A couple weeks ago Joe Carnahan was debating publicly about what movie would be his next project. Would it be the Pablo Escobar bio Killing Pablo or the big screen adaptation of White Jazz? Earlier this week Smokin’ Joe posted a mysterious photo on his blog (seen to the right) of Juggernaut from the X-Men series of comic books. Joe posted only the following words with the photo:

“I’ll let you guys go nuts on this one…”

Rumors have started to circulate the fanboy message boards that Carnahan might be directing a new Marvel project, possibly even an X-Men spin-off movie. When I interviewed Joe last year for Smokin’ Aces, he dropped not one but three separate comic book references into the conversation. He gleefully told me how Jeremy Piven’s card throwing abilities were influenced by Daredevil comics, and how one moment in particular was influenced by a specific issue that he read as a kid. Joe even recited the issue number off the top of his head. So Joe clearly has (or had) an interest in comics, and a comic book adaptation could easily be in his future.

That said, I don’t think this is the case at all. My people are telling me that Carnahan is again prepping to film White Jazz next, possibly as soon as January. While I don’t know anything solid, I’m guessing that Carnahan just signed Vinnie Jones (who played Juggernaut in the recent X-Men: The Last Stand) to a part in the new film (George Ainge maybe?).