A couple weeks ago it was revealed that Emily Blunt might have to step down from playing Black Widow in Iron Man 2 due a schedule conflict with Gulliver’s Travels. Since then Eliza Dushku tossed her hat into the consideration pool, pleading fans to start a campaign to make it happen. Unfortunately for Eliza, it seems that Jon Favreau and Marvel have bigger names in mind for the part.

EW has learned that Scarlett Johansson is in talks to replace Blunt as Russian superspy Natasha Romanoff (aka the Black Widow).  Johansson has apparently met with the filmmakers and is interested in the part, and is just waiting for Blunt to officially give up the part. Blunt’s reps are still trying to make the schedules fall into alignment but Iron Man still doesn’t have a schedule or start date in place.

Aside from being sexy and a big name you can

Where on earth the rumor came from, I do not know - but I do know who published it first. Ooops.

Earlier today, Just Jared ran a piece claiming that Lindsay Lohan had been cast in the final girl role for the Nightmare on Elm Street rehash. They’ve now adjusted their story, of course - anybody who has ever even seen a blindfolded lady holding scales or heard the theme tune to Ally McBeal would know that was necessary. The new version of the story claims that Just Jared were the victims of a Punk’ing (I quite like the image of Ashton Kutcher in a Freddy Kruger sweater-glove combo).

Another big screen adaptation of the Hua Mulan story is coming, and director Jingle Ma has cast Zhao Wei, aka Vicky Zhao, in the title role. Twitch directed me to the original story at CriEnglish. Zhao is not only an actress but also a pop singer, as appears to be the norm in Asia.

In essence, the story tells of a young girl who disguises herself as a boy in order to take her ailing father’s place in the army. Most tellings then have her caught in a romantic situation complicated somewhat by her subterfuge. There’s no longer any record of whether the story is a history or an allegory, but it’s great drama in either case.

Hidden away in Variety’s story on Jonah Hill’s screenplay sale is the claim that Jason Schwartzman is in Edgar Wright’s big screen adaptation of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. This definitely hasn’t been reported before, and is just mentioned in passing as part of Schwartzman’s upcoming film slate. Variety later pulled mention of Scott Pilgrim, so it might just be just a mistake on their part.

The Playlist’s sources claim that Schwartzman might be playing the ultimate 7th evil boyfriend, Gideon Gordon Graves. I haven’t read the final book of the Pilgrim saga, so I’m unable to comment on if Schwartzman would be the right actor for the role. But I will say that Scott Pilgrim is the perfect type of film for Schwartzman’s brand of indie-humor. We’ll update this story when more information becomes available.

Yesterday it was revealed that Samuel Bayer, the music video and commercial director behind some of the seminal alternative rock music videos of the 1990’s, had signed on to helm a remake of Nightmare on Elm Street. Today LatinoReview is reporting a rumor that Jackie Earle Haley is one of Platinum Dunes choices to play Freddy Kruger in the reboot.

Update: Producer Brad Fuller tells SHOCK the the rumor is not true: “I can absolutely deny [this rumor]. We have not chosen a Freddy Krueger we’re not even negotiating with anyone yet.”

The actor was nominated for an Academy Award for playing a child molester in Little Children, and next plays a crazy mental patient in Martin Scorsese’s upcoming Shutter Island. Most reader will probably see him next don a mask as Rorschach in Zack Snyder’s adaptation of Watchmen. To me, Haley possesses the perfect balance of creepiness and

Entertainment Weekly have the only information so far available on Jonah Hill and Max Winkler’s big payday and the spec script that won them their golden deal. According to their piece, Hill and Winkler (yes, yes, he’s Henry’s son, not the deceased Polish mayor) have reportedly just sold a spec script called Adventurer’s Club for a seven figure sum and after hooking the attention of “multiple studios”.

While two of EW’s sources claim that Universal have sealed the deal, Hill’s people maintain that negotiations are still open - there’s clearly some hype-mongering going down, on somebody’s part. But what’s this script actually about? And is it worth all of the fuss?

Eliza Dushku appeared on the Howard Stern Show on Sirius/XM Radio this morning to promote her new television show Dollhouse. Things got interesting when the topic of conversation went to Robert Downey Jr and Iron Man. Dushku explained that she would love to play The Black Widow in Iron Man 2.

“They’re doing Iron Man 2, and I’m so perfect for the Black Widow character, that they just need to get into it. They need to understand… I just learned Russian because I had to play a Russian girl in Dollhouse.”

I get the impression from the way she just brought it up that she’s already either put her name in for the part or possibly even auditioned for the role. Emily Blunt was awarded the role but 20th Century Fox has an option on the actress and the studio wants her to play the romantic lead in Gulliver’s Travels.

Variety have reported the casting of John Malkovich in Jimmy Hayward’s Jonah Hex. I’ve believed this was inevitable for some time now, and if you keep reading, I’ll show you why.

