The viral campaign for The Dark Knight Rises kicked off yesterday after the official website for the film went live. Just like The Dark Knight, this film will engage fans in what should turn out to be a wild game of deciphering clues and finding “hidden treasures” that will unlock and reveal items from the upcoming film. If you visit TheDarkKnightRises.com, you are greeted by a strange audio clip of some chanting. There is also another portion of the site that updates whenever someone tweeted the hashtag #thefirerises, which led to the revealing of Tom Hardy as Bane.

But before the official image was revealed, users went through the website’s code and discovered a link to the actual image of Bane, which we have for you after the jump.

The Dark Knight Rises will be directed by Christopher Nolan and stars Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Marion Cotillard, Josh Pence, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Michael Caine and is expected to hit theaters July 20, 2012.

What is “Late Night News” you ask? Well, it’s just like any other stories we’d run during the day, but didn’t have enough time or information to write an entire article worth publishing. We gather up a whole slew of items for this post to keep you busy reading for a hot minute. In the article below, you’ll see casting news, photos, updates, rumors, leaks…the whole shebang. Of course, these will be different every time we run one of these but we promise to keep you entertained. To fully understand what we’re talking about here, hit the jump to read our first installment of “Late Night News.”

A few days ago we announced that Alec Baldwin might be dropping out of Rock of Ages due to an unexpected medical condition. Well it seems all is well now as director Adam Shankman has confirmed via Twitter that Baldwin will indeed stay on the project. [Twitter]

Chris Hemsworth has officially sealed to deal the star as the Huntsman in Snow White and the Huntsman. Hemsworth joins Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, Sam Clafin and director Rupert Sanders as they attempt to recreate the classic children’s tale with a grittier, edgier take. The story follows Snow White and the Huntsman as they go on the run from the Evil Queen after the Huntsman disobeys her orders. [Deadline]

Warner Brothers has acquired a new pitch from Lucky Number Slevin writer Jason Smilovic. His pitch, titled The Architect, centers around an art thief in 1840s Europe as he goes on the run from an investigator trying to bring him down. Smilovic has done a lot of work in television by developing and creating many NBC projects including Kidnapped, Bionic Woman and My Own Worst Enemy. [THR]

We’ve got your first look at the first poster for The Muppets coming from Jason Segel, who has long wanted to do his own adaptation of the classic children’s puppet characters. Take a look at the new poster below. [AICN]

Jonathan Levine, the guy who brought us The Wackness, has just signed on to direct Legend. No, it is not a remake of the Tom Cruise fantasy flick. Instead, this film will be based on the Marie Lu novel of the same name, which hasn’t even been published yet. Here is the summary of the novel:

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic’s wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic’s highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem. From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths – until the day June’s brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family’s survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias’s death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

Sounds interesting enough, but if the novel fails to captivate readers then chances are this project will get scrapped. Levine has a few other films he’s working on at the moment, and since the novel doesn’t hit shelves until November, we may not hear anything else about this project for quite a while. [THR]

DreamWorks has released the first trailer for the upcoming remake of the horror flick Fright night starring Anton Yelchin and Colin Farrell. As far as first impressions go, I think the trailer looks pretty good. Sure, it’s definitely different from the original, but I feel that gives this film a bit more credit for not being a complete rip-off.

The film follows Charley Brewster (Yelchin) who guesses that his new neighbor Jerry Dandrige (Farrell) is a vampire responsible for a string of recent deaths. When no one he knows believes him, he enlists Peter Vincent (David Tennant), the opportunistic host of his favorite TV show, to help him take down Jerry and his guardian. Hit the jump to see the trailer and poster for Fright Night.

Fright Night comes from director Craig Gillespie and stars Colin Farrell, Anton Yelchin, David Tennant, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Toni Collette, Imogen Poots, Dave Franco and Reid Ewing. This film hits theaters August 19, 2011.

Two weeks ago Steven Soderbergh announced that he would fit another film into his busy schedule before retiring from filmmaking. And what film is it that will keep Mr. Soderbergh from retiring? A film about male strippers, that’s what! The story is based on the real-life experiences of Channing Tatum, who was once a male stripper, and will center around the friendship set in the world of male strippers.

Deadline has announced that Alex Pettyfer will join the cast as a “young Tatum” while the real Tatum will play his mentor. The film is being described as “sexy, funny and shocking” with Saturday Night Fever being used as a model. Pettyfer is relatively new on the scene and recently starred in I Am Number Four and Beastly.

Diane Keaton and Robert De Niro have signed on to star in the romantic comedy Gently Down the Stream coming from director Justin Zackman. The story follows a divorced couple (Keaton and De Niro) as they pretend to still be in love and happily married to keep their son happy on his wedding day.

