Welcome back to AP’s Comic-Con coverage. Here’s the highlights from Day Two of the San Diego Comic-Con.

Nicholas Cage made an appearance for his new film Drive Angry 3D. Patrick Lussier directed the movie, which looks to be a classic, violent revenge tale. Cage is one of my favorite actors and always looks for slightly different roles and this looks no different. Check out this short trailer:

Firstshowing.net has a great write-up of the awesome Tron: Legacy viral that took place over the past couple days in San Diego.

Robert Rodriguez’s Machete has had a big presence at this year’s Comic-Con. A new red-band trailer debuted, but even better was the Taco Truck. Stars Danny Trejo and Michelle Rodriguez were on the streets of San Diego handing out taco’s from a branded trailer. Now that’s a good marketing ploy.

Jackass 3D premiered some footage that apparently was ridiculously disgusting. If you are a fan of the series, you should stay tuned for more information, but this doesn’t interest me at all.

Another interesting film also debuted a trailer yesterday. Goon, produced by David Fincher and starring Clancy Brown and Paul Giamatti, looks like a pretty awesome animated film. Based on a comic series by Eric Powell, the story follows The Goon and his sidekick Franky as they battle the supernatural. I had never heard of this before, but check out this great clip/trailer:

During the Burn Notice panel, USA Network head Jeff Watchel announced that they were moving forward with a prequel movie starring Bruce Campbell. The film will focus on Sam Axe’s last mission as a Navy SEAL and is a very interesting move for the series. I didn’t expect such great news from this panel. In response Campbell said, “USA finally got their shit together.”

Frank Darabont showed off a first glimpse at his television series The Walking Dead. Produced for AMC, the series reportedly has an extremely high production value and should look amazing. I don’t know about you, but I think a zombie TV show should be one of the coolest things on TV. Make sure you watch this coming fall when the series debuts in October.

In contrast to the great reaction to The Walking Dead, Steven Spielberg’s new TV series, Falling Skies, was not as well-received. The series follows Noah Wyle and Moon Bloodgood as everyday people who are affected by an alien invasion. There are always high expectations for any project Spielberg is involved with, but the reaction has been lukewarm. Devindra Hardawar from /Film was not impressed. The footage isn’t available online so I can’t judge that, but this show looks to me like same-old, same-old. There’s nothing really new about it and I’m not looking forward to it.

Guillermo Del Toro is a very busy man nowadays. After day one’s surprise announcement that he would be writing and producing Disney’s The Haunted Mansion, the filmmaker debuted footage from another one of his horror projects, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark. Based on the 1973 TV movie, the film follows a young girl as she encounters various creatures after moving into a haunted house with her family. The footage screened at the panel got a great reaction, and we should be able to see the trailer in the next few weeks. And for those of you worried about the film being watered down, Del Toro had this to say, “We are not taking anything away from the original, and we are not fucking chickening out… we wrote and originally shot the movie for PG-13, and could do that without compromising the scares…But we were given a badge of honor. The MPAA came back and gave it a non-negotiable R for ‘pervasive scariness’.” So there you go, horror fans.

MTV Movies Blog was able to talk to Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman who are now writing the sequel to J.J. Abrams’ fantastic Star Trek reboot. While they were very quiet about plot details, they stated that each and every crewmember would get more screentime in the sequel, saying, “Now the whole family is there and you want to focus on them first. Before you worry too much about new characters, make sure you have them taken care of.”

Last but definitely not least is James Gunn’s Super. The movie stars Rainn Wilson as a man who dons a superhero costume in order to avenge his wife’s (Liv Tyler) murder. Ellen Page and Nathan Fillon co-star. I can’t wait to see this movie, which sounds like a low-budget, rawer version of Kick Ass with Dwight from The Office.

So that’s it for Day Two. The Marvel panel is starting in just a few minutes, so stay tuned for some big news.

A.K.A. LOTR Edition or Vuvuzela Edition, also Buzzing Noise Edition… am I annoying you yet? good! I’m doing my best vuvuzela impersonation. As you’ve probably guessed this video has something to do with soccer, specifically the 2010 FIFA World Cup currently being played in South Africa, and Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. I bet you never thought you’d read a sentence with those two in it! Have you been watching the 2010 World Cup? Who are you cheering for? Speaking of The Lord of the Rings who would you like to direct the upcoming The Hobbit? What do you think of the rumor that District 9 director Neill Blomkamp will be offered the job? Personally I’m a little bummed that Guillermo del Toro won’t be directing! Back to the business at hand- World Cup, Middle Earth style!

Today, IMAX and Warner Bros. announced that they have signed a deal to release twenty films in the format over the next three years. In the statement, several release dates were revealed, as well as an update on Guillermo del Toro’s The Hobbit.

First, the deal: After having a lot of success in the past, Warner Bros. is going all-out with the IMAX format. The deal, revealed today in a press release, details the company’s plans to exhibit 20 films in IMAX theaters over the next 3 years.

The first five movies under the agreement are Legends of the Guardian: The Owls of Ga’Hoole 3D (September 24, 2010), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (3D) (November 19, 2010) and Part II (3D) (July 15, 2011), Happy Feet 2 (3D) (November 18, 2011), and The Hobbit (December 2012). In addition, the studio will release 15 other films over the course of 2011, 2012 and 2013, including Gravity, Fury Road, Batman 3, and Superman.

In addition to this being a huge success for IMAX, now we know that The Hobbit is not dead. As of right now, both Hobbit scripts have been handed in to the studio and, although not officially green-lit, the finances are being worked out right now.

