Today at Comic-Con saw less news, but much more high-profile announcements. Most of the action took place in Hall H, which was bogged down with some serious line management problems, but we’ve got it all summed up right here for you.

The first big presentation of the day was from Warner Bros. First, the first footage from Green Lantern was screened. Although nothing spectacular, the fans enjoyed it overall, but were disappointed with the lack of Reynolds in the suit. This only confirms the fact that the suit is a work-in-progress. Still, I am looking forward to this film and hope that it can be a simple, fun superhero origin story, which we haven’t seen a lot of recently. Also, I’m looking forward to the more fantastical elements of the hero. Producer Donald DeLine said that many other Green Lanterns are featured and that the movie is part space opera, which is a good sign that they’re not ignoring that area of the Green Lantern mythos. And although the Green Lantern announcements are cool, DC has really not stepped up their game to challenge Marvel’s cinematic dominance. Geoff Johns is now in charge of their creative decisions moving forward, which is a great move, but the company has not centralized their film properties as Marvel has to such enormous success. Also, there was no word on Batman, which was a huge missed opportunity. Still, I’m hoping that after Green Lantern DC gets their act together and makes something great, maybe a Justice League movie? (Although I’m torn on whether or not Chris Nolan’s Batman should be a part of anything like that.) After a short Harry Potter trailer and panel, Zack Snyder came onstage for Sucker Punch. This new movie is based on his idea and stars an ensemble cast of women who are breaking out of a mental institution and includes Carla Gugino, Jamie Chung, Vanessa Hudgens, Jena Malone and Emily Browning. I’m not sure what to think about this movie, but the footage got a fantastic reception and it sounds truly unique. Hopefully the trailer gets released online soon so we all can see it.

Let Me In, the American remake of the Swedish vampire film Let the Right One In, has had an enormous 360 when it comes to the public’s view. After a period of resenting the fact that such a movie was being remade, it seems like every detractor has been shut up by footage from the upcoming movie. I know I wasn’t too excited for this, but now its definitely on my radar. Matt Reeves (Cloverfield), from what I can tell, is doing a fantastic job helming the movie. He talked about how Steven Spielberg gave him tips for interacting with young actors, and that is what has me most excited for this film. Both Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Road) and Chloe Grace Moretz ((500) Days of Summer, Kick-Ass) have a lot of potential to give amazing performances and I hope they both pull it off. Check out this trailer for the film:

At this point, Hall H screeched to a halt after a fight broke out. It’s still unclear what actually happened, but the prevailing rumor is that someone asked another guy to move and when he didn’t, he stabbed him in the face with a pen. That’s speculation, but the scene was pretty grisly with blood everywhere and the victim being taken out on a stretcher, all with 8 or 9 cops in the vicinity.

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost then introduced their new film, Paul. In the movie, the duo travel to Comic-Con and then embark on a road trip to Roswell, New Mexico. On the way they meet an alien named Paul, who is voiced by Seth Rogen. Paul is directed by Greg Mottola (Superbad) and the supporting cast includes Sigourney Weaver, Jason Bateman, and Jeffrey Tambor. I am really looking forward to this movie as Pegg and Frost are consistently hilarious and the story is pretty original. Paul is not your typical alien – he basically thinks of himself as an everyday Joe. Road trips are always pretty fun so having one with this trio of comedians and an alien should be awesome.

Once again Jon Favreau showed his skill at captivating the geek demographic by creating huge anticipation for Cowboys & Aliens, his new movie starring Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, and Sam Rockwell. Although the idea is great, it takes skill to blend such two very different genres, but Favreau is going for a very Western feel. After explaining that he is trying to emulate the Sergio Leone/John Ford films of the 40s and 50s, while using practical effects from the 80s as well as CGI for the aliens, he decided to just screen some early footage. Although the crew has only been shooting for three weeks, attendees were very impressed by the scene. In a surprise appearance, Harrison Ford was brought on stage in handcuffs by two security guards. It was his first appearance at the convention and the crowd went nuts. This a natural reaction, of course, to the man who played Han Solo and Indiana Jones, as well as many other awesome characters. I hope Favreau can really nail the Western feel and deliver a really fun, interesting film due out next summer, July 29th.