Sure, nothing too original here but seeing Keaton and De Niro together again could be somewhat enjoyable. We’ve seen a decent amount of De Niro’s comedic chops over the last decade as he’s co-starred in the Meet the Parents series. Keaton has also starred in many comedies, too many to name. According to Variety, director Zuckerman says we should expect to see the same kind of stuff from his previous film The Bucket List, but this time with “a little bit more sex and bad behavior.”

The very first shot of Bruce Willis from the upcoming sci-fi thriller Looper starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and coming from director Rian Johnson. The film takes place in the future when time-travel is possible but highly illegal. Gordon-Levitt plays a hitman who kills hooded and bound victims that are sent back in time from 30 years in the future. Basically he kills anyone and everyone that comes to him with no hesitation, until one day he is sent a man that is not hooded or bound and turns out to be him from the future.

That’s where Willis steps in. Willis plays an older version of the Gordon-Levitt character who will not bow down to his younger self. Hit the jump to see the first photo, courtesy of Empire.

Looper stars Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emily Blunt, Paul Dano, Piper Perabo, Garret Dillahunt and Jeff Daniels. The film was written and directed by Rian Johnson and is currently set for a 2012 release date.

Can Mark Wahlberg and David O. Russell bring back the same magic they brought us with The Fighter? We sure hope so considering the actor and director gave us a film that was very popular this past awards season. Russell has had a huge number of potential projects brought to him in the months following the Academy Awards, and now he looks to have finally decided on what he will tackle next.

Vulture says The Silver Linings Playbook will be the director’s next project and will have Wahlberg as the lead character who is described as “a delusional former high school history teacher who’s just been released into the custody of his mom. Believing that he’s only been away for a few months instead of the four years he just spent in a mental institution, the teacher sets about wooing back his ex-wife.”

Russell has been circling this project for quite some time with Bradley Cooper and Anne Hathaway being considered for roles in the film as well. There’s no word on either of them joining the cast, but both of them have very busy schedules ahead of them so they might not be able to squeeze this project in.

The Silver Linings Playbook is based on the novel by Matthew Quick. You can read a brief synopsis on his novel below.

Meet Pat Peoples. Pat has a theory: his life is a movie produced by God. And his God-given mission is to become physically fit and emotionally literate, whereupon God will ensure him a happy ending—the return of his estranged wife, Nikki. (It might not come as a surprise to learn that Pat has spent several years in a mental health facility.)

The problem is, Pat’s now home, and everything feels off. No one will talk to him about Nikki; his beloved Philadelphia Eagles keep losing; he’s being pursued by the deeply odd Tiffany; his new therapist seems to recommend adultery as a form of therapy. Plus, he’s being haunted by Kenny G! [Amazon]

We’ve got some new information regarding the casting of the Farrelly Brothers’ reimagining of The Three Stooges. Craig Bierko has signed on the play the role of Mac who Deadline describes as being “one of the heavies trying to exploit the Stooges.” Bierko has been in some comedies such as the Scary Movie films and will be seen in this summers’ The Change-Up.

Deadline also say Chris Diamantopoulos has officially signed on for the role of Moe. We had heard a few weeks ago that the actor was considering taking up the role, but that was the extent of that until now. Hit the jump to see who else is in The Three Stooges and what the story is all about.

So far Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly have done a fine job in the casting department of this film. Sure, we’re out Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro and Jim Carrey, but we do have some funny actors taking their time to work on the film. Right now The Three Stooges has Will Sasso attached to play Curly Howard, Sean Hayes will play Larry Fine, Chris Diamantopoulos to play Moe, Larry David is the nun Mother Mengele and Jane Lynch is Mother Superior.

The Farrelly Brothers have decided to divide the PG-rated film into three, 27-minute segments driven by physical comedy. Peter Farrelly has said “There will be non-stop slapping, more in the tone of Dumb and Dumber than anything else we’ve done. Our goal is 85 minutes of laughs in a film that will be very respectful of who the Stooges were. It’s by far the riskiest project we’ve ever done, without question, but it is also the one closest to our hearts.”

A little while ago we released a very basic version of this logo. Now Disney/Pixar have updated it, added some color, and made it look a whole lot more “official.” While it’s nothing out of the ordinary, I like the logo’s simplicity. We’ve got the same “Monsters” we have from the first film, and the studios just added a college flair to it with “University.” Nice.

We also have an official plot synopsis for Monsters University, which is something we didn’t have before. We knew the film was going to be a prequel that brought the two lead characters back to when they were in college learning how to be a professional scarer. Hit the jump to read the official plot synopsis.

Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan are an inseparable pair, but that wasn’t always the case. From the moment these two mismatched monsters met they couldn’t stand each other. “Monsters University” unlocks the door to how Mike and Sulley overcame their differences and became the best of friends.

