As if The Wire, Thor, and Luther weren't enough to prove his talents, Idris Elba has gone and done the impossible: replaced Morgan Freeman. The American Gangster actor will now play Dr Alex Cross in the detective's next cinema outing.

Adapted from James Patterson's latest book, Cross, the thriller sees Cross looking at retirement from the FBI, only to come across a serial killer who may have murdered his wife. It's a typical trilogy-closer plot, but Freeman, who played Cross in Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider, was knocked off the project by the producers, who are looking for some younger blood.

In another departure from Freeman's two outings, the film will be financed independently, away from Paramount. David Twohy, who is currently touching up Kerry Williamson's script, will direct the movie. Which is quite reassuring - despite the Riddick slip-ups, A Perfect Getaway reminded the world that Twohy is a dab hand when it comes to thrillers. And that Elba guy is pretty darn decent too.

Just because, you know, you might enjoy it.

Yes, the five-minute footage that impressed geeky fans at Comic-Con has appeared online thanks to Trailer Addict. And it is pretty damn impressive, to be honest - Asgard's throne room looks shiny and grand, Chris Hemsworth's Thor looks butch and manly (a mean feat given his costume), and Anthony Hopkins hams it up like no-one else can, totally rocking that golden eyepatch.

It shows Thor being interrogated by SHIELD's Agent Coulson, before cutting straight over to Thor being banished from his home by his father. "Oh no, this is Earth isn't it?" he groans in a hearty English accent, before impressing Natalie Portman with his abs and biceps - to her, he's pretty hot, for a homeless person. Then comes that moment where Thor advertises Diet Coke, trying to pull Mjolnir out of the ground...

Directed by Kenneth Branagh, Thor will be wielding his 3D hammer next May. Until then, enjoy this video while it's still online.

Well, Marvel have managed it: they've successfully replaced Edward Norton with Mark Ruffalo.

As today's Marvel panel at Comic-Con draws closer, Deadline have confirmed that the deal has been signed, just in time to wheel out Ruffalo in front of Hall H's screaming geek hordes in a a matter of hours.

Not that they've announced it officially, of course - Marvel want the big reveal to come on stage in San Diego, when they line-up all of The Avengers. Well, Chris Evans (Captain America), Robert Downey Jr (Iron Man), Chris Hemsworth (Thor) and Mark Ruffalo (Hulk).

Add in Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L Jackson and it's a solid cast for director Joss Whedon - confirmed by himself earlier in the week - and he'll be pleased with Marvel's last-minute save. It's sad to see Edward Norton go, but Ruffalo? He's an awesome character actor too. And he's a good fit for the role.

As for Ant-Man? Well, the less said about Nathan Fillion's joke announcement the better - it's mean to laugh at all the people that one fooled.

Well, we all knew that one already. But Giles be praised, it has now been officially confirmed: Joss Whedon will be directing The Avengers.

Speaking out at Comic-Con (where else?) he didn't wait for Saturday's Captain America/Thor Marvel-binge and announced it at a panel featuring him and JJ Abrams.

"It's not an official thing, I think because Marvel couldn't afford a press release. So can we make that an official thing? I'm directing The Avengers."

Amidst cheers and shouts, he added why he liked the project in the first place: "These people shouldn't be in the same room - and that is the very definition of family."

Whedon also confirmed hopes of another Dr Horrible outing, but pointed out that the movie would be a long time coming. Mainly because everyone is so busy, what with Whedon directing Marvel's biggest summer movie to date and all. 

And now we all know what Asgard's throne room looks like. And the word of the day is: shiny.

The image first popped up at The LA Times over the weekend, showing us all the shiny, sparkle-motion glory of Kenneth Branagh's team of set designers. And more of Anthony Hopkins' serious gold fetish. You can also spot Loki's helmet, Thor's red cape, and Rene Russo's legs. She's called Frigga, by the way - true story. 

Now Edward Norton's calmed down and shifted back into human form, Marvel are continuing their hunt for a replacement Bruce Banner. The surprise contender approached for the role? Mark Ruffalo.

Yes, the Shutter Island co-star, who's had memorable turns in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Brothers Bloom, is in "late stage talks" to take on the big green Bruce in the upcoming Avengers film. Not convinced? Well, he's certainly a better fit than Joaquin Phoenix.

Joining Samuel L Jackson's Nick Fury, Downey Jr's Tony Stark and Chris Evans' Captain America, Marvel are still gunning for the full cast reveal at Comic-Con this year. But time is running out for their last-minute negotiations, especially with their stage slot confirmed. Joss Whedon will even be there - he still hasn't been confirmed as the director, despite the fact that it is clearly true.

In the meantime, here's the best way to check how convincing this is: go back through Mark Ruffalo's catalogue and replace his name with "THE HULK". Just to make sure it sounds right.

Just so, you know, you can see what Anthony Hopkins looks like with a golden eyepatch.

That's him as Thor's father Odin in the front row. And Tom Hiddlestone's in the back there, looking suspicious as Thor's brother (or half-brother) Loki. What a lovely happy family bunch. And guess what? If this picture ain't enough for you, you'll get to see them all in 3-D, along with Captain America. Marvel's reign over Hollywood continues.

I'll just repeat that sentence again: Joss Whedon is going to captain The Avengers. Yes, the king of sci-fi geekdom is in final talks with Marvel to helm the Avengers movie. As fans around the world rejoice, Marvel look to have finally made their decision after months of indecision over everything comic book movie-related.

Then again, who can blame them? This is the biggest cast of superheroes yet to jump on to the big screen - we're talking Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson). And The Hulk fits in there somewhere too. Ambitious? Yes. Epic? Yes. Potential fail? Yes. But with a man like Whedon on board, things can't go far wrong. After all, this is the man who's written for Marvel, brought the world Buffy and created Firefly. Sure, the TV guru has only directed Serenity in movieland, but let's not forget this guy gave us all Dr Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog.

For a geek with that level of creativity, marshalling Marvel's biggest egos shouldn't be too much of a stretch. May 2012 is the ETA for this one - if they want to do this the right way round, they better get Captain America filming fast.

Thor starts shooting today. Stuart Townsend doesn't. The actor has dropped out of the film due to "creative differences". Townsend, who was set play Fandral, one of the Warriors Three, will be replaced by Joshua Dallas (who appeared in The Descent Part 2).

Kenneth Branagh's epic, which stars Chris Hemsworth, Ray Stevenson and Tadanobu Asano, suffers a similar fate to that of Lord of the Rings - Townsend also departed that production at the last minute, only to be replaced by Viggo Mortensen.

Whether Dalllas will live up to that record is anyone's guess, but it sure is true that every role in the industry could be improved by replacing everyone with Viggo Mortensen. Give it a few weeks and maybe Branagh will agree.