Coming May 18th, 2010, get ready for The Prince of Persia, the latest video game movie to hit theatres. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal as Prince Dastan and helmed by director Mike Newell (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) and producer Jerry Bruckheimer, whose previous films for Disney, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, promise very big things for this flick.

As happens with every big movie, of course, the merchandising has started early and we’ve finally been given a look at NECA’s awesome renderings of Prince of Persia’s characters. They only ship in May, but if you’re looking to snag ‘em, you can already pre-order these items to make sure you’re among the first to get your hands on them. They’re all around 7 inches, the usual for NECA, and feature the high standard of detailed sculpting that has come to be the company’s trademark.

Take a look!

Of course, the reason for the sudden influx of Toy Story items is the upcoming Toy Story 3, the final chapter of Disney-Pixar’s franchise (or so we imagine until they announce a fourth installment). In the film, the toys are given away to a daycare, where they must contend with a group of toddlers and join on with a slew of new toys in order to escape.

Images of those new characters are slowly being released by the folks at Pixar. We’ve seen a good amount already, from Ken to Peas in a Pod, but here’s a look at the latest: an octopus by the name of Stretch. Take a look!

Den of Geek reports:

You pretty much know the drill with these by now, we suspect. Disney is drip-feeding through, one-by-one, the new additions to the cast of the Toy Story franchise. The latest addition to the cast is Stretch, who bears a little bit of a similarity to B.O.B. from Monsters Vs Aliens, from where we’re sitting.

There are still quite a few more characters to be revealed in advance of the film’s 18th June debut in the US (we get it the month after in the UK), but the finest bit of promotional imagery we’ve seen thus far – discounting the trailer – is still this poster from last week.

We’ll bring you news on more characters as we get it.

And perhaps none so effectively as the guys at Fewdio.com. A talented team of seven men brings to life some of the best urban horror out there today. Sure, there are a couple that definitely lean in the cheesy direction and they do throw in a screamer or two, but for ambient, creeping dread, you’ll find few groups who do it better. The 3-15 minute movies are an ideal format that allows the Fewdio folks to explore dozens of different ideas. Check out their website.

Here’s a sample of what you might find. Click to visit their youtube channel!

TOMORROW NIGHT, be sure to tune into the Oscars! This year boasts a whopping 10 best picture nominees, likely a reaction to last year’s snub of The Dark Knight, and that means you’re worlds (okay, twice) more likely to see one of your favourites represented in the biggest awards category in today’s film world.

Here’s a look at the main categories you’ll have to watch out for on Sunday! And you can check out the rest of the nominees over on the official Oscar website.

Best Picture: Avatar, The Blind Side, District 9, An Education, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, Precious, A Serious Man, Up, Up in the Air

Actor in a Leading Role: Jeff Bridges, George Clooney, Colin Firth, Morgan Freeman, Jeremy Renner

Actress in a Leading Role: Sandra Bullock, Helen Mirren, Carey Mulligan, Gabourey Sidibe, Meryl Streep

Directing: Avatar, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, Up in the Air, Precious

And since it’s Oscar time, here’s a link to our most Oscar-y section: Movies! Admittedly, a couple of these are…hmm…less than award-winning, but take a look anyway!

We’ve just gotten the new masked Deadpool figure from Marvel Select and it looks great. I’ve always preferred the 8-inch figures to the 6-inch models and this is a great example of the kind of awesome sculpting and high detail you can get from those extra two inches.

Meanwhile, there doesn’t seem to be much action on the Deadpool movie front. After his appearance as Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Ryan Reynolds was signed on to star in a full-length film about the hero. But as we wait for developments on that front, Reynolds is also set to play a popular DC hero: The Green Lantern. Two heroes who couldn’t be more different and they’re united by the same actor; what must that be like for ‘em?

Well, over on Youtube, ItsJustSomeRandomGuy explains:

I suppose I could have done without the added details of the beat-up hat and torn sweater (if he’s an immortal dream monster, why does he only have one set of clothes?), but I think we can all just keep our fingers crossed for the best while expecting the worst and try to enjoy the ride.

For the rest of our Nightmare on Elm Street items, from posters to figures, check our the Nightmare on Elm Street section over at CmdStore!

There’s a brand new arrival over in our Conan the Barbarian section on CmdStore.com, which comes as a surprise to me given the distance between this and the ending of the films. The titular Barbarian, after all, has become Governor of California and seems very far removed from his axe-swinging past. Nevertheless, fans can snag this 6-inch NECA Cult Classic figure of Temple of the Serpent Conan.

