Strange days are upon us. Now that Disney has acquired Marvel Studios for $4 billion, the company is anxious to begin harvesting superheroes from the comic book line of stars. And first up just might be 'Dr. Strange.' According to a report at Deadline Hollywood, Marvel has hired new 'Conan' writers Thomas Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer to write a screenplay for the hero, which Savoy Pictures, Columbia Pictures, Dimension Films and Paramount have tried to bring to the screen before Marvel got the rights back. Created by Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, Dr. Strange first appeared in 1963; the good doctor was a New York surgeon who turned to the supernatural and paranormal to fight off evil-doers after a car accident damaged his hands. Marvel has four more films committed to be distributed through Paramount: 'Iron-Man 3,' 'Thor,' 'The First Avenger: Captain America,' and most likely 'The Avengers,' but that doesn't preclude them from beginning work on new projects. Strange days are upon us. Now that Disney has acquired Marvel Studios for $4 billion, the company is anxious to begin harvesting superheroes from the comic book line of stars. And first up just might be 'Dr. Strange.' According to a report at Deadline Hollywood, Marvel has hired new 'Conan' writers Thomas Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer to write a screenplay for the hero, which Savoy Pictures, Columbia Pictures, Dimension Films and Paramount have tried to bring to the screen before Marvel got the rights back. Created by Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, Dr. Strange first appeared in 1963; the good doctor was a New York surgeon who turned to the supernatural and paranormal to fight off evil-doers after a car accident damaged his hands. Marvel has four more films committed to be distributed through Paramount: 'Iron-Man 3,' 'Thor,' 'The First Avenger: Captain America,' and most likely 'The Avengers,' but that doesn't preclude them from beginning work on new projects.

Kristen Bell is in talks to go 'Whales' watching with Drew Barrymore and John Krasinski. The film, set at the end of the Cold War in 1988, tells the true story of a small-town news reporter (Krasinski) and a Greenpeace volunteer (Barrymore) who turn to the rival superpowers to help save three majestic gray whales trapped under the ice in the Arctic Circle, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Bell will play a Los Angeles reporter who uses her good looks to scramble to the big time. The Universal film will be directed by Ken Kwapis.

Michelle Monaghan, Madeline Carroll, Kathy Baker and Souleymane Sy Savane have been corralled by Lionsgate to star in 'Machine Gun Preacher,' the Gerard Butler-starring drama based on the true story of Sam Childers, a once violent drug-dealing biker who went on to spend time in the most dangerous parts of Sudan and Uganda rescuing the youngest victims of war, according to Variety. Monaghan and Carroll will portray Childer's wife and daughter, Baker plays his mother, Savane plays Childers' right hand in Africa, and previously announced Michael Shannon will portray his friend. The film is being directed by Marc Forster, with shooting scheduled to begin July 5 in Detroit and South Africa for a fall 2011 release.

Warner Bros. is conjuring a little magic with 'Carter Beats the Devil,' Glen David Gold's fictionalized biography of magician Carter the Great, who plied his trade in the early part of the 20th century, sawing women in half, causing elephants to disappear and cheating death at the gallows. The novel is set into motion by Carter's relationship with President Warren G. Harding, who passes on to him a secret about the creation of television by Philo Farnsworth before he mysteriously dies; the magician's past is told in flashbacks as he is being investigated by the Secret Service. The project was originally in development at Paramount in 2002 for Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner to produce. [Variety]