Now the presentation you’ve all been waiting for: Marvel. What Marvel is doing with their properties on film is incredible. By going independent and forming Marvel Studios where writers can collaborate and come up with great, interlocking stories for all of their superheroes, the company shows that it knows what its doing. Hopefully the result will be incredible, but there are a lot of moving parts, and all of them must come together perfectly. Captain America was first, as a short teaser showed Chris Evans in full costume throwing the iconic shield at the camera. After some discussion, the filmmakers actually had some footage to show which involved Hugo Weaving as Red Skull searching for an artifact that has something to do with Odin. I really like the Indiana Jones/World War II period piece vibe I’m getting for this movie. I hope Joe Johnston can create a very good atmosphere and seeing Cap killing Nazis is going to be sweet. Next up was Thor, which is much farther into production. A lot of footage was shown, and I can’t wait to see the trailer. Apparently the costumes are not nearly as cheesy as they looked in the first images we were shown. Reactions were very positive, which is a relief. Finally, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige brought on The Avengers. After years of rumors, this movie is finally actually happening. The final lineup was announced: Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man, Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson, Scarlett Johansson as Natalie Rushman/Black Widow, Chris Hemsworth as Donald Blake/Thor, Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye, and Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/The Hulk (see the full cast in the photo from the event). It’s going to be insane seeing so many heroes on screen at the same time. I hope Joss Whedon can bring together all of this madness and deliver an amazing film.

Behold the cast of "The Avengers"

Well that was a very big day at Comic-Con, and while we knew most of this going in, it was still awesome to see all of these projects materializing before our eyes. Its going to hard, but we can’t fuel the hype too much. I’m looking forward to all of these films as much as anyone, but I’m not going to let the anticipation ruin my enjoyment of the movies as movies.

Although the show floor was opened up last night, the San Diego Comic-Con officially opened today. I wasn’t expecting this much on the first day, but that just goes to show you how new I am to the con. Here we go!

First up, we have some photo galleries from the show floor. Check these out to get a glimpse of the many awesome booths from every comic, movie, and TV show you can think of:

• Firstshowing’s Photo Gallery
• Cinematical’s Preview Night Gallery

Joss Whedon is officially directing The Avengers. Yes, you probably already knew this, but now it’s official. During EW’s Visionaries panel, Whedon stated the Marvel lacked the finances for an official press release so he had to announce it himself. I think Whedon writing is definitely a good idea, but I’m sure about his directing skills. Still, he obviously loves the characters and knows what a geek audience is expecting from the film, so hopefully Whedon will escalate The Avengers from a simple coming-together of heroes into the most epic superhero film ever put on film, but without sacrificing its heart. Good luck, Mr. Whedon. By the way, Marvel’s big presentation is on Saturday, so be ready for some big announcements.

During the same panel, J.J. Abrams talked a little bit about Super 8, but refused to give anything away. The only surprising news is that the film isn’t actually shot yet. This kind-of makes sense, but I assumed the movie was already completed. He’s aiming for a September start date so hopefully the wait won’t be too long before we see what should be a great collaboration between Steven Spielberg and Abrams.

Will Ferrell came to the Megamind panel completely dressed as his character from the animated film. Brad Pitt also made an appearance… in cardboard cutout form. See the picture from Alex Billington’s Twitter feed on the right. Oh yeah, Jonah Hill also declared himself the new Hulk for The Avengers. Wouldn’t it be great if this was legitimate and no one realized it?

Disney had their presentation for Tron Legacy today, with all of the main cast as well as the director in attendance. If you’re interested you should read Firstshowing’s detailed write-up of the event. Apparently the footage they screened was amazing, but those of us at home can check out this awesome second trailer for the film:

The first images from Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch also debuted today. See them over at Film School Rejects.

During Disney’s presentation, a new adaptation of The Haunted Mansion was announced, with Guillermo Del Toro writing and producing. This came as a complete surprise, but makes sense given his recent departure from The Hobbit and his penchant for monster visuals. In an interview with THR, Del Toro talked about the mix between scares and family appeal, “It’s going to be a thrill ride for the whole family but it’s definitely going to be scary,” he said. “(Walt) Disney is one of the creators of some of the scariest images in my childhood. People forget that he not only made sweet images but also images of nightmare. We need to honor that side of the legacy.” This is defnitely what Disney is going for with this remake as Disney production head Sean Bailey echoed the same sentiments. The director is huge fan of the ride and I can’t wait to see what he comes up with for the Disney classic.

The big news kept coming as MTV Movies Blog got the scoop that Brad Pitt has signed on for the film adaptation of Max Brooks’ World War Z. The book is a series of interviews with various people who were impacted by the worldwide zombie infestation, and I am looking to read it soon. The author said, “I can’t believe how cool Paramount has been to me and these projects, and how cool Plan B has been.” I hope the film doesn’t lose the great storytelling technique that the book used by focusing solely on Pitt’s character.

