Responding to rumors that the movie adaptation for Hitman would be losing its director, Xavier Gens, Variety has let out the word that he is still "on board." According to the grapevine, the first version of the movie was too violent and editor Nicholas De Toth was brought in to provide a tamer version.

Although De Toth was hired as a "consultant," there is still some speculation as to whether he or Gens has the final say on the final version of the movie. De Toth also held the same position for the movie Live Free or Die Hard. Incidentally both movies are from Fox.

At any rate, the movie is still going out with a solid R rating so even if the violence was watered down at least we know it still has a kick. Besides, it might not be in the studio's best interests to try and release the movie with anything less than an R rating when the game itself is rated M.

Game-to-movie adaptations have always been sort of a mixed bag when it came to staying true to the source material - like, how a certain re-enacted event should play out, how this or that character should look like, and so on. Important details that any fan will look for - and it's the same thing with the very first trailer of the Hitman: Blood Money movie, depicting our favorite hired assassin in all his glory. Black suit? Check. Red tie? Check. Awesome music? VERY CHECK. Assassin hardware? Double check.

Actor that reasonably resembles Codename 47? Sorta check.

Watch the embed to see what I mean. Granted, everything looks as it should be - they even got his insignia right. But for 47 himself, while he doesn't look much like the severe-looking assassin we all know and love, one thing's clear: he's got the attitude down. Enjoy the video.

October 12 is but a few months away. It is Spain's National Day, Malawi's Mother's Day, Brazil's Children's Day; but for gamers and movie lovers alike, it marks the day Agent 47 hits the silver screen. Everyone is anticipating how the enigmatic, killer for hire from the much successful stealth action series will fare in Hollywood.

Just like other big movies, Hitman will begin to show its presence soon. Hitman, starring Timothy Olyphant, will hitch a ride on upcoming Live Free Or Die Hard's momentum. Next week, when curtains reveal the latter, the bald assassin will make a showing in the attached trailer.

Story will follow Agent 47's escapades from the Russian military and Interpol. Seems like he will also get linked with a gorgeous girl portrayed by Olga Kurylenko. Imagining this cold blooded killing machine all lovey dovey can kill brain cells, but we'll have to wait and see how it goes.

Last month, we gave you plot details for Hitman the movie. This time around, we've got the first pictures of the man himself, Agent 47 played by Timothy Olyphant. Some fans may have doubts how they'd portray the cold-blooded killer on the silver screen, but Olyphant looks close enough to the actual Agent 47 from the games.

Not too shabby, huh? He kinda looks nicer than how a Hitman who kills for blood money should be, but Agent 47 will probably look the same with a pretty girl beside him. Now, if only we could find out how his suit would look like with a concealed MP5 and a 12-gauge shotgun...

With the movie production well under way, Fox Pictures was willing to give a sneak peek at the celluloid adaptation of the Hitman series. The press release places 47 in the middle of a conspiracy, in the sights of a lot of people with guns, and in the arms of a woman - oh, great, the de rigeur loven interest in a thriller.

Our favorite cue-ball assassin finds himself "caught up in a political takeover," and hunted by officers of Interpol and the Russian military (Guess we know now which country's politics gets the takeover, don't we?). The game - er, movie - is set to take place across Eastern Europe (hence, the shooting locations) as 47 tries to discover what the heck happened, who set him up, and what's with the "beautiful, damaged girl" and him.

Quite the beautiful girl, too, portrayed by Olga Kurylenko. Just dropped by IMDB to confirm that.

The Hitman series owned by IO Interactive has developed such a big following that a movie is being made about it. The game released for the the PC and various other consoles basically revolved around Agent 47 who had to eliminate certain people. This is normally accomplished by sneaking around in disguises until he can get close enough to kill the target.

The movie, which aims to have capture the feel of the game has recruited some of the best actors in the business. If you've been reading up on this, it has been confirmed that Timothy Olyphant will be playing Agent 47 in this suspense flick. Dougray Scott was confirmed as well, and he will be playing the villain in the movie. Other actors who have been casted include: Olga Kurylenko ("Paris je t'aime"), Robert Knepper ("Prison Break"), Ulrich Thomsen ("Festen") and Michael Offei ("Casino Royale").

Fans of the game should be happy to know that director Xavier Gens (Tyro) has already begun lensing the movie in Sofia, Bulguria's capital. They plan on doing additional filming in South Africa, Istanbul, St. Petersburg and London, so watch out for them there.

 Deadwood star Timothy Olyphant will be playing the lead Hitman role as Agent 47 (Yes, we know he denied it but he signed a couple of days after as reported by Variety.) Luc Besson confirms another name for the Hitman cast. Dougray Scott.

Remember the prince in Ever After? The one with Drew Barrymore? (Oh, right. Chick flick.) Or better yet you may remember him better as the bad guy in M:I-2. In Hitman, he's reportedly going to play the man going after Agent 47. We'll see how the movie goes under Fox with Chuck Gordon, Adrian Askariah, Daniel Alter, and Luc Besson producing. Xavier Gens will be at the helm for the Skip Woods screenplay.

Hitman's production begins by late March where they will be filming in Prague. Movie hits the big screen on October 12. And the movie is also reported to be a franchise. Hold on to your hats and let's pray that they stay faithful to the original Hitman.

Eidos Interactive has recently announced that they are now developing sequels for some of their most popular game franchises. To be specific, we can soon be expecting next-gen installments for the games Just Cause, Tomb Raider, Hitman, and Championship Manager. These sequels are expected to make their appearances on the PS3 and the Xbox 360. As for WHEN we would actually be able to expect these new games, Eidos remains vague:

In the light of the launch of the Sony PlayStation 3 in North America in November 2006 and its planned European launch in Spring 2007 we are assessing the timing of when to launch these titles on the appropriate next generation platforms.

The sequel to the third-person shooter Just Cause has already been announced back in October last year, and even though we have no idea on how far along this project is, Eidos assures everyone that it has already been in development, and that they "expect Just Cause to sell over one million units in the current financial year".

And so once again, the waiting begins.

Despite what the Internet has got to say about the matter, Hollywood star Timothy Olyphant denies reports that he's already been casted to play the role of Hitman's Agent 47 in a movie adaptation of the popular video game. According to him, he had been approached about the matter and it had been discussed before but "his involvement has been greatly exaggerated."

Olyphant also noted that the fact that he would have to shave his head bald in order to play the role is "a major concern".

Sigh. Here's to hoping that Vin Diesel changes his mind.

Vin Diesel facts: Riddick to most, Melkor to the D&D community, real name Mark Sinclair Vincent III. And for the videogaming community, up until now, the iRL face of one of gaming's most notorious cue-balls - Agent 47 of the Hitman game series. Did we mention he uses a gun and bucket for blood donations?

Unfortunately, as hinted in the clause "up until now," it ain't the case anymore. We just got word on the web that instead of casting Vin, the Hitman: Bloody Money movie production will be be picking actor Timothy Olyphant, famous for his role as Seth Bullock in the Deadwood TV series.

In related news, Swordfish writer Skip Woods will still be providing for the movie' screenplay. Co-producers for the film as of now include Luc Besson (The Fifth Element), Chuck Gordon, Adrian Askarieh, and Daniel Alter. Expect this 20th Century Fox film to be coming in as early as next year's fall.