Kevin Smith isn't the only film scribe on board for Heroes: Origins.

Word is circulating that both Eli Roth (Hostel) and Michael Dougherty (Superman Returns, X-Men 2) are preparing to write and/or direct episodes.

The six-episode Heroes: Origins will launch in the spring, after the main show's sophomore run has ended. It will focus on characters not previously seen on the series. Viewers will then vote on which new Heroes they'd like to see join the mother ship for Season 3.

We've already heard from one new member of the Heroes cast today, David Anders.

Now, here are a few snippets of an interview Dania Ramirez conducted recently with IGN TV:

IGN TV: You've had a busy year, so I'm curious if you even had a chance to see Heroes last season before you went in for the part.
Dania Ramirez: Well, actually I saw it all before I started working on the season. I hadn't seen it all when prior to starting the second season. I knew about the show, of course. I think there's about nine people in the world that have never heard of the show.

So I'd heard of it, but I'd never watched it prior to them wanting to test me, partially because I was in New York for a long period of time filming the last season of Sopranos and then I was doing a film, so I was just busy, so I hadn't really caught up in watching the show.

But right before I tested, one of my really good friends, who's such a huge fan, when I told her, she was like "Oh my god! You're crazy, you have to be on this show!" And she came over to my house and she had all the episodes from iTunes, and we just sat down and watched. And by episode eight, I just couldn't stop watching! I was obsessed!

IGN TV: So how excited were you when you actually got the role?
Ramirez: Oh my god, honestly, I'm blessed. The producers and I think some of the writers had seen my work on Sopranos, and so they wanted me to come in for anything at one point. Then eventually [Heroes executive producer] Tim Kring said he was creating a Latin character and they were like "Oh, let's look at this girl." So when they called me, and had me test, they never opened the audition to anybody else. They wanted me to be good and nail it and all I had to do was not mess it up. No pressure! [Laughs]

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You'll meet David Anders tonight, on the season premiere of Heroes. First, though, get to know the actor a bit in the following interview:

Q: Did you watch the first season of Heroes?
A: I only really watched the first three or four episodes.

Q: So you weren't like a huge fan of the show then?
A: I can't say that I was, but obviously I would love to be on a show that is watched by 20 million people.

Q: Yeah, did they come looking for you specifically for this character or did you have to go an audition? How did you get involved with Heroes?
A: Yeah, it was an audition for a character with two contrasting scenes. I didn't know what to make of what was actually written for the audition. But you know I came in and did the English thing. It was my impersonation of Peter O'Toole. Then, they asked me to come back in and tone down the O'Toole a little bit, but still sound English. Then, I got the part a couple of weeks later.

Q: Cool. The character you play on Heroes is pretty interesting. We probably expect the character to be Asian, but as you said this character is English.
A: Yeah, nothing is as what it seems in the Heroes world.

Q: Why did you want audition for this role? You were just a good villain on Alias, did you just want to be a "hero" this time?
A: I don't know. I guess I have the market cornered as far as an American with working papers that can play a Brit. I've been saying that I'm an English actor born in Oregon. I guess this is the English part of my career. I've also been really lucky to get on proven hits after the first season, and become a series regular. I'm very fortunate.

Q: Yeah. Is it hard to join a show with an established and successful cast already?
A: No, I went through the same situation with Alias. Everyone in this ginormous cast of like 15 regulars has been very cool and welcoming. I've worked primarily with Masi Oka and I have had a great time with him helping me with my Japanese.

Q: Right. Did you get the chance to participate in the "Heroes World Tour" that the others did?
A: No, I didn't. I think mainly because my character is new and very secretive, and they were all out there promoting the first season on that tour. There were a few people on the tour who weren't in the first season, though. I know Dania Ramirez was on that tour and she hadn't done an episode yet until the second season premiere. (Laughs) I asked that question. I was like "what the heck?! I would like to go on that tour!" But I understand, I don't want me and my big mouth to blow it.

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Don't ask Adrian Pasdar for any Heroes spoilers. Seriously, he won't reveal a thing. He told Hollywood.com as much in a recent interview:

Hollywood.com: So how fun is it for you to do interviews and not be able to say ANYTHING about the new season of Heroes?
Adrian Pasdar: It's very frustrating. Hard to be able to have your hands tied and your lips sealed. Last year we were asked to talk to anybody who'd listen. This year we're asked not to say a word.

