June
13 Straczynski on 'Surfer' solo pic

Looks like sci-fi author, TV showrunner and comics writer J. Michael Straczynski is working on a script for a solo Silver Surfer movie. According to the L.A. Times, the solo pic would skew a little older and edgier than "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer," which despite the cool trailers is reportedly even more soft and kid-friendly than the first pic. Some of this is based on the PG rating, instead of the PG-13 that "Spider-Man 3" earned. (Given the nature of the original Stan Lee-Jack Kirby comics, though, PG is exactly where an FF movie should be.) It also appears that, as with the Phoenix storyline in "X-Men: The Last Stand," the producers were unhappy with the entire Galactus element and resisted including it at all. (I think it's more likely the studio that sought that angle, as most of the producers at Marvel Studios are big enough fanboys to demand that element of the classic story stay in the script.)

Few have seen "FF: RotSS" yet. It screens for media, etc., tomorrow night — only one day before its public release. That's much the same as what happened with Marvel's recent "Ghost Rider" and an increasingly common practice these days for all kinds of flicks that studios think will be big hits with auds but not critics.

Of the few who have reportedly seen the film, opinions are mixed. Reviews at AICN alternate between glowing and highly critical. The die is cast at this point; the rest of us can chime in soon enough ..