Screaming with laughter and fun, “Monsters University” is directed by Dan Scanlon (“Cars,” “Mater and the Ghostlight,” “Tracy”) and produced by Kori Rae (“Up,” “The Incredibles,” “Monsters, Inc.”). The film opens in U.S. theaters on June 21, 2013, and will be shown in Disney Digital 3D™ in select theaters.

Monsters University is direct by Dan Scanlon and stars Billy Crystal and John Goodman. Expect to see this one hit theaters June 21, 2013.

We’ve got some more photos from the set of Men In Black III for you today. We get to see Will Smith, a horse painted like a zebra, Andy Warhol, and a crowd in some very interesting attire. We told you a few days ago that Bill Hader was going to make a cameo as Warhol, and here he is! I swear, if I didn’t already know that was Hader, I would have thought it was Crispin Glover.

These photos all come from The New York Post are from a “Warhol party” that, I’m assuming, Agent K and J attend looking for aliens and answers, probably in that order. Hit the jump to see the new set photos.

Men in Black III stars Will Smith, Josh Brolin, Alice Eve, Emma Thompson, Tommy Lee Jones, Jemaine Clement, Rip Torn and Nicole Scherzinger. Barry Sonnenfeld directs the film based on a scrennplay from David Koepp. Expect to see this film hit theaters May 25th, 2012.

This is probably one of the coolest things I have seen all day long. Director Jeff Chan was asked by the Canadian Film Center’s World Wide Short Film Festival to remake the viral video Charlie Bit My Finger, and so he did, but with a zombie twist. The director posted his video on the popular website Reddit.com, where he also hosted a Q&A in the comment section of the site.

Chan shot the whole video on a budget of less than $1500. Pretty amazing for such a small budget and such awesome graphics. This video is pretty damn scary and exploits that by using the “first-person shooter” view for the camera shots. Hit the jump to see the video.

I’d love to see this director take on a much larger scale project in the future. He’s got a knack for scary, that’s for sure. Maybe he could do a short film using this same style. Be sure to check out the post on Reddit.com to read a bit more on what Chan had to do to get this little project shot.

And for those of you that don’t know the popular Youtube video, here it is for your viewing pleasure.

The Cannes Film Festival is currently going on right now, which is the main reason why we have so many casting updates every day. Stick with us as this festival continues on for the next week or so. We’ve got a bunch of casting updates for you from all over the place. In this article you see some confirmed and unconfirmed casting bits that involve Rob Lowe, Zoe Saldana, Susan Sarandon and Jim Broadbent, Bill Hader, Jack Black, Colin Firth and Emily Blunt. Keep reading to find out what projects they may be involved with.

• Rob Lowe has signed on to star in the political thriller Knife Fight coming from director Bill Guttentag. Lowe will play a “political crisis specialist who plays hard and tough in dealing with various October campaign surprises.” The film is set to shoot in June with hopes to release it in October, 2012, just in time for the elections.[Deadline]

• Zoe Saldana has officially joined the cast of The Worlds which already has Bradley Cooper and Jeremy Irons set to star. The film centers on a successful writer (Cooper) who has to deal with the ramifications of stealing another writer’s (Irons) work. We’re not sure who Saldana will play, but I’m assuming a lover of some sort. [The playlist]

• Yesterday we told you about three actors (Hugo Weaving, Halle Berry and Ben Winshaw) joining the cast of Cloud Atlas coming from the Wachowski Brothers and Tom Tykwer. Now we can tell you Susan Sarandon and Jim Broadbent are both in talks for roles in the film as well. Tom Hanks has already been cast as the star, so no telling who these two new cast members will be playing. [ScreenDaily]

• It looks as though Bill Hader will be making a cameo in the Will Smith and Josh Brolin film Men In Black III. It has been confirmed that Hader will play eccentric artist Andy Warhol in the science-fiction/fantasy sequel. We don’t know much about the film, but we do know that time travel plays a major part of the plot, so that’s how Warhol will make it into the film. I’m sure he’ll end up being some cracked-out alien when it’s all said and done. Makes sense, though, if you really think about it. [THR]

• Jack Black will star in the new comedy Bailout coming from Michael Winterbottom. The film, which is based on Jess Walter’s novel The Financial Lives of the Poets, tells “the story of one man’s attempt to come back from the brink of financial ruin after meeting a couple of losers in a late night supermarket.” Black will play the guy who is in the financial crisis. [THR]

• Colin Firth and Emily Blunt have signed on to star in a currently untitled comedy coming from director Dante Ariola and writer Becky Johnston (Seven Years in Tibet, The Prince of Tides). The story follows “a man who fakes his own death in an attempt to reinvent himself and meets a woman who is also in the process of trying to escape her old life. They both break into empty houses to seal the identities of the absent owners.” Sounds like a good film for a recent Academy Award winner to sign on to, showing us he can still have fen while being a very serious actor at the same time. [THR]

The big-screen adaptation of The Host written by Twilight scribe Stephenie Meyer is coming together nicely. Saoirse Ronan is attached to star as the lead character Melanie, and now we have a director. Andrew Niccol was originally attached to direct, but dropped out due to a conflicting schedule. Now, according to EW, it appears Niccol has cleared up his schedule and will direct the film.

