Mr X for Scully

Now that an eighth season of The X-Files is a certainty, speculation is rife as to how it will shape up. With a vastly reduced participation from David Duchovny, a new partner is likely for Scully.

Chris Carter told Entertainment Weekly, “I think that the partner would probably be a skeptic, and more likely than not, it will be a man. Certainly Scully’s character has evolved to this point now where she is a believer of sorts.” The series is also likely to make more use of its regular supporting players, with the exception of the Lone Gunmen who are getting their own spinoff show.

Arnie declares, “I’ll be back”

In a surprise turn of events, Arnold Schwarzenegger has committed to return as the man with the metal innards in Terminator 3. The star, who suffered recent health problems and the relative failure of films like End of Days, previously distanced himself from the planned $100m follow-up – which is one of two Terminator sequels announced last year by T2 producers Andy Vajna and Mario Kassar.

Schwarzenegger once said that he would only do T3 if James Cameron wrote and directed it. Instead Tank Girl scribe Tedi Sarafian has prepared the script and Cameron (who has other things on his mind, like his June marriage to Titanic actress Suzy Amis) is still deciding what film to make next. Arnie, however, issued a statement about T3 saying, “My big wish is that Jim Cameron and I will work together again.”

The Rock carves out more movies

In a pleasing throwback to old-style Hollywood, Stephen Sommers’s sequel to his own remake of The Mummy (shooting in central London this month), will officially be called The Mummy Returns. It's set to début in the US on May 11, 2001.

World Wrestling Federation champion The Rock is rolling in the fast track to film stardom thanks to his work in Sommers’s supernatural follow-up. Although The Rock (actual name Duane Johnson) has just a few scenes, impressed Mummy producers are believed to be planning a prequel based around his evil Scorpion King character. Johnson is also in talks to take on dual (good/bad) roles in an as-yet unnamed Science Fiction epic from Glen Morgan and James Wong – the ex-X-Files writing/directing team who had a big international horror hit with the impressive Final Destination.

It’s said that Johnson could net up to $5m per picture. “[Acting] has always been a goal of mine,” Johnson told Variety. “I was very comfortable acting in The Mummy 2, which is the beauty of playing the character of The Rock on television on a weekly basis. The Rock is basically Duane Johnson, magnified, over the edge and turned up to the highest degree.”

Cage cans Superman

The long-stalled Superman Lives is getting closer to assigning a director, namely Ralph Zondag, who co-created Disney’s epic Dinosaur. He follows, among others, Tim Burton, Oliver Stone and Shekhar Kapur who each flirted with the project.

If it happens, it will now be without Nicolas Cage who has decided to leave the cape to someone else. “Superman I’ve decided I’m not going to do,” Cage told the Mr Showbiz website. “At first it seemed like a good idea and would’ve been a lot of fun but just too much time has passed and I wanted to part company with it.”.

Proteus rising

David Twohy (Pitch Black) is turning his attention to Proteus. No, it’s not another version of the monster/shark tale penned by our own John Brosnan but a WWII-submarine horror movie.

It’s to be co-written and produced by Darren Aronofsky of pi fame and concerns a crew trapped inside a haunted vessel; a concept which, Twohy stresses, solves the usual problem with haunted house-type stories – why don’t the characters just leave? Filming will commence before the end of 2000.

Fincher to Rendezvous with Rama

After various rumours, it looks increasingly likely that Alien 3 and Se7en director David Fincher will follow Fight Club with Rendezvous with Rama, a space epic adapted from the novel by Arthur C Clarke. Morgan Freeman is to star in this tale of a space exploration vessel sent to investigate a gigantic alien starship seen speeding through the galaxy. The deal came as MGM announced plans to film Clarke’s 3001: The Final Odyssey.