If you can’t get enough of liquored up superheroes, then you’re probably going to be about as happy as I am to hear the news that Hancock will be coming back for a second round. And by current reports, both Will Smith and Charlize Theron will also be back. No word as of yet if Jason Bateman will be coming back also, though for all our sakes, I really hope so. Unless, of course, it interferes with the shooting of the Arrested Development movie.  Then and only then am I prepared to live without them.

There is no word yet on the simple things, like when they’ll start shooting this, or even what it’s about, but for right now, it’s news enough just knowing that it’s coming eventually.

I’m actually looking forward to it myself, because Hancock was definitely not the kind of superhero you ordinarily saw.  And any time Hollywood can manage to do something even vaguely original, I know I want to be in line for it.

Original in Hollywood is kind of like a comet– you just plain don’t see that many of them.

Special note to Will Smith and company: ENOUGH ALREADY.

Yes, it’s apparently true that for some reason (probably a desperate push for more money) there will indeed be a Bad Boys 3.  What is this, Old Home Week for Martin Lawrence?  First it’s Big Momma’s House 3, now we wind up with Bad Boys 3?  And yes…just in case you might have held out hope, Michael Bay is hoped by the studio to be back directing.

This means you at least know what to expect going in–plenty of explosions and special effects with short shrift given to anything that might accidentally resemble a coherent plotline.  But at least you know what to expect, so I figure that if this sucker manages to get off the ground it’ll either be a summer movie or dumped neck-deep in January.  There’s no word on script or release date or anything like that; everything’s still real early stage.   It might take us until 2011 to get this one in theatres, so brace yourself just in case.

Francis Lawrence director of I Am Legend  is teaming up with Will Smith, again.

According to Variety, Lawrence plans to develop and direct City That Sailed, which is slated as a 20th Century Fox project, about a father and daughter living on opposite sides of the ocean whose love is so strong that it causes Manhattan to split off and float across the Atlantic.

The film will be developed as a potential star vehicle for Smith, who is producing with Overbrook Entertainment partner James Lassiter.

Lawrence is next expected to direct Water for Elephants, just a wonderful story from the book by Sara Gruen, concerning Depression-era traveling circus. Lawrence is hoping Reese Witherspoon will star but she hasn’t said “Yah” or”Nah.”

You know, we’ve been taking a whole lot of new and interesting directions of late with the whole superhero concept, especially as it relates to filmmaking.  We’ve had the whole Watchmen thing that’ll be coming to a head this March, we’ve had the Mystery Men (even without the Flaming Carrot), we’ve had Hellboy, and plenty of others.

But none have been quite so…mundane…as John Hancock, the main character fuelling Hancock.

Hancock, a boozy, antisocial wreck of a superhero, has all the powers you’d expect from a true dyed-in-the-wool-longjohns superhero, but with absolutely none of the social graces or boy-scout morality.  Sure, he can fly, he’s bulletproof, he has superhuman strength, but he’d really rather be drinking.  And even as he saves lives, he does so with a shrugging disregard to property damage, meaning the appearance of Hancock on any particular scene means someone’s going to get their life saved, but there’s going to be a LOT of cleaning up to do afterward.

But when Hancock meets Ray Embrey, the so-called “Bono of PR”, things start to turn around for him as Ray sets out to remake Hancock’s image from public safety hazard / drunken loser who’s above the law he enforces  to dynamic public servant of justice.

One thing you might not necessarily expect, but will get, from a movie like Hancock is laughs.  There is a surprising abundance of funny bits in Hancock, a development that caught me by surprise when I first caught it.  I had never expected to see a superhero movie that made me laugh so much, but indeed, Hancock brought in the funny.

Not that Hancock didn’t also bring in the action–there was plenty of gunplay and lots of good old fashioned brawling going on in here.  Often, the two intersected, and the fistfights brought plenty of laughs while the punching went on.  For instance, keep your eyes open for when Hancock goes to prison.  I haven’t seen a movie whipsaw so quickly between funny and fistfight in a long time.

