As Wikipedia would have it (and I’m sure you know), “Battleship is an upcoming 2012 science fiction naval war film based on the game of the same name”. A science fiction naval war film to place amongst the illustrious canon of science fiction naval war films, I’m sure. A science fiction naval war film that will turn the tables on the haters and their grim view (or indeed lack of any view whatsoever) of the science fiction naval war film genre. And with a budget of $200 million it’ll be a science fiction naval war film fit to rule them all.

Outside of satisfying the niche that no one ever considered filling, however, you may be thinking how the hell those maniacs over at Hasbro have turned a table-top classic into a Hollywood blockbuster. Well they’ve done it by disregarding the intricacies of the guess-’em-up boardgame and by taking a more bombastic, alien-heavy approach in which ships battle in a way that tenuously pertains to the title and the game itself. But with aliens, which doesn’t really pertain at all:

The new poster seems to promise much battling by at least one unlucky ship, probably with that humongous alien thing rising up out of the sea. Remember that time when you were playing Battleships with your dad when you were a kid and your dad said D4 and an extra-terrestrial monstrosity rose up and put a load of explosive shells into your four-square long one and it exploded and you cried? Me neither, but the film does look like a load of dumb fun with Liam Neeson looking to carry on his recent (and very successful) Samuel L. Jackson-esque “I’ll star in anything you can pay me enough for” streak, albeit tragically induced by the untimely death of his wife.

I myself am looking forward to the whole “I have never ever seen a man waste himself better than you” thing Neeson and Taylor Kitsch have got going on in the trailer. It’s going to be facile beyond belief but so’s the game – see I knew there was another connection in there somewhere.

One thing’s for sure. In 2012 ships will most definitely battle:

Source: IMP Awards

Peter Berg’s return behind the camera for a feature film is one that I’ve been waiting a while for, and settling on the Battleship project, the film adaptation of the Hasbro board game, was definitely an interesting choice that a lot of people were surprised by. The concept in itself seemed a little unimaginable.

But when the first teaser trailer debuted back in the summer, followed by the second earlier this month, we got a look at the awesome scope of the film, and it looks set to be a brilliant blockbuster when it arrives next summer. We’ve now got a great new Japanese trailer to share with you, via ComingSoon.net, that features plenty of excellent footage of buildings collapsing, giant ships flying out of the water, and much, much more on that sort of scale.

“Peter Berg (Hancock) produces and directs the May 18, 2012 release, an epic action-adventure that unfolds across the seas, in the skies and over land as our planet fights for survival against a superior force. Based on Hasbro’s classic naval combat game, Battleship stars Taylor Kitsch as Hopper, a Naval officer assigned to the USS John Paul Jones; Brooklyn Decker as Sam, a physical therapist and Hopper’s fiancée; Alexander Skarsgård as Hopper’s older brother, Commanding Officer Stone of the USS Samson; Rihanna as Lt. Raikes, Hopper’s crewmate and a weapons specialist on the USS John Paul Jones; and Liam Neeson as Hopper and Stone’s superior (and Sam’s father), Admiral Shane.”

The film is the second starring Taylor Kitsch that we’ll get to see next year, and the other, John Carter, has just had a Japanese trailer released this holiday period too, so if you’re a fan of his work like me, feel free to click on over here to catch that trailer as well.

After what Berg did last time around on Hancock, I’m really looking forward to seeing how Battleship turns out. Judging by what we’ve seen so far, it’s set to be pretty visually impressive, and this new trailer only supports that. When the building crashes, it does admittedly look a little like that moment in Transformers: Dark of the Moon, but considering as that looked awesome, and so does this, I’m choosing to see that as a good thing.

Battleship is set to come out in the States on 18^th May, but we’ll be getting it a little earlier here in the UK, where it will be released on 20^th April. Without further ado, here’s the great new trailer. Enjoy.

While Michael Bay is busying his latest toy based Destructoporn there’s another live-action-figure sequel extravaganza coming our way.

Last month we learned that Stephen Sommers walked out of the sequel to G.I. Joe and now Deadline talk up the possibility of current BFF of Justin Bieber, Never Say Never director Jon Chu, is the man Paramount want to hand the golden megaphone to.

The Bieber fever has helped NSN do big business at the box office and Chu’s star will have risen accordingly, something set to continue with a longer Director’s cut in cinemas as well – though they missed a trick and didn’t call it Never Say Never Again.

