John Carpenter will direct 'Darkchylde'

Horror master John Carpenter ("Halloween," "The Thing" & "The Fog"), who has "The Ward" coming soon, will direct the big-screen version of "Darkchylde," which is based on Randy Queen's comic series.

ShockTillYouDrop reports Carpenter has signed on to helm the feature version, which follows a teenage girl who involuntarily transforms into the creatures from her nightmares. Carpenter had this to say about it:

"Randy Queen's hijacked angel, Ariel Chylde, is the best young female character since Laurie Strode in Halloween. Bringing Ariel and her dark mysteries to life should be quite an adventure for us all."

As for Carpenter, he last helmed "Ghosts of Mars" in 2001. Before that, he directed "Vampires," and his credits also include "Escape from L.A.," "Christine," "Escape from New York" and "Assault on Precinct 13."

Amber Heard in promo pic for 'The Ward'

John Carpenter is currently working on his upcoming thriller "The Ward," and the folks at Dread Central spotted a new promo image for the film, which stars Amber Heard and Danielle Panabaker.

As you can see above, Heard looks a bit messy and alarmed in the pic. She plays Kristen, a beautiful but troubled young woman who finds herself held against her will in a remote ward of a psychiatric hospital.

Kristen quickly realizes things are not as they seem. The air is heavy with secrets, and at night, when the hospital is dark and foreboding, she hears strange and frightening sounds. It appears they are not alone.

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John Carpenter to check into 'The Ward'

John Carpenter is set to direct Echo Lake's psychological thriller "The Ward," according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Written by Michael and Shawn Rasmussen, the movie focuses on a disturbed young woman who is terrorized by a ghost in an institution.

Amber Heard, who also starred in "Alpha Dog," played one of the leads in "Remember the Daze," and recently appeared in "Never Back Down" and "Pineapple Express," is on board to play the woman.

Carpenter told THR the script is "a complex, visceral story, full of suspense and scares."

Carpenter hasn't directed anything major since 2001's "Ghosts of Mars." He's currently gearing up to helm "Riot" with Nicholas Cage in the lead role.

Judging by the short description of "Ward," it sounds just like any other ghost/horror flick. That said, I know Carpenter has the ability to craft a solid picture. Surprise us John!

Remake of 'They Live' in the works

Universal and Spike Entertainment are working on a remake of John Carpenter's classic 1988 sci-fi horror flick "They Live."

In the original film, Roddy Piper starred as a construction worker who finds a pair of sunglasses that let him see aliens living among humans. Shocked by what he sees, he tries to find a way to stop the creatures from taking control over humanity.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the studio has yet to acquire the film rights. No writer has been hired at this stage, but the good news is that Carpenter will at least participate in the project as executive producer.

Spike Entertainment also developed the 2004 remake of "Dawn of the Dead" and "Children of Men," two films I really enjoyed. A remake of Carpenter's "The Thing" is also in the works.

As for Carpenter, he's prepping to direct "Riot," a thriller about a convict (Nicholas Cage) forced to help free a hostage held inside a prison.

John Carpenter working on a gangster flick?

I miss John Carpenter, and it's been way too long since we last saw something from the man on the big screen. But maybe that's about to change soon.

According to the folks at Chud, Carpenter is currently developing "The Prince," a script written by Jeremy Passmore and Andre Fabrizio. Passmore described it as "brutal and violent and dark at the end."

Although it's not sure whether the project will actually move forward, here's what else Passmore told Chud about it:

"It's definitley more of a very character based crime movie. I don't know what's going on with it right now, but the premise is that this guy was the most [badass] gangster of all time in Las Vegas, and he's left the life and created this whole new world."

Sounds like quite an interesting project, and definitely something that's different from what we're used to with Carpenter. Find out more about "Prince" here.

Short takes: Cage teams up with Carpenter

• The Hollywood Reporter says Nicholas Cage and John Carpenter may join forces to develop “Scared Straight,” a thriller about a convict forced to help free a hostage held inside a prison. Ron Brinkerhoff rewrote the original script by Joe Gazzam.  

• Aline Brosh McKenna, screenwriter of “The Devil Wears Prada,” has been hired to write the script for “The Ivy Chronicles,” which will star Sarah Jessica Parker as an upper-middle class mother who is forced to move into a cheap downtown apartment after losing her job and getting divorced. (The Hollywood Reporter)

• According to Variety, Robert De Niro is in talks to star alongside Mel Gibson in Martin Campbell’s crime drama “Edge of Darkness.” Gibson plays a homicide detective who discovers his daughter’s secret life after she’s murdered on the steps of his house. De Niro would star as an operative sent to clean up any kind of evidence.

• Variety also reports Rob Cohen’s “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” opened with $15.3 million Friday, beating Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight,” which took in $12.6 million. “The Mummy Returns” collected $23.4 million on its opening day in 2001.