The Sundance hit Buried, starring Ryan Reynolds by himself in a coffin, also got a theatrical trailer. I can’t wait to see this film. How can a movie set underground in an enclosed space have fresh visuals. I really want to see how Rodrigo Cortes pulled this one off. That being said, this trailer was pretty lackluster:

The teaser poster for Let Me In, Matt Reeves’ American remake of the Swedish vampire movie, hit the net today thanks to MTV Movies Blog and here it is:

Speaking of American remakes, David Fincher’s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is moving along. A release date of December 21st, 2011 was just set by Sony, and filming should begin in October. Still, none of the leads have been solidified yet. Daniel Craig, who has been rumored for the role of journalist Mikael Blomkvist, will likely not be able to join the cast due to conflicts with Bond 23 and Jon Favreau’s Cowboys vs. Aliens. The main female role, computer hacker Lisabeth Salander, is still up in the air.

The Expendables panel was pretty uneventful. I guess it was a “you had to be there” kind-of thing. The amazing action cast assembled, but no big news, which wasn’t a surprise.

Although I hadn’t heard too much about this film before, I’m really starting to get excited for RED. The film, which stands for Retired, Extremely Dangerous, stars Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, John Malkovich, and Morgan Freeman as four ex-CIA special agents who become targets and must outwit their pursuers in a cross-country race to uncover the conspiracy at the CIA’s headquarters at Langley. This movie looks like a ton of fun with a great cast. Check out the new trailer:

After it was rumored yesterday that Karl Urban was going to be the new Judge Dredd, FSR’s Jack Giroux confirmed the rumor today. The actor stated that he is in talks and wants to play the character in the upcoming adaptation.

Battle: Los Angeles is making a big splash at the convention this year. A viral site launched this morning that looks pretty interesting. The pitch is that Battle: LA is a more realistic telling of human military fighting off an alien invasion. Think Black Hawk Down meets Independence Day. I’m really intrigued as District 9 already showed a more thoughtful view of aliens, hopefully this film, lead by Aaron Eckhart can be an emotional war drama like Saving Private Ryan and also showcase some awesome alien destruction.

A new film called Skyline in the same vein is also being advertised around Comic-Con and no one had ever really heard of it before. All we know right now is what Drew at Hitfix could uncover: “Skyline is directed and produced by the Brothers Strause (Alien vs. Predator: Requiem), whose company Hydraulx has provided visual effects for Avatar, Iron Man 2, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and 300.” Sounds promising, and from what I’ve heard, the Strause brothers, who previously helmed AVP: Requiem, are true geeks and set out to make an awesome alien invasion film. We get our first real look at this tomorrow so stay tuned.

And the most frustrating news of the night is that Scott Pilgrim vs. The World premiered tonight in a special preview screening. I’m really mad I missed this, but, hey, I get to see it next Thursday. Reaction was very positive, with many tweets like this one from Erik Davis: “I just poured a bucket of awesome over my head and it was called Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.” Personally I can’t wait to see this movie. The over-the-top action and self-referencing humor look awesome. A few early reviews are up now including ones from Cole Abaius,  Todd Gilchrist, and Jordan Hoffman but I am going to hold off until I see it for myself.

So that was day one of Comic-Con 2010. Some nice surprises and several good new images and trailers. Be wary, though. Don’t let all the hype get to you. It’s good seeing all these promos for franchises you love, but always remember to enjoy the films as they are, without all the hoopla.

In the last week, a barrage of images have hit the web from the various comic-book adaptations on the way. Starting with the Green Lantern reveal, which we already featured, we’ve seen new images from Thor as well as Captain America: The First Avenger. Check them all out below (click for high-res) the jump and share your thoughts.

First up we have the first picture of Ryan Reynolds as Green Lantern in case you missed it the first time:

And here are a few more scans from that same issue of Entertainment Weekly:

Next up is a first look at the gods of Thor, including the first image of Anthony Hopkins as Odin and Tom Hiddleston as Loki:

Here is a picture of just Odin and Thor:

Now we have a bigger image from Thor, this time in the throne room of Asgard:

Las night, we got two concept posters for Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor, respectively:

And, finally, today another Thor image debuted, this time of the god’s alter-ego, Donald Blake, pulling the hammer Mjolner out of solid rock:

So what do you think? I am still really excited for Thor, but the images of the gods are a little worrying. I am not going to pass judgement before I see a trailer, but they look very silly right now. I’m really liking the Captain America images, though. I love how the film is set during World War II. Seeing Cap fight the Nazis is going to be awesome. As for Green Lantern, I am looking forward to seeing a traditional superhero origin story. What I mean by that is it’s looking like DC is going back to the basics – they’re not trying anything special with GL as far as I can tell. Hopefully, it’ll just be a fun superhero flick.

