The sequel to National Treasure, titled National Treasure: Book of Secrets, comes out this December.

Here are a couple images from the Nicolas Cage film:

As he portrays the role of Henning Hermann Robert Karl von Tresckow in Valkyrie, Kenneth Branagh is forced to ponder a heavy question:

What if Hitler had been assassinated before the end of WWII?

“One feels the weight of that [question],” Branagh told MTV. “The near misses, a last minute replacement of a bomb behind a wooden oak table leg that meant the course of the 20th century changed. Everything would have changed.”

It’s an issue that Branagh admitted to spending a lot of time thinking about ever since he joined Tom Cruise on the Bryan Singer film, which follows Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg and a tight band of resistance fighters as they attempt to kill Hitler, an assassination attempt known to history as the “July 20 Plot.”

Branagh plays “the guy who recruited Tom Cruise’s character. He was very publicly anti Hitler from 1936 onwards. The film has revealed to me how surprising the extent that there was resistance in the German army to Hitler.”

“It’s brilliantly done,” Branagh said of the film. “Bryan Singer is encyclopedic on this subject. Cruise is very well cast. This tale is so extraordinarily gripping and suspenseful.”

Here’s more casting news from the set of the new Star Trek film:

J.J. Abrams has confirmed that Jennifer Morrison - best known for her role in House - “is indeed in the movie… and she is most excellent!”

Last week, the actress was spotted outside one of Star Trek’s Hollywood soundstages, sparking rumors that she had quietly come aboard the ensemble, alongside Chris Pine, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban and Heroes’ Zachary Quinto.

Abrams, meanwhile, told TV Guide that the current writers’ strike is not affecting production: “Our script is locked,” he said.

Rumors are fairly solid at the moment that Morrison will be portraying Carol Marcus, the mother of Kirk’s child. The character was introduced in the movie The Wrath of Khan.

The lead villain in James Cameron’s sci-fi epic Avatar has been cast, as the role has gone to little-known actor Matt Gerald.

Gerald’s most recent roles included bit parts in the action sequel XXX: State of the Union, while he also appeared briefly in Terminator 3: The Rise of the Machines and S.W.AT.

The actor is the latest in the line of lesser-known talent hired for Avatar, following in the footsteps of unheralded actors such Zoe Saldana, Michelle Rodriguez and Sam Worthington. Sigourney Weaver is the only big name chosen by Cameron for the film.

Look for Avatar in theaters in May, 2009.

As reported previously, Mark Wahlberg is currently filming The Lonely Bones.

And Variety is now reporting that the former rapper will star in the motion picture adaptation of “Max Payne,” based on the video game.

The game tells of a cop who loses his family to a horrific crime. Consequently, he decides to bend the rules and go after the murderers in New York City.

In an interview with MTV, Heath Ledger referred to filming of The Dark Knight as an “exhausting process.” He also delivered more insight into his portrayal of The Joker:

“He has zero empathy,” the actor said, citing classic Stanley Kubrick as inspiration. “‘A Clockwork Orange’ was a very early starting point for Christian [Bale] and I. But we kind of flew far away from that pretty quickly and into another world altogether.”

Read the entire interview here.

Bruce Greenwood, who has been hired to portray Captain Pike in the new Star Trek movie, says the scrip for the film is great… but that’s all he can reveal right now.

“It’s a great script,” the actor said. “When I read the script I had to go to [director] J.J. Abrams’ office and read it while I was being watched and leave it… I’m not sure if any of us are going to be allowed on set.”

Cleo Pires isn’t the only actress in the running to play the next Bond Girl.

According to reports, Israeli model and actress Moran Atias is also a possibility.

Atias, who currently resides in Italy, has been spending a lot of time in Los Angeles recently. As she awaits word on this part, the actress is scheduled to begin shooting Adam Sandler’s You Don’t Mess with the Zohan in the near future.

Here’s a great a parody of the “For Your Consideration” ads that studios tend to bombard the trades around awards season.

It features John C. Reilly in his role in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.

Another day, another piece of Star Trek casting news.

Yesterday, we announcement that Bruce Greenwood had landed the role of Captain Pike. Today? A shocker: Winona Ryder has joined the production and is set to play Spock’s mother.

According to Variety, Ryder will portray a Vulcan, which would anger Trek devotees because it goes againt Star Trek lore, in which Spock is the offspring of a Vulcan father, Sarek, and a human mother named Amanda Grayson.

We’ll keep you posted on this rumor.