Columbia Pictures presidents Doug Belgrad and Matt Tolmach have announced that Underworld director Len Wiseman is in final negotiations to direct their remake of the 1990 Paul Verhoeven science fiction favorite, Total Recall. Though still at a late negotiation stage, a press release was put out by the studio (via /Film) to make the announcement, meaning this is a done deal.

Wiseman is best known as the director of Underworld and Underworld: Evolution. He also directed Live Free or Die Hard and is expected to return to helm Underworld 4. He was at one time attached to bring us the feature adaptation of hit video game Gears of War, but budgetary restrictions have that project facing an uncertain future.

Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep #9
Written by Philip K. Dick
Art by Tony Parker
Covers: Moritat, Scott Keating
BOOM! Studios
Price: $3.99; Release date: March 3, 2010

Full disclosure, I love Philip K. Dick. I have almost every novel and short story he’s ever published including Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. While Androids is not my favourite book, it is the most well-known Dick novel, so it came as little surprise when I learned that BOOM! Studios was adapting it into comic book form.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep #9 picks up one of the most fascinating sections of the novel: the bounty hunter Deckard has been cornered by suspected android Luba Loft, who accuses him of being a sexual deviant. Instead of simply executing him right then and there, she calls in another police officer, Crams, who claims that he has never heard of a bounty hunter in the San Francisco police department named Deckard, nor has he ever heard of his superior, Harry Bryant. In fact, when Deckard tries to contact Bryant, the connection is cut off before Crams has a chance to speak with him. After finding the body of a “retired” android in Deckard’s car, he is arrested and shuffled into the back of Crams patrol car. Deckard soon realizes that he has been duped by the androids, and he is now at their mercy.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? #1
Volume 1
Written by Philip K. Dick
Art by Tony Parker
BOOM! Studios
Release date: Issue #1 July 2009; Vol 1 December 1, 2009

By Kathulhu

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is adapted from the book by Philip K. Dick (which inspired the Ridley Scott film Blade Runner) and is presented in graphic form by BOOM! Studios. The art by Tony Parker is appropriately dark with muted coloring done by Blond, and the story follows the illustrations in a continuous panel-by-panel format. Warren Ellis provides an “introduction,” found at the end of the comic.

The future, as painted by Dick, is a bleak and desolate place. It is the year 2021 and the population on planet Earth has been decimated by a radioactive dust that is the byproduct of World War Terminus. Few people are left on Earth, as the majority of survivors have left to colonize other planets. Those who remain on Earth run the risk of being labeled as “biologically unacceptable” while emigrants to the off world colonies receive the android of their choice.

Back in April 2008, Disney announced their schedule of titles through 2012 for new animated features and King of the Elves, which is based on a fantasy short story by Philip K. Dick, was included on that list. At that time, the only details was a brief synopsis of the film, which centers on an ordinary elderly man who reluctantly becomes the leader of a band of elves attempting to escape from an evil troll. But early last month, I noticed that the Disney Animation site had added King of the Elves to their “Projects” area, along with a very Lord of the Rings-like title treatment (see it here at top).

Now, /Film noticed that the CG-animated film, which is slated for a Christmas 2012 release in Disney Digital 3D, has been taken down from the upcoming Projects area (though the film-specific page is still on the site, you just can’t navigate to it anymore).