Last month we brought you a report about Blake Lively (Green Lantern) and Scarlett Johansson (Iron Man 2) eying the female lead role in Warner Bros.‘ sci-fi thriller Gravity. The film was written by Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men) and his son Jonas.

Now, THR reports that Natalie Portman (Black Swan, THOR) has been offered the lead role, opposite Robert Downey Jr. (Due Date, Untitled Sherlock Holmes Sequel). Natalie Portman and Sandra Bullock were reportedly the two actresses that Warner Bros were most interested in.

Robert Downey Jr. is set to play the leader of a team posted at a space station. While he and a female colleague (possibly Portman) are traveling outside the space station, the other team members are decimated by debris from an exploded satellite. At one point, Angelina Jolie (Salt, The Tourist) was to play that female colleague opposite RDJ but has since passed on the project.

Gravity is slated to hit theaters in 2011.

Our good friends over at Warner Bros. have provided us with a great set of six sci-fi movies just released on Blu-ray to give away to one of our lucky readers. The films contained in this Sci-Fi Six Pack include – Forbidden Planet, Mars Attacks!, THX 1138 Director’s Cut, Lost In Space, A Scanner Darkly, and Matrix Reloaded.

Check out the press release below, including details on each film and instructions on how to enter for your chance to win!

SIX SCI-FI ACTION FAVORITES DEBUT ON
BLU-RAY DISC™ FOR THE FIRST TIME

FORBIDDEN PLANET
MARS ATTACKS!
THX 1138 DIRECTOR’S CUT
LOST IN SPACE
A SCANNER DARKLY
MATRIX RELOADED

A wave of six science fiction action favorites are blasting onto Blu-ray Disc for the first time on September 7, 2010. Presented by Warner Home Video, each film has been selected to showcase the stunning technical brilliance of Blu-ray™, with its crisp sound and spectacularly vibrant colors, there is simply no better way to watch movies at home.

The wave of sci-fi titles include the much anticipated release of Forbidden Planet on Blu-ray, one of the most influential science fiction films in cinematic history. The grandfather of sci-fi movies, Forbidden Planet features a number of Oscar®-nominated special effects, groundbreaking use of an all-electronic music score and the first screen appearance of both Robby the Robot and the C-57D flying saucer starship (this was the first film in which humans are depicted traveling in flying saucers of their own construction). A 50th anniversary version of the film was restored by the Warner Bros.-MGM reconstruction crew before its HD DVD release in 2006, and since then there has been an enormous consumer demand for its Blu-ray debut.

Another title making its long-awaited Blu-ray debut is Mars Attacks! the comic science fiction hit directed by Tim Burton (Alice in Wonderland) and based on the cult trading card series of the same name. Mars Attacks! features a huge ensemble cast which includes Jack Nicholson, Lukas Haas, Annette Bening, Jim Brown, Pierce Brosnan, Sarah Jessica Parker, Glenn Close, Martin Short, Michael J. Fox, Jack Black, Natalie Portman, Rod Steiger, Tom Jones, Danny DeVito and more.

With their mind boggling special effects and futuristic themes, sci-fi movies are some of the most sought after Blu-ray titles in the marketplace. Other titles being released on Blu-ray as part of Warner Home Video’s science fiction action promotion include, THX 1138 Director’s Cut, Lost in Space, A Scanner Darkly and Matrix Reloaded*.

About The Films

Forbidden Planet

A dutiful robot named Robby speaks 188 languages. An underground lair provides astonishing evidence of a populace a million years more advanced than Earthlings. There are many wonders on Altair-4, but none is greater or more deadly than the human mind.

Forbidden Planet is the granddaddy of tomorrow, a pioneering work whose ideas and style would be reverse-engineered into many cinematic space voyages to come. Leslie Nielsen portrays the commander who brings his spacecruiser crew to the green-skied Altair-4 world that’s home to Dr. Morbius (Walter Pidgeon), his daughter (Anne Francis), the remarkable Robby…and to a mysterious terror. Featuring sets of extraordinary scale and the first all-electronic musical soundscape in film history, Forbidden Planet is in a movie orbit all its own.

Mars Attacks!

Awake, Earthlings! It’s later than you think. Don’t miss this hilarious frenzy as Tim Burton (Alice in Wonderland) directs – and Mars Attacks!

See! Stars that shine across the galaxy. Jack Nicholson (in a dual role), Glenn Close, Annette Bening, Pierce Brosnan, Danny DeVito, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michael J. Fox, Martin Short, Natalie Portman, Lukas Haas, Rod Steiger, Tom Jones, Pam Grier, Christina Applegate and more!

