With Marvel bosses and director Joe Johnston still hard at work on apparently auditioning every young male actor in Hollywood for the titular role in The First Avenger: Captain America, it seems that some other casting news has just dropped. In a decision that comes as both surprising and wholly appropriate, Cap’s arch-nemesis, the Red Skull, will be portrayed on screen by none other than Hugo Weaving.

Filmgoing audiences are most familiar with Weaving as well-dressed computer-baddie Agent Smith in all three of the Matrix films and as Elven Lord Elrond in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but with more daring roles in indies like The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and comic-book experience in V for Vendetta, Weaving has become an established and much-beloved character actor.

The selection of Weaving came as a small surprise to many who were expecting a younger pick or a German actor for the part of the evil Nazi supersoldier, but considering his work with Johnston in last month’s The Wolfman, the choice doesn’t seem so shocking.

Okay, so now that Captain America has its lead villain, we can hope to hear some definitive news soon on who will be picking up the shield and putting on the mask, and you can bet your flag that Atomic Popcorn will have the news when it breaks.

Marvel Studios is eying a Summer 2011 date to kick-off a film franchise for their star-spangled hero, and now we have some news on the pre-production from director Joe Johnston himself.

Johnston (Jumanji, the soon upcoming The Wolfman) spoke to Film Journal about the current design work being done for the film, which is to be fully titled The First Avenger: Captain America.

“We’re in prep,” Johnston says. “Rick Heinrichs is production-designing and we’re set up down in Manhattan Beach [California]. It’s the part of the process that I love the most,” he enthuses. “We have eight or ten really talented artists, and we all just sit around all day and draw pictures and say, ‘Hey, wouldn’t it be cool if we could do this?’ It’s that phase of the production where money doesn’t matter: ‘Let’s put all the greatest stuff up on the wall and [then later] see what we can afford.’” The film, he says at this early stage, will begin “in 1942, 1943″ during World War II. “The stuff in the ’60s and ’70s [comic books] we’re sort of avoiding. We’re going back to the ’40s, and then forward to what they’re doing with Captain America now.”

No cast has been confirmed for the film, though reports state that Samuel L. Jackson will be reprising his recurring role as Nick Fury, though with a much larger part than in previous Marvel films.

The First Avenger: Captain America is tentatively set for July 22nd, 2001.

Marvel Studios and Columbia Records have come together in an interesting bit of Hollywood synergy by scoring practically all of this year’s Iron Man 2 to songs by AC/DC.

The hugely anticipated superhero action flick will reportedly feature up to 15 cuts from the Australian hard-rockers, with a full release entitled AC/DC: Iron Man 2 to hit stores this April.

The film will be the sequel to 2008′s multi-million dollar juggernaut, Iron Man, Marvel Studios’ most successful film yet. The film’s opening scene featured AC/DC hit, Back In Black, and director Jon Favreau wanted to take the energy and attitude of that scene and extend it throughout the sequel.

A sneak peak of the merging of AC/DC’s music and film can be viewed online now with a new video for the band’s classic Shoot To Thrill, which features new footage from the movie.

Marvel Studios’ Chief Operating Officer, Tim Connors, had this to say about the pairing:

“Music is an integral part of the Tony Stark and Iron Man experience, and we are pleased that Columbia and AC/DC are taking part in the franchise’s phenomenon. Through this relationship, the band is delivering fans supercharged Iron Man branded music through all our combined consumer touch points, from the movie to retail outlets and even virally with the debut of the new video.”

AC/DC: Iron Man 2 will be released on April 19. Here’s a look at the track listing:

1. Shoot to Thrill
2. Rock ‘N’ Roll Damnation
3. Guns for Hire
4. Cold Hearted Man
5. Back in Black
6. Thunderstruck
7. If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)
8. Evil Walks
9. T.N.T.
10. Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to Be
11. Have a Drink on Me
12. The Razor’s Edge
13. Let There Be Rock
14. War Machine
15. Highway to Hell

Iron Man 2 will begin rocking (and rocketing) through box offices May 7, 2010.

That’s right, we’ve got the first picture of The Wrestler star Mickey Rourke as the villain better known as Whiplash in Jon Farveau’s comic book adaptation sequel, Iron Man 2. Coming out in May 7, 2010 with the help of Marvel Studios and Paramount Pictures, here’s your first look of the baddie!

Daredevil with a new gal, will it come back to life?

What is that you hear? Yet another Marvel movie coming out of the woodwork? No fellow Popcorn freaks, this is not another update on said Marvel Studios movie that will be in connection to The Avengers movie set for 2012, but on a reboot. For quite awhile there have been murmurs of them possibly reviving the Daredevil Marvel property after the critically bashed 2003 film of the same name and the underperforming 2005 Elektra spinoff flick. Now the guys at Los Angeles based comic book shop Golden Apple have the scoop.

“So we got a little visit in our comic shop last week by Katee Sackhoff, also known as Starbuck for her role on BSG. She proceeded to grab all the Typhoid Mary comics we had and has hopes to get a part for a marvel movie….”

That makes a lot of us ponder if the people at 20th Century Fox are ready to breathe some life back into the withered away franchise. Do not forget folks, even though it is a Marvel based property, its rights are still intertwined with Fox for the time being. Knowing them and their recent ongoing success with the X-Men franchise, this reporter is positive that the notion of a revival for Daredevil is most likely going to happen.

Chris Hemsworth storms in as Thor

Kenneth Branagh’s upcoming comic book adaptation Thor has finally landed itself its leading man. Actor Chris Hemsworth, who played George Kirk in the new Star Trek movie, is ready to dawn the long hair and hammer as the super norse god from the Marvel universe. Finally shelving away the news of several people who were in talks for the role, Marvel Studios continues on their rampage of taking over the early summer May slot with their own films.

Being penned by Mark Protosevich, writer of films like I Am Legend and The Cell, the film will focus on the obvious origins of the superhero. Filming will begin in January of next year with a May 20, 2011 release date. Thor will be released among a few other Marvel movies (Iron Man 2, The First Avenger: Captain America) being released before the upcoming Avengers movie that unites Thor, Iron Man, Ant Man, Captain America and the Hulk among others. For more news on this and other Marvel properties, stay glued here only on Atomic Popcorn.

You know it revs your engine when Robert Downey Jr in decked out in full on armor. It’ll really get you going even more when you see…a huge donut shop? These are the two layouts for the latest in Iron Man 2 pics that have recently cropped up. You want to see more you say? Then it’s just a mouse click away, and try not to faint too much when you see Downey Jr, Johansson, Rourke and others duke it out on the big screen in the latest Marvel comic book adaptation.

Directed once again by Jon Farveau, Iron Man 2 will blast its way into theaters on May 7, 2010. For even more Iron Man goodness, keep yourself locked up on here for the latest only on Atomic Popcorn.