The first film was a mess, made only slightly bearable by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and while Chu negotiates his contract attention, such as it is, returns to the actors who need to find their own dotted line to sign up. More news, whether you like it or not, as we get it.

Stephen Sommers (The Mummy), contrary to earlier reports, will not return to direct Paramount Pictures’ sequel to G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, an action-adventure film based on the Hasbro toy franchise.

The news comes from 24 Frames, who report that Paramount are actively seeking another filmmaker to take the helm:

Two agents who represent other filmmakers have said they’d recently been approached about their clients coming on to helm the movie and were told that Sommers would not be getting behind the camera. Paramount declined to comment.

G.I. Joe 2 is currently being written by Zombieland scribes Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick.

Sommers, meanwhile, is set to direct an adaptation of Dean Koontz’ supernatural adventure novel Odd Thomas.

McG (Terminator Salvation) has won the contest to direct Ouija for Universal and is now in negotiations.

McG beat rival director Breck Eisner (The Crazies) who was also in contention.

Plot details on Universal’s planned adaptation of the classic Hasbro board game about conjuring up spirits of the dead are being kept under wraps, although it’s been described as a four-quadrant supernatural adventure centering around a family.

McG’s latest film, This Means War, starring Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine and Tom Hardy will be released later this year.

THR reported this story.

Mere days after Mattel teased a hitherto unseen character in Martin Campbell’s Green Lantern movie, another toy manufacturer - this time Hasbro – has brought into question the official name of Marvel’s upcoming Thor movie.

Glimpsed at New York Comic-Con (courtesy of Coming Soon), the action-figure’s packaging advertises Thor: The Mightiest Avenger rather than just Thor. While this would be in keeping with Captain America’s ‘The Last Avenger’ subtitle, and help cement the Avengers brand in consumers’ minds, the lengthening of the title seems largely unnecessary.

As a fan who would have rather watched Wolverine than X-Men Origins, or Captain America than The First Avenger, it would be nice to return to simpler times. Which other Thor movie, after all, do the film-makers feel the need to distance themselves from?

The figurine, moulded after star Chris Hemsworth, can be glimpsed below and is expected to hit shelves in March. The film, currently undergoing re-shoots, will strike theatres next summers.

Universal’s Battleship movie has been raising a few industry eyebrows this week as it is expected to cost in excess of $200 million to make.

The studio doesn’t seem to be taking any of the usual measures to counteract the cost, this not being a sequel or having any big names attached to star. The film, very loosely based on the Hasbro boardgame, is beginning to look slightly out of its depth (Pearl Harbor only cost $140 million, starred Ben Affleck and was directed by MICHAEL BAY).

“It’s a big bet like many, many big bets from many studios,” Universal chairman Adam Fogelson noted when speaking to THR. “We will be nowhere near the high point and nowhere near the low point of what people are spending.”

Originally a strategy game the movie adaptation, scheduled to start filming in Hawaii in under a fortnight, has become a movie about an alien invasion at sea. Set to be directed by Peter Berg, the man behind 2008′s Hancock, the potential jeopardy brought on by the large budget has been underplayed by the studio. Fogelson in particularly seems unconcerned by the directors apparent lack of experience in the action genre.

“[Berg] has a very strong passion and affinity for this material, he is a fan of the history and the current state of the military. He knows that world really, really well, and he is inspirational when he is talking about it,” assured Fogelson, “He made ‘Hancock,’ so Will Smith thought he was a good choice for an effects-driven spectacle that cost a lot of money.”

Nevertheless, Hancock cost less to make and had Will Smith fronting the project. The question remains, will you be paying for a ticket to Battleship when it’s released in 2012? Or would you rather just order the aliens-free game from eBay?

Shhh… If you listen carefully you can hear across the sound of fingernails scratching the bottom of the film barrel.

Sony Pictures announced they have bought the rights to the world conquest board game Risk from Hasbro and intend to bring “an action-packed, thrilling story are what will make this a uniquely exciting movie” according to Deadline Hollywood who quoted president of Columbia Pictures Doug Belgrad.

Belgrad points out that the success of G.I. Joe and Transformers suggests that film adaptations of popular franchises implies that a Risk movie is a viable option. I’ve no doubt that creative minds exist within the studio system that can turn a shopping list into an Oscar winner but it seems that unless you’re making Clue (and casting the sublime Tim Curry in your movie), transitioning from the medium of a board game to a film makes for a tough path.

I’ve written an article for this site before on the future of Board Game movies – take a look here, and weep for the future of our beloved industry.