Shriek! At mean, green invaders form the angry red planet! Armed with insta-fry ray guns, endowed with slimy, humongous brains – and enlivened with out-of-this-world but state-of-the-art special effects.

Gasp! As the U.S. Legislature is overwhelmed. Don’t fear, we have two out of three branches of the government working for us, and that ain’t bad! Thrill! As Earth fights back with an unexpected weapon. Take that, Martians!

THX 1138 Director’s Cut

Master filmmaker George Lucas (Indiana Jones, Star Wars trilogies) makes his directorial debut in this futuristic sci-fi thriller. Academy Award® and Golden Globe®-winner Robert Duvall (Falling Down, A Civil Action) stars in this story of a computerized subterranean world, where sex is forbidden and emotions have been eradicated. When one computer-matched couple discovers love, this perfectly controlled world is turned upside down. Co-starring Tarzan’s Johnny Weismuller.

Special Features Include:

1. Commentary with George Lucas and Walter Murch
2. Theater of Noise (Sound Effects Only Track)
3. Master Sessions with Walter Murch
4. A Legacy of Filmmakers: The Early Years of American Zoetrope
5. Artifact from the Future: The Making of THX 1138
6. Electronic Labyrinth TXH 1138 4EB
7. BALD
8. Theatrical and Re-Release Trailer

Lost in Space

TV’s Robinson family takes a galactic wrong turn with state-of-the-art visuals and effects. Starring William Hurt (One True Thing, Michael) and Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) as Dr. Smith.

A Scanner Darkly

Set in a not-too-distant future where America has lost its “war” on drugs, Fred, an undercover cop, is one of many people hooked on the popular drug, “Substance D,” which causes its users to develop split personalities. Fred is obsessed with taking down Bob, a notorious drug dealer, but due to his “Substance D” addiction, he does not know that he is also Bob.

Based on a classic novel by Philip K. Dick and starring Keanu Reeves (Constantine, The Matrix trilogy), Academy Award®-nominee and Golden Globe®-winner Winona Ryder (Girl, Interrupted, Mr. Deeds), Academy Award® and Emmy-nominee and Golden Globe®-winner Robert Downey Jr. (Good Night, And Good Luck, Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang), and Academy Award® and Golden Globe®-nominee and Emmy-winner Woody Harrelson (North Country, The People vs. Larry Flynt). Directed by Academy Award®-nominee Richard Linklater (Me and Orson Welles, Before Sunset, Dazed and Confused). Filmed in live-action and then animated using the same critically acclaimed process that Linklater used in his previous film, Waking Life.

Matrix Reloaded

In the second chapter of The Matrix trilogy, Neo (Keanu Reeves), Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) and Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) continue to lead the revolt against the Machine Army. In their quest to save the human race from extinction, they gain greater insight into the construct of The Matrix and Neo’s pivotal role in the fate of mankind.

The Prize -

One (1) Winner will receive:

• One copy of each of the following films on Warner Home Video Blu-ray™ Disc – Forbidden Planet, Mars Attacks!, THX 1138 Director’s Cut, Lost In Space, A Scanner Darkly, and Matrix Reloaded.

How To Enter: (Sorry, U.S. Entries only) Head over to our contact form by clicking HERE, choose “Contest Entry” from the ‘Reason For Contacting’ drop down box and enter the title of this article, along with your valid shipping details in the message section (if you don’t enter the article title and your full name and shipping address [No P.O. Boxes], your entry will be invalid). One winner will be chosen at random from all entries received.

Entries will be accepted until 11:59pm EST Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010 – at which time, the winners will be chosen and will be notified via email within 24 hours.

*This is the first time the Matrix Reloaded is being released as a Blu-ray single.

Note: All enhanced content listed above is subject to change.

Warner Home Video Blu-ray™ Discs offer resolution six times higher than standard definition DVDs, as well as extraordinarily vibrant contrast and color and beautifully crisp sound. The format also provides a higher level of interactivity, with instant access to extra features via a seamless menu bar where viewers can enjoy features without leaving or interrupting the film. For more information: http://warnerblu.warnerbros.com/

Academy Awards® is the registered trademark and service mark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

GOLDEN GLOBE(S)® is the registered trademark and service mark of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Details:

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Alan Ritchson (Spring Break ’83, Blue Mountain State), who played Arthur “AC” Curry aka Aquaman in season eight of the CW’s Smallville, will reprise his role for the show’s tenth and final season. Aquaman will appear in the ninth episode of the season which is expected to air in November.

