Guess who’s coming to dinner? In the Hulk movie, I mean.

Oh, weekend. You have been so good to me.

There’s a certain cameo in The Incredible Hulk, which opens next Friday, that’s supposed to be a secret but has already been widely reported online.

And given the recent success of the, um, character behind the cameo in question, the folks at Marvel Comics have apparently decided to let the supersonic metal cat out of the bag early.

If you don’t mind being spoiled, watch this brand new official television commercial:

UPDATE: The video has been moved to here.

This is a brilliant move.

It ties the Marvel movie universe together and gives some wonderful advance buzz for Hulk.

And the CGI has improved by leaps and bounds since the original trailer.

And Liv Tyler’s in it.

Liv Tyler’s in it!

And maybe she’ll wear a Cosby sweater.

A Cosby sweater!

"Batman has no limits."

Somebody please come over and hold my hand to calm me down.

I might be hyperventilating a little bit.

Because life is beautiful.

Our good friend Stephanie from the Girls Entertainment Network just gave me the heads-up about a new video feature previewing The Dark Knight on IMAX.

So zip on over to Batman on Film, operated by another of our good friends, Mr. Bill Ramey, for some more information, and then …

… put on your seat belt …

… and click here.

Click the Videos link.

Select the IMAX Featurette.

Or just save the High Definition version by right-clicking and saving this link.

Oh, man.

Whoa, man.

Most of it is footage from the trailer, cut in with interview footage with writer/director Christopher Nolan and cinematographer Wally Pfister.

But.

There are some breathtaking new views of Gotham City … and some great new facial gymnastics from Heath Ledger’s Joker … and Harvey Dent spinning a coin …

… and …

… there’s a shot of Bruce Wayne out of the Batman costume, and he’s got tons of scars and bruises all over his back, and it’s exactly like the famous Alex Ross painting!

Alfred warns him to know his limits.

“Batman has no limits.”

And then there’s some footage of Batman and The Joker locked together in an interrogation room, and The Joker lets out this hissing laugh that’s utterly inhuman.

And there is no way I’m going to last until July 18.

Watch the new footage!

Here are a couple of Hulk things …

… for you to chew on this fine Thursday morning.

First up, I’ve made a big deal on this blog about how excited I am that Ed Norton wrote the script for The Incredible Hulk, in which he’s also playing the lead.

But when you see the movie, you won’t see Norton’s name as a writer in the credits.

Are you kidding me?

According to this story on IESB, Zak Penn will be receiving sole credit for story and screenplay.

It was Penn’s script that Norton rewrote, but the Writers Guild of America apparently didn’t think he deserved credit upon arbitration.

Pfffft.

And so it is.

I think it’s a bunch of crap, but what can you do?

Oh, well. Just remember that if you like what the actors are saying, you should be thanking Ed Norton for his contributions that, though uncredited, were undoubtedly priceless and pivotal.

And while I was reading that story, I noticed another IESB headline about the first review of the movie that you can read here.

A snippet:

The new Incredible Hulk movie couldn’t be more different to its 2003 predecessor …

Straight-forward where the first movie was convoluted, action-packed where Hulk dithered, The Incredible Hulk dispenses with whatever back-story and exposition there is over the film’s opening credit sequence. No tortured unresolved oedipal conflicts here!

Except for one or two quiet moments shared by Banner and his girlfriend while on the lam, Incredible Hulk doesn’t waste a single frame on dull talky exposition. It is all plot-driven and action-filled.

The Incredible Hulk never runs out of steam. Put simply: this is the movie which audiences wanted to see back in 2003.

Sounds good to me.

And we’ll find out in a week!