This is reassuring, considering how grim the movie’s future looked as a result MGM’s financial trouble. As far as I know, there will still be two parts, but the press release only listed one. Could WB be paring the story down to make it fit into one film?

I sure hope not. I can’t wait to see del Toro’s take on Middle-Earth. Hopefully, the film(s) will make a splendid, tonally different, addition to the terrific Lord of the Rings series.

While we all have read the headlines lately that The Hobbit may be in trouble and may not start on time or possibly at all. We do have a ray of hope from the fine folks over at the Matamata Chronicle. The Matamata Chronicle was given an exclusive tour of Hobbiton as work on the Bucklands Rd set pushes ahead.

Okay there is a good sign right there. The set is being pieced back together. It’s a start folks, a start to a long road ahead of us full of news, trailers and of coarse reviews!

Below is an excerpt from the exclusive article from the Matamata Chronicle below:

Reconstruction of most of the 38 original hobbit holes is now well under way.

Details about when filming will begin are under wraps and visiting tourists are required to sign a contract stating they will not sell their photos.

Hobbiton media and communications manager Ian Brodie continues to be amazed at the on-site progress. “It changes every day,” he said.

Although some imagination is still required to see beyond the plastic sheets, sandbags and plywood, several new hobbit holes are clearly visible.

Many of the holes from the original Lord of the Rings set have been numbered for reconstruction. Holes destroyed after filming have been re-dug and are now being rebuilt.

Hedgerows, apple trees and pear trees have sprung up throughout the Hobbit village. An amused Mr Brodie has already caught a few tourists helping themselves to the fruit.

When completed, the entire set for The Hobbit will look exactly the same as it did in Lord of the Rings.

Reports suggest shooting on the film could start between June and October this year and The Hobbit could be shot for a 3-D release.

So are you guys excited for this news or what? I for one am excited for anything to do with the series that started it all! Let us know what you think below in the comments.

Golden Globe nominated Tobey Maguire (for his role in Brothers) is leaving the Spider-Man franchise for Guillermo del Toro’s The Hobbit big-screen adaptation. One wonders if the reported changes being made to the Spider-Man franchise didn’t have a lot to do with his decision. Spider-Man’s turn from bright, poppy, action hero to gritty, dark, vigilante could have prompted a change in the lead. Maguire can expect a similarly dark interpretation of the J.R.R. Tolkien classic from del Toro (Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth) as he fills the large hobbit feet of Bilbo Baggins. The team of Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy), del Toro behind the camera, and Maguire as leading man should make for a box office smash hit; the once-powerful Spider-Man has a much more uncertain future. See a younger, more fragile Maguire alongside Michael Douglas and Robert Downey Jr. on DVD in Wonder Boys today!

Sam Raimi’s Ghost House horror genre production label will now branch into a new one — Spooky Pictures, which will focus on delivering horror/thriller films to family audiences. This seems odd coming right off the heels of Disney’s deal with Guillermo Del Toro to create Double Dare You.

The first film to be produced under Spooky Pictures will be The Substitute, a remake of a Danish film by Ole Bornedal. The remake will be directed by Scott Derrickson, who previously helmed The Day the Earth Stood Still and The Exorcism of Emily Rose. The film deals with “a terrified sixth-grade class as the students race to reveal to their parents that their new substitute teacher is an evil alien being.”

The Faculty for minors? I say it has potential.

Raimi will produce the film with his longtime creative partner Rob Tapert, who goes back to the Evil Dead days. Derrickson is writing the film himself alongside Paul Harris Boardman, who also co-wrote Emily Rose.

More details on The Substitute and Spooky Pictures as they develop.

Disney’s business plan is blowing up huge. Apparently the expansion into Marvel territory wasn’t enough, and now Guillermo Del Toro will be lending his talents to the House of Mouse.

Del Toro is starting a new animation label entitled “Double Dare You,” which will produce darker animated thriller films.

Del Toro told Variety that:

“As a director, I love to take audiences into fantastic new worlds and provide them with some anxious moments in the process,” del Toro said. “It is part of the Disney canon to create thrilling, unforgettable moments and villains in all their classic films.”

The first film for the label will be Trollhunters, based on an original story by Del Toro.

Disney seems to be really reaching out to the young male audience they’ve always struggled to hold on to. With Del Toro and Marvel involved, however, I doubt this will be a problem for them much longer.

Mr. Sparky...is that you?

I will personally handle anybody who says Guillermo del Toro isn’t working hard for the money, West Side Story-style. (snap your arse off, mate) Though currently handling pre-production of The Hobbit, del Toro will reunite with Spanish firm Rodar y Rodar for producer duty on the “dark Spanish-language thriller” Los ojos de Julia (Julia’s Eyes).

“The thriller’s an excuse to talk about a woman who overcomes her limitations; it’s a journey of self-discovery,” says Rodar’s Joaquin Padro.

Directed by Guillem Morales, Julia’s Eyes will be shot from Julia’s POV, a style reminiscent of Cloverfield, REC and its American counterpart Quarantine. Del Toro helped land the film in the capable hands of Focus Features, International, and also helped oversee writing and casting.

According to Variety, del Toro says it “won’t be a simple schlock-a-thon.”

The team also produced and directed the foreign sensation El orfanato (The Orphanage), which is currently being targeted for recreation for American fast-food audiences.

Personally, I’m loving the rise of Spanish thrillers on our shores. For me, the only credible horror flicks these days are coming from the Spanish region.