Ritchson joins returning cast members John Schneider (Doonby, Leverage) as Jonathan Kent, John Glover (Earth Ring, Heroes) as Lionel Luthor, Laura Vandervoort (Bring the Night, V) as Supergirl, Michael Shanks (Red Riding Hood, SGU) as Hawkman, and James Marsters (Three Inches, Caprica) as Brainiac for this final season.

[Source] EW

As if this show wasn’t hot enough, the CW’s Vampire Diaries producer Kevin Williamson recently teased that this “upcoming second season will reboot the series”. How and why would the show performing as one of the network’s best in ratings even be subject to a reboot? One word says it all – KATHERINE.

Williamson explains:

“Katherine (Nina Dobrev) being back in Mystic Falls is a bit of a game changer. We’re going back to zero and telling a new story, but it’s the story that you already know half of because you’ve watched the first season. It’s the other half. There’s so much to still know about 1864.”

“[Katherine’s] meaner. She’s different, in the sense that she doesn’t have to wear corsets anymore. I’m scared to say [what she's like] because it will tease where she’s been. What she’s been up to is a bit of a secret.”

A quick catch-up if you don’t know who Katherine is: Katherine is Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Damon’s (Ian Somerhalder) maker. For some reason yet to be explained, Elena looks and sounds just like Katherine (both characters are played by Nina Dobrev). Damon fought to free Katherine from a tomb last season, but it turned out that she wasn’t even imprisoned in there. At the season closer, we see Katherine for the first time in the present day.

That’s not all we’re going to discover this next season. We’re also going to have a history lesson about the Lockwood curse. *Insert wolfie howl here.*

[Above: Maiara Walsh, Courtney Ford]

Also new this upcoming season will be the character of Sarah (Maiara Walsh of Desperate Housewives and upcoming Mean Girls 2), who is “a girl who sets her eyes on Jeremy and encourages him to party it up at the Lockwood house” and Vanessa Monroe (Courtney Ford of Dexter and upcoming Sironia) “a Duke University grad student who’s helping Alaric (Matt Davis), Damon and Elena with Isobel’s research.”

Vampire Diaries Teaser “Cosmic Love”

Vampire Diaries Extended Preview of Second Season

Are you as excited as I am about this second season premiere of Vampire Diaries?

The Vampire Diaries premieres this week with “The Return” on the CW, Thursday, September 9, 2010 8/7C.

[Source] DigitalSpy, TVGuide, E!

First off, I am a huge Star Wars fan but, I totally understand the problems that people have with the prequels (I agree with a lot of them) but without the prequels, the following video would never have existed….

The track was written and performed by filk artists, Jeff & Maya Bohnhoff and is featured on their Grated Hits (that’s not a typo), which also features tracks entitled, Tom Servo, Viva Mos Eisley and Ziggy Starbuck.

[Source] YouTube

Just a few days ago, we brought you news of the collector’s edition version of Disney Interactive‘s upcoming release, Tron: Evolution – The Video Game which includes that awesome model of the Tron light cycle created by Sideshow Collectibles.

Now, we have gotten our hands on a very cool behind the scenes video about the making of Tron: Evolution and it’s connection to the Tron: Legacy film (and Olivia Wilde is in it). Plus, we have a nifty gameplay trailer that shows off some actual, well.. gameplay instead of just the nifty cut-scenes and trailers we’ve seen so far.

Check them both out below!

Behind the Scenes: Tron: Evolution

Gameplay Trailer: Tron: Evolution

Game Synopsis:

The world of TRON is awaiting a new participant… TRON Evolution the video game is an action/adventure for the Xbox 360®, PLAYSTATION®3 and Windows PC. TRON Evolution features an epic adventure across a massive digital world where you will need skill and instinct to survive. Engage in high energy light disc combat and compete in intense light cycle races as you lead an epic battle to free the world of TRON from a merciless enemy. Set during the era between the two TRON films, TRON Evolution reveals the TRON mythology. TRON Evolution will give fans an insight into the past and the events that have unfolded since the original TRON movie was released. TRON Evolution is due for release in winter 2010.

Tron: Evolution will be available for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC, portable versions will be available for Nintendo DS and PSP, and a multiplayer version, Tron: Evolution Battle Grids will be available for Nintendo Wii.

Tron: Evolution hits stores on November 1st 2010.