The script was also written by Niccol, which follows Melanie Stryder, one of the last humans putting up a fight against alien parasites. Basically these parasites invade human’s bodies, take over their consciousness and erase their memories and personalities. Melanie is eventually captured by the alien parasites and is infected by a Soul called Wanderer, who is somewhat of a “star” amongst the Souls. Wanderer tries to get information on where the rest of the non-infected humans are hiding, but ends up becoming intrigued by Melanie’s memories and feelings. Hit the jump to read a bit more on the story.

Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact. Wanderer, the invading “soul” who has been given Melanie’s body, didn’t expect to find its former tenant refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

As Melanie fills Wanderer’s thoughts with visions of Jared, a human who still lives in hiding, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she’s never met. Reluctant allies, Wanderer and Melanie set off to search for the man they both love.

Featuring one of the most unusual love triangles in literature, THE HOST is a riveting and unforgettable novel about the persistence of love and the essence of what it means to be human. [Amazon]

We’ve got a new poster for the bad guy in Green Lantern, Hector Hammond, played by Peter Sarsgaard. Wikipedia describes the character like this: “Hector Hammond, in his mutated state, exhibits genius level intellect, potent telepathic and telekinetic abilities, and on occasion displays the ability to absorb and mentally redirect Green Lantern’s emerald plasma.”

The same page also tells us how the character gains and uses his power in the film: “While inspecting Abin Sur’s crashed aircraft, Hammond is affected by the meteorite fragment in its reactor. This leads to his brain growing bigger, and able to read minds, including Carol Ferris and Hal Jordan who Hammond deduces is the Green Lantern. His mental powers keep Hal from using his ring, and is only stopped when Sinestro encases his head in an energy bubble, cutting off his air supply. It is revealed that Hammond wants the power of a god in order to gain revenge on Hal Jordan/Green Lantern.”

Hit the jump to see the new poster for Hector Hammond.

Green Lantern stars Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong, Geoffrey Rush, Tim Robbins, Temuera Morrison, Michael Clark Duncan and Jon Tenney. Martin Campbell directed the film which is set for a June 17 release date. Here is the official plot synopsis for the film.

In a universe as vast as it is mysterious, a small but powerful force has existed for centuries. Protectors of peace and justice, they are called the Green Lantern Corps. A brotherhood of warriors sworn to keep intergalactic order, each Green Lantern wears a ring that grants him superpowers. But when a new enemy called Parallax threatens to destroy the balance of power in the Universe, their fate and the fate of Earth lie in the hands of their newest recruit, the first human ever selected: Hal Jordan.

Hal is a gifted and cocky test pilot, but the Green Lanterns have little respect for humans, who have never harnessed the infinite powers of the ring before. But Hal is clearly the missing piece to the puzzle, and along with his determination and willpower, he has one thing no member of the Corps has ever had: humanity. With the encouragement of fellow pilot and childhood sweetheart Carol Ferris (Blake Lively), if Hal can quickly master his new powers and find the courage to overcome his fears, he may prove to be not only the key to defeating Parallax…he will become the greatest Green Lantern of all.

The fourth trailer for Cars 2 has been released online. I guess the buzz isn’t really prevalent for this film so that’s why Pixar keeps on pushing out these trailers. I’m sure the film will do fine on its own without all of this marketing going on. I mean, come on, it’s a Pixar/Disney film. I’ve said before that I never saw the original, so this sequel doesn’t really have my devoted attention. Sure, it looks kind of fun, but I can’t really get into these films. The just don’t appeal to me.

But for those that are excited, hit the jump to see the newest trailer for Cars 2.

Owen Wilson, Larry The Cable Guy, Tony Shalhoub, Cheech Marin, Michael Keaton, Emily Mortimer, Jason Isaacs, Joe Mantegna, Peter Jacobson, Thomas Kretschmann, Eddie Izzard and John Turturro all lend their voices for the cast of Cars 2. Here is a brief synopsis of the film which hits theaters on June 24, 2011.

Racing star Lightning McQueen teams up with his best friend Mater for an international adventure as they go up against the world’s fastest cars.