A likely explanation for the renewed interest in the franchise, though, comes with the all the recent news about the Conan the Barbarian reboot film (Hollywood sure is creative!). The most recent info informs us that Mickey Rourke might be playing Conan’s father, but we shall see whether any of that pans out come 2011.

There’s also the story of another newly-arriving Conan. Namely, this one:

He’s on Twitter! Find him at @ConanOBrien to add him to your twit-list. Here’s the news from Zap2it:

Conan O’Brien, who made fun of Twitter a whole bunch during his “Tonight Show” stint, has joined Twitter.

The sum total of his output (Twitter has verified it’s actually O’Brien) as of 11 a.m. PT Thursday is a single tweet: “Today I interviewed a squirrel in my backyard and then threw to commercial. Somebody help me.” But that single update — funny, and also a little bit heartbreaking — has been enough to collect more than 260,000 followers — more than three times as many as the official NBC/Jay Leno page (@jayleno).

Anyone who knows me can tell you that there are two actors I will watch in anything: Liam Neeson and Benicio Del Toro. And so, when I heard that Benicio would be doing a remake of the Wolfman about two years ago, I was thrilled that I would be able to see Del Toro in something that promised blockbuster-style action–and in a Victorian setting to boot. The delays worried me, indicating that the movie might not be up to snuff, but I still bought my tickets for the very first night when at last it opened February 12th.

I wasn’t…disappointed. But I wasn’t thrilled either. It was a solid monster movie, atmospheric and beautiful when not splashed with blood and gore. The sets were beautiful, the acting competent (especially the always-delightful Hugo Weaving), but the story itself felt as though it had been cut out of something greater. Unlike most movies nowadays, which seem to regale in their length, I actually felt that this one sold itself short by, well, shortening itself. The characters were underdeveloped and the plot devices and twists felt rushed, but underneath it all there seemed to be some greater thread and richer story. I’m hoping that the DVD release ends up filling in the gaps that the film seemed to show, but overall I had a good time watching. Might not pay full price again, but it was $12.50 well-spent.

And while we’re here, how about a look at the figure from the movie? This, at least, does not disappoint in the least.

Available in 6-inch or 12-inch forms, Benicio’s Lawrence Talbot is a terrifying creature with snarling lips and vicious claws rendered expertly by the folks at Mezco. Available both clean and bloody from a recent kill, it’s a great addition to any fan’s toyshelf.

From Sideshow: The Sentinel features 15 poseable tentacles, each with 2 points of articulation, and 10 poseable limbs beneath the main squid body, each with 3 points of articulation.

For this entry, I checked both Google News and the Matrix wiki for any information on whether there was more coming and while Google provided little, the wiki does claim that something’s coming out this year, so I guess we’ll have to spend at least some of 2010 staying tuned for word! Until then, Matrix action figure memories…

We’ve put up a pre-order for the newest Transformers figure over at CmdStore.com. Based on the second Transformers movie, this 12-inch figure is Shadow Command Megatron, which I am told is his new look as he returns from the “dead” to retake his place as Decepticon leader. Maybe. See, I didn’t actually watch the second movie. I heard it was awful, but it made a ridiculous amount of money in 2009 and there must be some reason for that (Megan Fox? Explosions? Something…). Normally I might feel bad now being up on this, but it seems that I’m not the only one. The voice of Megatron, Hugo Weaving (V for Vendetta, The Wolfman, The Lord of the Rings, The Matrix) doesn’t appear to have caught it either.

Here’s a snippet of an interview from SuperheroHype…

Hugo Weaving (“The Lord of the Rings” and “Matrix” trilogies), who has voiced Megatron in both Transformers and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, revealed to The Age that he doesn’t know much about the movies:

As the voice of Megatron, one imagines how into the series Weaving is, but just how deeply immersed he is becomes clear when discussing the next installment.

“Oh no,” he barks with a laugh. “They’re not making Transformers III, are they?” Given that Transformers II made $800 million, they’re probably going to have to.

“[Director] Michael Bay talks to me on the phone. I’ve never met him. We were doing the voice for the second one and I still hadn’t seen the first one. I still didn’t really know who the characters were and I didn’t know what anything was. It’s a voice job, for sure, and people assume I’ve spent my life working on it, but I really know so little about it.”

Hey, at least he was honest! Transformers 3 is scheduled for a July 1, 2011 release.