NBC Orders 13 Episodes of HANNIBAL With Some Fava Beans and a Nice Chianti

Go directly to 13-episode pickup.  Do not pass Go.  Do not collect $200.

Enterainment Weekly reports that NBC has given a full direct-to-series order of 13 episodes to Bryan Fuller's Hannibal, based on the cannibalistic serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter created by writer Thomas Harris.  The series will apparently be based on the first Dr. Lecter novel Red Dragon and has the following logline description:

"One-hour contemporary thriller series featuring the classic characters from Thomas Harris’ novel Red Dragon – FBI agent Will Graham and his mentor Dr. Hannibal Lecter – who are re-introduced at the beginning of their budding relationship."

Dr. Lecter, of course, first achieved mainstream popularity with the brilliant performance by Sir Anthony Hopkins in the 1991 adaptation of The Silence of the Lambs, which earned Hopkins a much-deserved Best Actor Academy Award.  However, actor Brian Cox had previously played Dr. Lecter in the 1986 Michael Mann film Manhunter, which was based on the Red Dragon novel.  Hopkins later reprised the role in the 2001 adaptation of the third Dr. Lecter novel Hannibal, and then again a year later in Brett Ratner's adaptation of Red Dragon.

IDW Developing DOCTOR WHO/STAR TREK: TNG Crossover (UPDATED)

Well, it's about time...and space, apparently.

Rich Johnston's Bleeding Cool announced that one of science-fiction fandom's most-desired property crossovers is actually happening in a comic book mini-series from IDW Publishing.  Johnston reports that in May, IDW will release a Doctor Who/Star Trek: The Next Generation crossover series featuring Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor, along with Amy and Rory Pond/Williams meeting the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise-D.

No details about who will be the series writer or artist, although Bleeding Cool provided the artwork shown here that appears to be from IDW cover artist Joe Corroney.  IDW is scheduled to attend the 2012 Gallifrey One convention and will most likely make an official announcement of the series then.

Also, there are no details yet of the actual story premise, but a combined threat of the Cybermen and the Borg seems like a natural enough idea, doesn't it?

** Update as of 2/13/12 **

According to a follow-up article posted today on Bleeding Cool, the mini-series will indeed feature the Cybermen and the Borg and will be titled Assimilation.  It will be written by Scott and David Tipton, writers of several Star Trek comics for IDW and will be drawn by Fallen Angel artist J.K. Woodward.

DAMN Good Comics -- THIEF OF THIEVES #1

I think AMC has just found themselves a new TV series.

At least, that's what I kept thinking while reading the first issue of Image's Thief of Thieves.  The central character, Redmond (a.k.a. Conrad Paulson), is a master thief who seems ready to be portrayed on TV by Mad Men star Jon Hamm...or someone a hell of a lot like him.  As we're introduced to Redmond's world, we also meet Celia, his apprentice that he takes on after Celia attempts to boost his car from a shopping center parking lot.

The script by Nick Spencer, apparently working from a storyline from The Walking Dead and Invincible creator Robert Kirkman, is structured as if the Ocean's Eleven remake was directed by Quentin Tarantino instead.  There's a lot of jumping around in the narrative, leaving things up to the reader to piece various bits of information together to see how the overarching storyline is going to play out.  And since this is the first issue, we're left with more questions than answers but with the promise of an enjoyable ride.

Shawn Martinbrough handles the art, taking scenes of mostly conversation and giving them mood and considerable depth.  He also adds to the televised feel, drawing most of his panels as if you were watching a recent series shot in hi-def widescreen.  His style has developed as well, coming a long way from issues of Action Comics, Detective Comics and JSA Classified into something far more sophisticated and atmospheric.

Overall, Thief of Thieves is a series with a healthy amount of potential.  Based on the unexplained prologue at the very beginning and the final scene where Redmond announces he's quitting his society of thieves for as yet unrevealed reasons, there's obviously more to the overall story to be told.  If nothing else, though, this first issue was good for informing readers to never store emergency car keys underneath their cars...

DC Announces SMALLVILLE SEASON 11 Comic Book Series

Comics fans have noticed a considerable void on television since the Superman series Smallville ended its impressive ten-season run back in May 2011.  The only comic book series currently on the air is AMC's The Walking Dead, which obviously appeals more to fans of horror and survival tales than your standard superhero fans.

However, DC Comics has just announced that they're going to help fill that Smallville void with Smallville Season 11, a new comic book series that will be released first in digital format and then collected into a print periodical.  The series will be written by former Smallville screenwriter and Batgirl writer Bryan Q. Miller, with art by Pere Perez, Miller's creative partner on Batgirl: The Flood.

Smallville Season 11 will debut as a digital comic on April 13, 2012, with a new digital chapter coming out each week featuring covers by Cat Staggs.  A month later, the chapters will be collected into a print version that have the added bonus of a TV episode guide.  The first printed version is scheduled for May 16, with covers by none other than Gary Frank.

"Six months after Clark Kent donned the cape and took to the skies to save Earth from Apokolips…enter Season 11!” said Miller.  “New allies abound!  New enemies afoot!  And old friends return where they’re least expected!  Pere and colorist Chris Beckett have done a fantastic job of capturing the look of the show and the players, and Gary and Cat are knocking it out of the park on covers.  I couldn’t be more excited to help give seasoned viewers and new readers an all-access pass to Clark’s first year in the cape."

