When five of the six top-grossing movies so far this year -- "Spider-Man 3," "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," "Transformers," "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" and "300" -- can be classified as genre movies, you know the big studios will continue to mine that lucrative money pit. Projects such as "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe," "Justice League" and "G.I. Joe" are in various states of production, but during the past week alone, three new high-profile properties have joined them in hopes of making it to the big screen.

Marvel Studios' "Thor" appears closest to filming, with Variety reporting that "Stardust" director Matthew Vaughn (who was originally supposed to direct "X-Men: The Last Stand") on board to helm the movie adaptation of one of their oldest characters. Unlike the mythological Norse god, Marvel's Thor is a blond hammer-wielding hero who tries to strike a balance between keeping his secret identity as Dr. Donald Blake and protecting mankind as a superhuman god. A script by Mark Protosevich (the upcoming "I Am Legend") has been completed, and the studio ambitiously hopes to start filming this winter.

25 years after California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's acting career first took off in "Conan the Barbarian," Millennium Films has won the movie rights to produce a new version of the ancient warrior. Warner Bros. had controlled the movie rights for the past seven years but lost them after overall rights holder Paradox Entertainment became frustrated with the lack of progress on a new feature, despite scripts turned in by the Wachowski Bros. and Robert Rodriguez. Somehow, with no new script or director, Millennium expects to begin production with a new "Conan" movie this spring (because it's always so good when you rush it -- not).

Finally, after the massive success of "Transformers," it's not surprising that another '80s cartoon series, "Voltron: Defender of the Universe," has been acquired by New Regency and distributor 20th Century Fox. Privately in the works for the past three years, the adaptation by screenwriter Justin Marks centers on five ragtag survivors who band together in a postapocalyptic world ravaged by an alien invasion. They end up piloting the five lion-shaped robots that combine to form the sword-wielding Voltron to drive the aliens from our planet. The producers' goal is to shoot the first installment of this potential franchise before the "magical" screenwriters strike date of July 1, but like "Conan," many pieces would have to fall into place quickly for that to happen. At least fans of each property are a little closer to seeing their heroes on the big screen.

Next column: Milla Jovovich and Ali Larter from the set of "Resident Evil: Extinction" and more.

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