Since he reinvigorated the Mission: Impossible franchise with the nigh-universally lauded Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, a big question has been just what Brad Bird would direct next, as his second live-action feature film. Anyone hoping that the animation maestro-turned-blockbuster-live-action helmer would get his passion project 1906 off the ground next might have to wait, as Brad Bird has signed on to Disney and Damon Lindelof's super-secret 1952.

To the majority of audiences, Steven Spielberg isn't a director, but is the director.  As Superman is to superheroes, so is Spielberg to contemporary directors; his bearded face is the first that springs to mind at the mere mention of the word.  For the first time since 1993, we'll see two Spielberg-directed films hitting theaters this year, a mere eight days apart, and he's currently prepping his take on one of the most venerated figures in American history, but what comes after that?  In all likelihood it will be the large-scale science fiction tale Robopocalypse, as 20th Century Fox and DreamWorks Pictures will be teaming up to co-finance the sure-to-be pricey production.

Guillermo del Toro continues casting Pacific Rim, the mega-monster event movie that will combines two separate Japanese influences, pitting the massive, city-destroying monsters of Kaiju against humans piloting anime-inspired mech-bots.  Variety reports that the one and only Clifton Collins Jr. is the latest addition to the slowly assembling ensemble.  He joins Sons of Anarchy star and Undeclared alum Charlie Hunnam playing the lead, a pilot of one of the aforementioned mechs, with Stringer Bell himself Idris Elba as his mentor.  Charlie Day of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is also set to play a presumably high-pitched scientist in the science fiction epic.

The teaser trailer for director Tarsem Singh's epic 3D take on Greek Mythology gave a sense of the film's distinct, showstopping visuals, along with impeccably-shot and choreographed action.  A newly released theatrical trailer for the Relativity Media film contains even more of Singh's signature style and crowd-pleasing action, while laying out more of the plot.  It seems Superman-in-waiting Henry Cavill's Theseus is chosen as a hero not simply to stop the ruthless King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) from conquering the world of men, but to save the gods themselves.  Of course, we also get to see Luke Evans as Zeus laying a thorough hurting on some bad guys.

Anyone who has borne witness to David Simon's HBO masterpiece The Wire has no doubt wondered why any number of actors from its faultless cast have not gone on to become International Movie Stars®, with Idris Elba in particular seeming destined for silver screen accomplishments.  Over three seasons as drug co-kingpin and would-be businessman Russell "Stringer Bell", Elba gave an incredibly charismatic performance as a wicked intelligent and remorseless douche.  Now, he's one step closely to his movie star destiny, as he has officially signed on to Guillermo del Toro's science fiction epic Pacific Rim, in which he'll pilot a giant anime-inspired mecha against giant alien invaders.

Jason Momoa is in the midst of a big summer.  The Hawaiian-born actor and former model is a veteran of television series like Baywatch and Stargate: Atlantis , but he just made his biggest impression as the fearsome warlord Khal Drogo on HBO's hit series Game of Thrones.  While the much-discussed first season just wrapped and Momoa won't be returning for the already-announced second season, Momoa is taking over the iconic role of Conan the Cimmerian in this August's 3D action epic Conan the Barbarian.  IAR's Managing Editor Jami Philbrick caught up with Jason Momoa on the red carpet for the premiere of The Devil's Double at the L.A. Film Fest last night, where Momoa discussed Game of Thrones, Conan, and future adventures as the 20th Century's most famous barbarian.

When last we saw Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana as ten foot tall blue cat people on Pandora at the end of Avatar, they had successfully revolted against greedy human colonists and their futuristic conveniences.  Still, the human thirst for unobtanium remains unquenchable, and our tenacious species will no doubt return to get our grubby meathooks all over that sweet space-ore in the two Avatar sequels that writer-director James Cameron is developing.  Cameron himself talked about the progress of the sequels, which will be filmed back-to-back for releases tentatively set at December 2014 and December 2015.

By the time the two-part prequel The Hobbit finishes principal production, 1 out of every 6 living humans will have a substantial role in one installment or the other.  Last week, Luke Evans joined the cast as Bard the Bowman, and Benedict Cumberbatch was confirmed as the voice of Smaug and the Necromancer.  Now, Peter Jackson is kicking off this week by announcing the addition of Lost star Evangeline Lilly and Australian Dame Edna actor Barry Humphries.  Lilly is set to play Tauriel, a Woodland Elf created for the film, while Humphries will play the Goblin King via motion capture.

The legend of Mulan is being made into a film once again, this time a live-action epic starring Zhang Ziyi (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), to be directed by Jan De Bont (Speed). The film will be an independently-produced, English-language co-production of the classic tale of Hua Mulan, the legendary young heroine soldier who joins an all-male army.

Oh, Asylum. You've really gone... just far enough this time. The trailer for the infamous company's newest opus, Titanic II has just hit, and I felt compelled to share it with you, because if I don't, someone else is going to...

If you don't know about The Asylum, I'm about to ruin your state of blissful ignorance. Asylum is a production company that prides itself on blatantly ripping off popular films and slapping them with embarrassingly lame titles like Snakes on a Train or Pirates of Treasure Island. "Mockbusters" are what they're called and they must be fairly popular because obviously they keep getting made, and more often than not, the Syfy channel airs them. (To be fair, The Asylum did conjure up Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus, which was, ahem, "original".)