Which isn’t to say there aren’t some problems here also–let’s be honest, this IS just another superhero movie.  For crying out loud, there are so many of them that there’s a whole Wayans-esque parody named after the subgenre–Superhero Movie.  We’re not exactly looking at a dynamic leap forward in filmmaking here.

But what we ARE looking at is a solid and well-done example of the concept.  It’s funny, it’s action-packed, it’s literally everything a superhero movie should be and probably a little more.  It’s definitely up there toward the top of the heap.  But what you have to consider at this point is, is this a heap to be top of?

The plain and simple of it is, if you like superhero movies, if you like movies that make you laugh, if you like movies that get your adrenaline pumping, if you like any or all of the above combined, then you will enjoy Hancock.  But if you’re looking for some kind of new and innovative experience, then you can just about forget about Hancock being anything more than a crashing disappointment.

Hollywood superstar Will Smith was on the Chris Moyles BBC1 Radio Show last week, talking about his upcoming projects.

Smith disclosed that the much talked about Hancock sequel still has no script or other movement on it at the present. However, he hopes to keep him alive.

On the other hand, the I Am Legend prequel is a lot further along in development,though nothing new was revealed. Smith also talked about the Karate Kid remake, which is quite ironically being set in China and with the training being in kung-fu rather than karate, the producers are trying to figure out if to use an alternate title. The actor himself doesnt sound too keen on Kung-fu Kid though.

It appears Will Smith is far too popular, as McG (Terminator: Salvation) is after the box office star to play Captain Nemo in the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea prequel for Disney Pictures.

“The character Nemo in this film is more about obsession, he is obsessed and people tend to forget that when you become so obsessed you end up being the villain,” he said. “I’m trying to get Will Smith to do it, been trying to get a hold of him. I’ve been wanting to work with him for a long time already. That guy’s great.”

The film will be an origin story for the fictional captain as he creates Nautilus, his warship. It will setup the scenario of Jules Verne’s classic novel.

Last year’s blockbuster hit I Am Legend is officially getting a prequel, according to actor Will Smith and writer D.B. Weiss. Speaking with Collider, Smith fleshed out the story, revealing that it will be about the last stand of Manhattan – the very last city in the world that is yet to be overrun by the creatures presented in the first film.

“The movie would be…within the body of the movie D.C. and then Manhattan would fall as the last city,” said Smith. “It’s a really cool idea trying to figure it out…there’s a reason why we have to take a small band and we have to get into D.C. So we have to make our way from New York to D.C. and then back to New York.”

The actor said that they are still working out the narrative kinks. No starting date for production was given.

Seven Pounds is explained by one of the film’s stars Rosario Dawson in this clip for Entertainment Tonight. Listen to her perspective of the story as she talks about her character’s involvement Will Smith’s character.  Is it romance or not?

Word came earlier this month that Steven Spielberg and Will Smith were going to collaborate on a remake of Oldboy, a classic Asian film. However, Will Smith has refuted the news story, noting that their new project will actually be an adaptation of the comics by Garon Tsuchiya and Nobuaki Minegishi.

Said Smith: “We’re looking at that right now. Not the film though, it’s the original source material. There’s the original comics of ‘Oldboy’ that they made the first film from. And that’s what we’re working from, not an adaptation of the film…"

They are currently looking for a writer to begin the development process.

Jaden Smith, son of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, is set to star in Columbia Pictures new version of the 1984 hit The Karate Kid.

Chris Murphy is writing the script that is set in exotic locations like Bejjing. Karate Kid will be similar to the original plot where a bullied youth learns to stand up for himself with the help of eccentric mentor.

Filming begins next year.

According to variety, Smith, who next stars in The Day the Earth Stood Still, is a martial arts practitioner.

Interestingly, Columbia has been trying to find a way to bring back the series, which began with three films that featured Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita. The series also launched Hilary Swank’s career in The Next Karate Kid.