Admitting that this is so far up the rumor spout it might never come out, CHUD claims a mysterious source has revealed to them that Sam Raimi desperately wants James Franco to play Jack Ryan in his relaunch of their spy thriller franchise. Paramount have already ploughed through three Ryans in bringing Tom Clancy's novels to the big screen (Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck), but the studio's not as keen on Franco as Raimi is (he worked with the Pineapple Express star on his Spider-Man trilogy). In fact, so resistant is the studio to Franco's charms -- they're worried he's not a franchise-carrier -- that Raimi's threatening to walk. Like we said, stick this one in the rumour file for now...

Nolan Offered Batman 3

With The Dark Knight cruising past Star Wars to become the second highest-grossing domestic release of all time behind Titanic, Warner Bros. has lobbed an official offer at Christopher Nolan to write and direct the third Bat-outing. With the studio's coffers being boosted to the tune of $470 million and counting, it's obvious why they're gagging to get Nolan back on board. But he might be reluctant to return -- or at least want to take a breather from Bat-world by directing another movie (as he did with The Prestige, which he shot between Batman Begins and TDK). Even Warners boss Alan Horn is admitting, "He has yet to decide on whether to tackle it yet."

Cruise Grabs Sleeper

In the latest Tom Cruise casting-news diversion (because we all keep talking about UA), the star is hopping on board the comic-book bandwagon (what took him so long?). Cruise has linked up with Sam Raimi to bring Sleeper -- a DC Comics series about an operative fused with an alien artifact that makes him impervious to pain who goes undercover in a villainous organization -- to the big screen. For now, Cruise is only loosely attached to star, with Raimi producing alongside his production company partner Josh Donen. More at The Hollywood Reporter

Watchmen Snagged In Legal Wrangle

Uh-oh. Warner Bros.' Watchmen adaptation could be in legal peril after a U.S. federal judge refused their motion to dismiss rival studio 20th Century Fox's legal tussle over the rights to make and distribute an adaptation of Alan Moore's seminal graphic novel themselves. It all dates back to the early '90s when Fox was developing the film via producer Larry Gordon's Largo Entertainment. But don't panic, Watch-geeks: even if the court grants Fox's request for an injunction, it will likely just mean that Warners has to fork over tens of millions to release the film (like they did in a similar situation with The Dukes Of Hazzard). For a full rundown on the saga's history, head to Deadline Hollywood Daily...

Coens Cast Serious Men

The Coen brothers are going down the relative unknown road for the next film, a 1967-set black comedy called A Serious Man. They've corralled Tony-nominated stage actor Michael Stuhlbarg and Spin City regular Richard Kind to play, respectively, a college professor who's wife wants to leave him and his socially inept brother who won't move out of the house. More at Variety