Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer hits theaters this Friday, but spin-off news is already abound. Truth be told, spin-off news has followed the film since it was announced that the Surfer would be a part of the Fantastic Four sequel.

Rather than wait and see how audiences respond to a second mediocre Fantastic Four movie (which I still think will be this summer’s bomb – we’re long overdue), the Los Angeles Times is reporting a writer has already been hired to craft the script. The writer mentioned by name? “Babylon 5” creator (and current “Amazing Spider-Man” scribe) J. Michael Straczynski.

I’m not 100% sure of this news, despite the source. It’s true JMS has recently penned a Silver Surfer title (“Silver Surfer: Requiem”) but most of the places “in the know” don’t have any info on Straczynski doing a movie script – not even a hint from the writer. With Babylon 5: Lost Tales out shortly on DVD and numerous other irons in the fire, I just don’t see the writer adapting the Surfer for a spin-off, especially as the project could quickly have the plug pulled if this weekend’s box office isn’t up to Fox’s expectations.

The early reviews on FF: Rise of the Silver Surfer have been mixed so far, with fans even accusing Fox of stuffing the ballot box a little with faked fan reports. I guess we’ll see what happens this weekend.

News via ComingSoon since the Times requires subscriptions to see the article.