Rumors have been swirling for weeks now about the casting of Lex Luthor in the upcoming Man Of Steel sequel, the much-talked-about Batman vs. Superman, for which Ben Affleck was just controversially cast as the Caped Crusader. Names like Mark Strong and Bryan Cranston have been floating around for the Superman nemesis, which quite possibly might just be wishful thinking on the part of a very hopeful Internet.

Cosmic Book News claims to have exclusively learned that Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston has been cast as Lex Luthor and has signed on for a multi-film deal to make at least six “appearances,” similar to how Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury shows throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

As with almost every sequel out there, new characters are introduced into the film to keep the franchise fresh and interesting. A few months back, Joss Whedon announced that The Avengers: Age of Ultron would add two new characters, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, a brother and sister team that has yet to be cast.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson has been rumored to be the new Quicksilver, and has been talking about the character during press junkets for Kick-Ass 2, while Saoirse Ronan was attached to be the Scarlet Witch. But now that she has officially passed on the role, Marvel is quickly turning its attention to Martha Marcy May Marlene star Elizabeth Olsen.

Much to everyone’s disappointment, D23 Expo attendees and Star Wars fans were disappointed to hear nothing about the upcoming Star Wars Episode VII from Disney Chief Alan Horn. The exec reiterated information that we already knew, that J.J. Abrams is directing, that Michael Arndt is writing, and that John Williams will be conducting. So since the studio didn’t take the opportunity to make any announcements on their own stage, fans will have to be patient and wait it out.

In the mean time, some juicy gossip regarding who may be returning for Episode VII has been rumored. If true, it could mean that Emperor Palpatine (played by Ian McDiarmid) could rise up and stir up some trouble within the force.

Just when you thought the Star Wars: Episode VII rumor mill is stopped in its tracks, a new one pops up and continues the grind. Although it may not be about any of the cast members returning to reprise their respective roles. This time the rumor is about new talent joining the cast, and they are some pretty big A-list names to say the least.

While filming has yet to begin, there are rumors that Zac Efron and Ryan Gosling are in talks to join the cast of the highly anticipated film.

A rumor was circulating recently that director J.J. Abrams might be thinking about stepping away from making Star Wars Episode VII in order to concentrate on Star Trek 3.

The rumor never really sounded legit (which is why we never covered it), but in Hollywood anything can happen and nothing is surprising anymore.

Still Lucasfilm decided to chime in on the Abrams rumor and set the record straight. You can check out what they had to say below.