There’s sure to be a ton of superhero film news headed your way in the next week thanks to that little geek gathering over in San Diego, so prepare yourself.

The current issue of Entertainment Weekly has the first image of Ryan Reynolds in his CGI Green Lantern suit. Check it out below the jump.

To get straight to the point, here it is:

Well there it is. Ryan Reynolds in all his green glory. What do you think? Does this get you more pumped for the movie? Are you a little underwhelmed?

I was very intrigued when I heard that Green Lantern’s suit would be completely digital. It makes sense, really, as the costume is only a manifestation of the ring’s power. I was hoping that we would see something really magical – a sort of ethereal, pulsating mass of energy surrounding our hero. I guess that’s kind of what it looks like, but I was looking for something even crazier. I like the lines of energy that seem to be moving but other than that it looks like an ordinary superhero costume. Maybe using CGI was only the filmmakers excuse to get away with a cliche spandex costume. Maybe my expectation were too high. It looks good, but I was looking for something truly unique, and that’s not what this is.

In any case, Green Lantern is one of my favorite heroes and I still can’t wait to see him on the big screen next June 17th.

A comic book movie can really make waves in the movie industry or it can sink faster than the Titanic, with that said, Green lantern is a sure win in my eyes.  I have a feelin about this one.

According to Pete over at /Film, an exclusive for Pete, the news of Green Lantern’s suit comes flying onto your screen. Is Ryan Reynolds going to be naked on screen? Well not on our screen but on the green screen, yes, yes he is. According to /Film’s exclusive – Reynolds will be wearing a CGI suit for the film.

While we have seen this type of thing before, Iron Man, The Hulk etc, is this the right move for such a simple and stylish suit? Will CG look CG? I am a firm believer of immersing ones self into the movie, if anything is off or can be called out as “fake” it could ruin the flow of the entire film. If we are to see the Green Lantern in a suit that is fabricated by the world’s best computers, will we be able to tell?

Only time can tell…

Talk amongst yourselves below. What do you honestly think about this news? Can it be done right on a comic book movie budget?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock during 2009, you know the economic situation in the world is not the best. The film industry is now feeling the effects of the global economic crisis, particularly as the U.S. dollar continues to lose value against other currencies.

This situation has forced Warner Bros. Pictures to pull out of filming Green Lantern in Australia, since the current exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the Australian dollar would increase production costs by over $20 million. Warner Bros. will likely move production, which is set to start in November, closer to home, shooting in either Canada or Mexico.

The unfortunate but necessary move by Warner Bros. comes as a stark contrast to the release of Where the Wild Things Are, which was filmed in Australia. The film could have easily stirred interest in using Australia as a filming location, but the financial issue faced by Warner Bros. will no doubt deter other studios from shooting in Australia.

The Australian film industry is clearly prepared to deal with the the economic problems that might keep studios from working in Australia, as they’ve already created the “Make it in Australia” campaign in L.A. to promote Australia as a film location.

Although Warner Bros. has pulled Green Lantern from production in Australia, the company is still backing two animated films currently in production in Sydney.

Ryan Reynolds is in talks to join the cast of Jon Cassar’s (24) Motorcade for Dreamworks Pictures, in which Reynolds would play a the “disgraced Secret Service agent who happens to be in the wrong place at the right time when the U.S. president is kidnapped in New York.”

That sounds like it could be pretty sweet. Reynolds is great in an action role.

The film will be produced by Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald. At one point, Tom Cruise was attached to star, back when Underworld‘s Len Wiseman was attached to direct.

Reynolds hasn’t officially signed on yet — next, he’ll be making Green Lantern with Casino Royale director Martin Campbell.

More news on Motorcade as the film develops. Keep your eyes peeled!

These here interwebs were spiraling into a whirlwind of confusion yesterday at the sudden fear of Justin Timberlake taking up the mantle of Hal Jordan in Martin Campbell’s Green Lantern movie. Well those like yours truly who were opposed to the idea can rest a little easier as Variety reports Ryan Reynolds will be donning the green mask and ring.

Even though Nathan Fillion would have been perfect, Reynolds certainly has the chops to pull off the Hal they’re going for and proved himself as the best thing in both The Proposal and some silly Wolverine adaptation earlier this year. It came down to him, Bradley Cooper, and apparently Jared Leto. Leto would have been odd, and Cooper’s got his franchise now.

This project’s already doing a lot of things right in getting a good director and now a strong lead. Let’s hope the script holds up and they deliver another tremendous DC movie. As a devout Green Lantern fan, I’m nothing but excited at the casting news and can’t wait for this thing to hit.

Green Lantern is scheduled for June 17th, 2011 and production to begin in Janurary.