As the world awaits the next Batman, Superman, Spider-Man and X-Men films, producer Joel Silver has two lesser-known comic-book movies likely to hit screens next, and he updated us on them and his other upcoming movies in a group interview last weekend in Hollywood, where he was promoting Ninja Assassin.

Lobo. Lobo is a DC Comics character for mature audiences, an alien antihero who exterminated his own race. He has super strength, healing and smell and frequently swears with words like "frag" and "bastich." Silver wouldn't reveal whether the big alien Lobo would be created on a computer or with prosthetic makeup, but he has already commissioned a promising test. "We just did a big test, and the studio just saw it, so we're seeing how we're going to pull that off," Silver said. "It's up to the studio to make the decision what they want to do, so I'm waiting to see if they want to make that movie."

Sgt. Rock. Also from DC Comics, Sgt. Rock is a World War II soldier with superhuman endurance and strength, a crack shot who can bring down planes with a machine gun. I Am Legend director Francis Lawrence has impressed Silver with a way to make a new movie about Rock. "Francis has got a real vision for this thing, and if we can pull it off it'll be a great movie," Silver said.

Swamp Thing. In September, Silver announced plans to make a new Swamp Thing movie in 3-D. Silver confirmed that the project is moving along but probably won't be ready in time for Halloween 2010. "I don't think it'll be that soon, but we're working on it," Silver said. "It's happening, so we'll see what happens. I mean, it's something I'm excited about doing, and I want to hopefully pull that off, so we're working on that now."

Sherlock Holmes 2. The new update of Sherlock Holmes opens Christmas Day, but Warner Brothers president of production Jeff Robinov has already ordered a sequel. "There's an article in Entertainment Weekly this week about Sherlock," Silver said. "[Robinov's] quote said, 'If the movie's a hit, I want to get the sequel going as fast as possible.' So he just came right out there and said that. I would have just waited until the movie opened first, but he wanted people to know that's what they want to do. In fact, we have a script being written, and if the picture does work, you'll be seeing another one, I hope, pretty soon." Silver added that the first Sherlock, starring Robert Downey Jr., clocks in at just over two hours.

The Apparition. Silver also has plans to make a leading lady out of Twilight co-star Ashley Greene. New Moon's Alice Cullen will star in the ghost story that Silver is producing. "She came and met with us, and she really wanted to do this kind of movie," Silver said. "I mean, she does have some clearly ... strong genre chops. She wanted to do it, and she's a very beautiful girl, and we thought it was a good person for the movie, and so we made a deal. It's a ghost story. That's all I'll tell you now."

Ninja Assassin opens tomorrow.