It went away as quickly as it came together. The pilot was actually filmed with Jason Patric, Lucy Punch, and Charles S. Dutton but FX head John Landgraf rejected the pilot without the news making a lot of noise. Today we find out that FX isn’t done trying to get this show together. In fact, they’re hoping to move forward by filming a completely new pilot with a brand new cast. Which means we might have ample opportunity to once again get excited or angry or sad or confused.

Anyway, why wouldn’t this show be delayed? It is based on Powers after all. (Variety)

Swordsman

One of the early “New” Avengers brought into the series during the late ’60s, Swordsman didn’t have a lengthy career with the team. In fact, he promptly quit, later rejoined, and was killed off in about 20 issues. Along with a crappy costume, even by 1960′s standards, Swordsman brought with him a power set that included… sword play. There were subsequent heroes to go by the name Swordsman as the years went on, but none of them lasted very long. Thank God.

Rage

Rage was a 13-year-old kid who, after being doused in toxic waste, morphed into a super strong 30-something. In addition to having the least thought out origin in history, his costume was a true artifact of the 1990′s. Rage was kicked off the Avengers when they discovered he was only a minor. Plus, the toxic waste thing probably creeped them all out.

Wonder Man

Wonder Man is actually fairly popular amongst Avengers fans, and has had a long and colorful history with the team. But the poor guy would have trouble being taken seriously by film fans for one key reason: his name. For the general public, the only “Wonder” superhero is DC‘s Wonder Woman, and any character with a similar moniker is only going to come off as derivative, even if his powers and origins have nothing to do with hers. Maybe they should change his name to something more distinct. How about “Glowing Red Eyes Flying Guy”? That’s yours for free, Marvel. You’re welcome.

DreamWorks Animation is ready to clean up at the box office again. They’ve snagged the film rights to the Oni Press comic Maintenance, which was in turnaround at Warner Bros.

Originally slated to be a sucky live-action film directed by McG, Maintenance follows two janitors who work for and must clean up after the world’s biggest collection of evil scientists. With DreamWorks Animation on board, this has the potential to be a big hit along the same lines of Monsters Vs. Aliens and Megamind. Let’s ge Paul Rudd and Danny McBride attached to this and call it a day. (THR)

While his movies are being remade left and right (except for Vampires), John Carpenter is only looking forward. The horror great has signed on to direct an adaptation of the comic book Darkchylde. The story follows a girl named Ariel Chylde who often transforms into the monsters of her nightmares.

The film has been in the works for some time and now is gaining traction. WETA created a test video to present how a Darkchylde film should look and feel. It’s a pretty cool concept and with Carpenter at the helm, there’s room to really push the special effects envelope. Could be awesome. Or it could turn out like Vampires. (/Film)

Check out the transformation test footage after the jump…

Is the world ready to see John C. Reilly in spandex? The Other Guys director Adam McKay is reported to be in talks to direct an adaptation of the über-violent Garth Ennis comic, The Boys. The comic follows a secret CIA team that monitors and punishes hard partying, out-of-control superheroes.

McKay is a strange pick for this dark and gruesome material, so I would expect him to add a comedic element that makes the film more family-friendly. Like Will Ferrell running around naked except for a Superman cape. He can study my neighbor’s kid for the role. Seriously, though. Put some pants on that kid. He’s six. (EW)

Iron Man 2 opened in first place on Friday night, earning an estimated $52 million, easily surpassing Alice in Wonderland with the biggest debut of 2010. But when it comes to superhero movies, Batman still reigns supreme at the box office.

While weekend projections for IM2 are an impressive $135 million, it’s a far cry from the $158.4 million brought in by The Dark Knight, which holds the all-time first weekend record.

I guess this shouldn’t come as a surprise. Batman could clearly bea Iron Man in a fight. Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne are both geniuses and millionaire playboys, but Bruce Wayne is motivated by an unquenchabl thirst for vengeance. And as we all know, vengeance is a powerful motivator. Just ask my old high-school nemesis, Joseph Sinclair. I showed him…him and that wife of his. (Collider)

Hopefully the cover above has dissuaded you from thinking Universal was deigning to adapt the feel-good new age philosophy of the same name*.  Nay, IESB.net reports that Universal Pictures has picked up the rights to Dark Horse Comics’ The Secret under the exclusive three-year partnership the two companies entered into in early 2008.  (They also partnered on the Hellboy franchise and Timecop.)

The four-issue miniseries from 2007 was written by Dark Horse’s Mike Richardson, and visualized by Jason Shawn Alexander, an award-winning artist who’s worked on Abe Sapien, Queen & Country, and The Escapists.  (His official website is pretty badass, and you can check it out here.)

The Secret is a coming-of-age tale that focuses on Tommy, a high schooler who attends an exclusive party with the cool kids in order to get closer to his dream girl.  But then a prank call goes sour…

Currently, writer Scott Milam is attached to write the feature adaptation.  His thriller, Mother’s Day was optioned by Brett Ratner’s Rat Entertainment, and he is currently scripting the horror film Bedlam for RKO Pictures.

*I think that property is slated for Fox’s 2012 schedule, with Nicholas Cage set to star as an explorer who stumbles across a hidden tome in an Egyptian tomb that he badly translates, then transcribes and sells at Borders for $29.99 + tax.