Despite box office returns, not all science fiction needs giant CGI budget robots junk punching each other in outer space or enough explosions to empty a few third world mines…

Langella never loses a spaghetti tug o' war.
Production on Bryan Singer's Jack The Giant Killer was slowed down earlier this year when Singer realized that giants do not exist. After scouring Samoa and BBW dating sites for talent, he decided it would just be easier to use computers.  Also in that time, the script was reworked by Christoper McQuarrie and now is in a good enough place to receive the greenlight.
Kick-Ass's Aaron Johnson is favored for the lead role of the hero who travels to the land of giants to save a princess. However, Singer also met with Andrew Garfield to discuss the part. Singer's always had an interesting eye for casting so, if he can evade the studio notes, we could end up with someone completely unexpected in the role. Let's just hope it doesn't drag out like all of the Spider-Man reboot. I'm still half-expecting Betty White and Helen Mirren to battle it out for the role of Aunt May. (Deadline)

Good news for people who dislike Jews, homosexuals, acclaimed British actors, and magnets. Bad news for the rest of us. X-Men Origins: Magneto probably ain't gonna happen.
During an interview with Crave Online, Producer Lauren Shuler Donner confirmed that hope for a freestanding Magneto film is all but gone, and that the origin story of the character will be folded into Bryan Singer's X-Men: First Class.
"You know, there’s internal discussions but probably not. It kind of got incorporated into (X-Men: First Class), a lot of it.”
While the fact that Magneto's origin will be covered by First Class might appease some, Ian McKellen fans are, as /Film put it, "shit out of luck."

Bryan Singer is giving the fans what they want. At last night's Avatar blue carpet premiere, the director announced via live stream that he will be directing X-Men: First Class. The story takes the mutants back to their early days at Xavier's School and away from Brett Ratner's jelly-covered clutches. It's going to be awesome.If they stay true to the comics, the film will preserve the dark tone of the previous films and will not include Wolverine. There's no official word yet on which characters will appear in the film but the original first team was comprised of Angel, Beast, Cyclops, Iceman, Jean Grey, and Professor X. When I was in school nobody had powers. Except for that one kid who could do a Chewbacca impression and that other guy who was unbeatable at Mortal Kombat. (Flickchart via First Showing)

Bryan Singer is in talks to bring a big screen version of Battlestar Galactica to theaters. Originally he was set to develop the television series reboot in 2001 but was c-blocked by the Taliban. The gig later went to Ron Moore and the rest is history. No word yet on the creative direction of the feature but let's hope it wraps up a little tighter than the new series did. I find it kind of odd that Universal is already rebooting a franchise that practically just completed its successful run. If this is the new norm, can we get a do-over on Transformers 2? (Hit Fix)Check out these morning links before they get remade…The Goods character posters are good. (Cinematical)Poltergeist remake actually coming to theaters. (/Film)New Dexter promo artwork. (Dread Central)Check out a clip of Timothy Olyphant in Lawman. (Cinema Blend)Facebook gets Ed Helms in over his head. (Latino Review)