Malkovich will be playing Quentin Turnbull, probably the key recurring villain from the comics. According to the series’ storyline, Turbnull’s son Jeb was Jonah Hex’s best friend in the Confederate army but after Jeb was killed by Union soldiers who framed Hex as a turncoat, Turnbull senior swore vengeance and they became bitter enemies. I expect all of these events will figure in the film somehow - so we can probably also expect Jeb Turnbull casting at some point soon.

With Jason Voorhees likely to receive a bloody good welcome this weekend for his Platinum Dunes revamp, Michael Myers will have to settle with a new teaser poster for H2, the sequel to that oh-so-polarizing of horror remakes, Rob Zombie’s Halloween. According to Shock, Zombie will begin filming shortly in Georgia to meet the release date seen above. And the film now has an official site.

Meanwhile, Malcolm McDowell, whose uneven and halfhearted take on Dr. Loomis was one of the only problems I had with Zombie’s graphic and feral vision—would naysayers really prefer another sequel with Busta Rhymes?—offered an update to a tipster at AICN. McDowell admits to still having never viewed John Carpenter’s original masterpiece (weird, right?) and says that reprising the role will come down to the Weinsteins agreeing to his fee. He added that the sequel picks up two months after the first film and finds Loomis

Keep an eye on this one. Aaron Eckhart and Richard Jenkins have joined the cast of The Rum Diary, which will see Johnny Depp playing a doppelganger of the late Hunter S. Thompson for the second time. Eckhart will play a wealthy rival to Depp’s boozy journalist, with both men seeking the pleasantries of a beach floozie to be played by Amber Heard (The Informers, nudity).

Jenkins, who last year mastered the “living out my own private hell with dignity” niche in The Visitor and Step Brothers, will play Lotterman, the supervisor of the shoddy and troubled newspaper that employs Depp. Set in San Juan during the 1950s and based loosely on Thompson’s time there as a young pre-Gonzo writer, the adaptation was written and will be directed by Bruce Robinson, best known for the druggie British cult classic Withnail and I.

The general sentiment seems to be one of surprise and

The Hollywood Reporter have glad tidings for fans of Mumblecore pin-up Greta Gerwig, as they announce that she’s won the lead role in Noah Baumbach’s upcoming Greenburg. Even though I’d expect the box office ceiling for this one to be low enough that the light fixtures will be resting on the floor, it’s still a big leap into the lower leagues of ET-friendly fame for the actress. Poor girl.

According to the Reporter, her Greenburg co-star will be Ben Stiller (I think we already knew he was on board, come to think of it) while Production Weekly also throw Jennifer Jason Leigh into the mix. Wonder how she got the gig? Ahem.

Some of the voice cast for Zack Snyder’s animated film based on Kathryn Lansky’s children’s book Guardians of Ga’Hoole has been announced in tonight’s edition of THR. The supporting voice cast includes Jim Sturgess (21), Geoffrey Rush (Pirates of the Caribbean), Rachael Taylor (Transformers) and David Wenham (300).

It has been rumored that Hugh Jackman, Hugo Weaving and Ryan Kwanten (True Blood) will make-up the voice cast lead roles, but that has yet to be officially confirmed.

I’ll admit, I’ve been a fan of Jean-Claude Van Damme ever since I saw Bloodsport as a kid. While his career and personal life have had their ups and downs over the years, I always hoped that he would somehow make a comeback as a legitimate action star. JCVD showed that he still has some on-screen charisma left, though it still wasn’t enough to redeem his action credibility. I figured a project like Sylvester Stallone’s upcoming action extravaganza, The Expendables, would be perfect for him—but apparently Van Damme thinks otherwise.

In a recent interview with Total Film magazine, JC explains why he turned down a role in the film:

Eva Green sure likes her dramas to come at you slanted and askance. Already on her slate are Franklyn - featuring alternative world sci-fi and a masked freedom fighter taking on multi-theistic fascism; and Cracks - a female swim-team spin on Lord of the Flies with a dash of cross-generational Lesbianism. The latest addition is Benedek Fliegraf’s Womb, seemingly every bit as off the boring old beige wall.

According to Variety, Green is to take the female lead alongside Matt Smith, already best known as the upcoming eleventh incarnation of Dr. Who before he’s filmed a single shot as a Timelord. Their synopsis tells us that the film “tells the story of a grieving widow, played by Green, who decides to clone her late husband”. Last year, when the funding was initially assembled, they said it is “a story about the efforts to overcome death by genetic manipulation”.

Sounds like

Speaking to The Telegraph’s Mandrake on the red carpet of the London Film Critics’ Circle Awards, Mark Strong has claimed that Cate Blanchett is likely to inherit the role of Maid Marian in Ridley Scott’s Nottingham from the recently ousted Sienna Miller.

“I think Cate Blanchett is set to take the Maid Marian part. She is a wonderful actress and it would make it a much classier film if she was in it.”

Strong will be in the film as Sir Guy of Gisbourne, and Russel Crowe is infamously set for the roles of Robin Hood and the Sherrif of Nottingham - though I suspect there are still some twists to be revealed there.