Tron Legacy, directed by Joseph Kosinsk hits theaters on December 17th and stars Jeff Bridges, Michael Sheen, Olivia Wilde, Garrett Hedlund, Serinda Swan, Bruce Boxleitner, John Hurt and Beau Garrett.

Back in July, Sony Pictures Entertainment officially announced that they had cast Andrew Garfield (The Social Network) as the next Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the forthcoming, as yet Untitled Spider-Man Reboot, directed by Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer).

We haven’t heard much from Andrew Garfield since he scored the webslinging role, until now! Thankfully, THR cornered the future web-head at the Telluride Film Festival and he spoke about landing the role of Spidey.

Garfield said,

“I have been waiting for this phone call for 24 years, for someone to call me up and say, ‘Hey, we want you to pretend to be a character that you’ve always wanted to be all your life, and we’re going to do it with cool cameras and cool effects and you’re going to feel like you’re swinging through New York City. Do you want to do that?’ [laughs] ‘Let me just consult with my seven-year old self and see what he thinks…’ So my seven-year-old self started screaming in my soul and saying, This is what we’ve been waiting for. Like every young boy who feels stronger on the inside than they look on the outside, any skinny boy basically who wishes their muscles matched their sense of injustice, God, it’s just the stuff that dreams are made of, for sure. It’s a true f**king honor to be part of this symbol that I actually think is a very important symbol and it’s meant a great deal to me, and it continues to mean something to people. So yeah, I feel like I’ve been preparing for it for a while. Ever since Halloween when I was four years old and I wore my first Spider-Man costume.”

[The Shakedown]

I’ve got to admit, his reaction and enthusiasm gives me a ray of hope about this film that, to-date I haven’t really had. I always try to be ‘cautiously optimistic‘ about movies, but even I have been very “meh” about this re-boot.

The Untitled Spider-Man Reboot is slated to hit theaters on July 3rd, 2012

Gemma Arterton (The Disappearance of Alice Creed, Tamara Drewe) revealed in a recent interview that not only has she joined the cast of the Christopher Nolan (Inception,The Dark Knight) penned adaptation of Ruth Rendell‘s novel The Keys to the Street, she is also set to meet with director Ridley Scott (Robin Hood, The Kind One) about starring in his upcoming Untitled Alien Prequel and it’s possible sequel.

TheSundayTimes reports that Scott himself called Arterton for a meeting after being wowed by her performance in J Blakeson‘s thriller, The Disappearance of Alice Creed in-which Arterton plays a young woman who is imprisoned in her own apartment by two ex-convicts.

[Update]

MTV spoke with Gemma Arterton’s publicist, who denies that Arterton was in talks to star in Scott’s Untitled Alien Prequel – stating,

“There’s no truth to that.”

Of course, she could very well be covering for Arterton and it is in-fact true. Stay tuned to SciFiMafia.com and we will update you when we get more info!

The Untitled Alien Prequel is slated to hit theaters in 2011.

Just last week we brought you photos of Pop/R&B artist/model Rihanna on the set of the Peter Berg directed board game-turned-movie, Battleship. She’s set to co-star in the film, alongside Taylor Kitsch (John Carter of Mars), Alexander Skarsgård (True Blood), Brooklyn Decker (Chuck) and Hamish Linklater (The Future).

Now, thanks to the online gossiper JustJared we have our first look at Taylor Kitsch (Friday Night Lights) on the set of Battleship. Not only is he decked out in U.S. Navy Camouflage but (are you sitting down?) Kitsch cut of his trademark, pretty boy locks for the film as well. Check out the pics below and head over to JustJared if you simply must see even more pics of Kitsch and Rihanna on the set… meanwhile, I’ll be waiting here for something a bit more awe inspiring.

Battleship docks at theaters on May 25, 2012.

If you’re reading this, chances are that you are hoping for a big-screen adaptation of  the Halo franchise at some point. Luckily, that’s apparently when you’ll get it… at some point. Halo‘s Franchise Development Director Frank O’Connor recently told Variety:

“We’re still interested in making an excellent Halo movie,” O’Connor said. “We’ve created an awful lot of documentation and materials to support a feature film. We have a good idea of what kind of story we want to tell, but won’t move on it until there’s a great reason to do it. We’re in no particular hurry.”

All hope is not lost, according to Variety, spec scripts penned by Stuart Beattie (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides), Alex Garland (28 Days Later), and D.B. Weiss are still being developed by Microsoft as “potential blueprints” for a feature film.

In addition to feature film possibilities, Microsoft is “intently watching” the TV landscape as a potential outlet for the Halo franchise.