In the meantime, I'd like to heartily recommend/shameless plug the Smallville: The Complete Series DVD set from Warner Home Video, which features four Daily Planet stories from yours truly...

Lestat May Return in THE TALE OF THE BODY THIEF

Writer Anne Rice's most famous creation, the vampire Lestat de Lioncourt, may be returning to the big screen for a third film adaptation from Rice's The Vampire Chronicles series.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment has optioned the rights to The Tale of the Body Thief, the fourth book in the series.  The film version of the first book, Interview With the Vampire, was released back in 1994, starring Tom Cruise as Lestat along with Brad Pitt as Louis de Pointe du Lac.  The third book, The Queen of the Damned, was released as a film in 2002, but starred Stuart Townsend as Lestat and R&B singer Aaliyah as Queen Akasha.

Imagine is using the Imagine Reliance Writers Lab to work on the script.  Lee Patterson, who wrote a screenplay titled Snatched, is working on the Body Thief adaptation.  Producing with Imagine are Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, the writer-producers best known for TV’s Fringe and the Star Trek and Transformers movies.

The description for the original 1992 novel is as follows:

Returning to Lestat as the main character, the fourth in the Vampire Chronicles series finds Lestat impulsive and careless in the pursuit of what he wants: a serial killer in Southern Florida. Lestat is surrounded by mortals in this tale, an a new worthy counterpoint character to Lestat is introduced, Raglan James. James is a vampire hunter, and a formidable adversary for Lestat. James offers Lestat the opportunity to switch bodies temporarily with a young mortal. Against Louis' advice, Lestat accepts and discovers he hates everything about being human. He also finds that James has disappeared with Lestat's powerful vampire body. Louis refuses to help Lestat become a vampire again, and he turns to another mortal to help him trick James into switching souls, and giving up Lestat's body.

The project has yet to find a studio.

The Hulk Smashes in Extended AVENGERS Super Bowl Spot

Last year, the Red Skull was unmasked during the Super Bowl spot for Captain America: The First Avenger.  This year, it's the Hulk's turn and he's...incredible.

In an extended one-minute version of the televised spot that debuted during tonight's Super Bowl XLVI, we see Earth under attack by Thor's adopted brother Loki and his nasty allies that are possibly Skrulls, Ultrons, Frost Giants, or something else altogether.  We see shots of the Avengers Quinjet landing on a SHIELD Helicarrier, and of course, we also have Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye and The Hulk being assembled by SHIELD Director Nick Fury to face the devastating threat facing our planet.

"I have an army," Loki confidently tells Tony Stark, who simply replies, "We have a Hulk."

The Avengers is scheduled to arrive in theaters on May 4, 2012.  You can view the full extended Super Bowl spot below thanks to the kindness of YouTube user Joblomovienetwork...

Who Should Sing the SKYFALL Opening Credits Theme?

With the twenty-third official James Bond film Skyfall scheduled to arrive in theaters later this year, I started wondering about who would be singing the opening credits theme music.  The Bond films' traditionally bold, artistic opening credits sequences are legendary in cinema and have been accompanied by songs from equally legendary performers such as Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, Nancy Sinatra, Paul McCartney and Wings, Sheena Easton, Duran Duran, a-ha, Tina Turner, Sheryl Crow, Garbage, Chris Cornell and most recently, Jack White and Alicia Keys.

So with this range of musical artists in mind, I came up with a small list of who I feel might be worthy enough to be added to this impressive list.  Sadly, I would've suggested the late Amy Winehouse not that long ago, but I think this group would do just as nicely...

Adele -- The obvious choice given her current popularity and her soulful sound that picks right up where Amy Winehouse left off.  Songs like "Someone Like You" and "Set Fire to the Rain" prove she could easily handle a Bond movie theme, especially with such a powerful voice.  The young English singer-songwriter recently suffered a vocal cord hemorrhage, but has since recovered and is expected to make her comeback at the Grammy Awards on February 12th. 

Florence + The Machine -- While I'm thinking about powerful voices, Florence + the Machine's Florence Welch certanily has quite the set of pipes as well.  The band would probably bring a more ethereal sound to the opening theme, but with songs like "Howl," "You've Got the Love" and "What the Water Gave Me," you have to admit there's serious potential for a great Bond theme there.

Noel Gallagher -- As the former lead guitarist and songwriter for the band Oasis, Gallagher is starting to find additional success in his solo project, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.  Singles like "If I Had a Gun..." seem ready-made for a Bond film, while his prior Oasis songs like "Don't Look Back in Anger" or "Morning Glory" show quite a bit of creative range.  Of course, I wouldn't be unhappy if he reunited with his brother Liam for the track...

Michael Bublé -- The Canadian singer is probably the closest thing out there to a modern-day Frank Sinatra, introducing many standards to a new generation of fans.  I'm curious to hear this kind of take on a Bond theme after the last couple songs, but after hearing the stellar Junkie XL remix of Bublé's version of the 1960s Spider-Man cartoon theme, I know there are other ways the song could go as well.

She Wants Revenge -- I know this is a bit of an oddball pick here, but if a band like Garbage could create arguably one of the best Bond themes ever with "The World is Not Enough," then a band like She Wants Revenge should be in the ballpark.  Their recent "Take the World" is practically a Bond theme already, while other tracks like "Up in Flames" or "Tear You Apart" could result in an edgier theme that worked well in Casino Royale. 

Regardless of who sings the opening theme though, I think most of us can agree that it definitely shouldn't be Madonna again...