig was a bit stubby, in any case, to play a Norse god. McKidd would appear to be a much better fit from a physical point of view.

A few years ago, Dolph Lundgren would have been a shoo-in for the role, but these days Hollywood prefers to take actors from outside the action genre and deliver them into the brawny mitts of a personal trainer for a few months. Who else do you think might make a good Thor? Post below and who knows, your idea might get picked up by our hoaxer friends and start ping-ponging its way around the information superhighway.