HW: Are you surprised at the amount of people that know exactly who you are now?
AP: Yeah. It's always impressive. You forget. You work on a TV show and it takes just as much effort to make a bad show as it does a good one. And God knows I've been part of enough good and bad in my career, so it just feels like going to work and then you step back from it and realize that there's 170 countries that rocketed this thing to number one in every market it's debuted in, so there's an international aspect to it.

It's global. I mean it's not just a small little show anymore.

The Heroes PR machine is in full swing.

Masi Oka is in the latest cover of Entertainment Weekly.

And now, three of the beautiful actresses from the show are featured on TV Guide. Check out Kristen Bell, Hayden Panettiere and Ali Larter below:

Ali Larter is not shy.

Listen to this story the Heroes actress relayed recently to Cosmopolitan magazine.

"I told my boyfriend after three weeks that I wanted to marry him and that we could do it tomorrow," the actress said.

And while the pair isn't hitched yet, Larter and actor Hayes MacArthur (who appears in the upcoming film The Game Plan) have enjoyed a steady two-year relationship.

"Now that I'm actually in love, I know that what came before wasn't real," she said. "It's about being there for each other through the ups and downs of life."

Overall, one might wonder where this brazen attitude comes from? The answer: Ali's native state. She grew up far away from the Hollywood spotlight.

"I'll always be a Jersey girl," Larter said. "I don't always get my way, but you'll know exactly how I feel about it."

During an interview on Friday with Ellen DeGeneres, the talk show host jokingly (we assume) grilled Heroes star Masi Oka about his Emmy date – and new costar – Kristen Bell.

"Is there a little something going on?" Ellen asked about their relationship, as reported by People magazine.

A shy Oka responded: "Kristin is an absolutely amazing individual both on and off screen. We're great friends. Everyone has a crush on her."

Oh, really, Masi? No wonder DeGeneres pressed on, ribbing the actor and inquiring: "So you do have a crush on her?"

"Everyone does," Oka replied, laughing when DeGeneres would not drop it. "Is she a good kisser or not?" she asked.

As audience members cracked up, Oka simply said: "I'm sure she is."

Hmmm... maybe we should add these two to the Heroes gossip mill, along with Hayden Panettiere and Milo Ventimiglia.

We've already introduced Heroes fans to the following new characters and actors. But Entertainment Weekly has a helpful new feature on them in its latest issue, so we wanted to provide even more insight with it...

MONICA DAWSON
(Dana Davis)
Monica enters in episode 4 from New Orleans with an unspecified ability. She works to support her brother and grandmother (Nichelle Nichols), while developing a bond with her cousin Micah (Noah Gray-Cabey).

''She's a good girl with a good heart,'' says Davis. ''Her life's been taken from her, and she's looking for a way out.''

ELLE
(Kristen Bell)
Tim Kring calls this character ''a little unstable'' and ''a cautionary tale of what our Heroes could become.'' Does that mean Elle could be a villain? She reportedly has ties to the Petrelli clan and the Bennets.

''Elle has trouble knowing right from wrong. She holds a piece of Claire's future,'' says Bell, who admits, ''Heroes was the watercooler discussion at Veronica Mars.''

TEKEZO KENSEI
(David Anders)
In reality, turns out that Hiro's Hero isn't the ancient legend he's hyped up to be. According to Anders: ''He is a drunk Englishman and a hired hitman, essentially.

But he does have powers, and when they're revealed, Kring says, ''they'll have major ramifications for the entire Heroes world.''

MAYA HERRERA
(Dania Ramirez)
The abilities possessed by twins Maya and Alejandro work in tandem. Ramirez was actually unfamiliar with Heroes when she auditioned, but got hooked when she did her homework.

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Executive Producer Greg Beeman runs his own blog about the series. He recently updated it with a bit of information about the planning of season two. You can check it out here.

Below, though, we're posted a series of candid Heroes photos taken by Beeman, as well as his thoughts/captions regarding the actors in them.

Enjoy:

New regulars Dania Ramirez and Shalim Ortiz star as Maya and Alejandro, respectively. Beema says they will "hook up with one of last year's [Heroes] in a surprising way.

David Anders stars as a samurai warrior. Even though, yes, he's white.

Meet another new Hero: Dana Davis stars as Monica.

Beeman said artist Tim Sale (who drew all of Isaac's creations on the show) made this shirt for Jack Coleman during Comic-Con. We love it.

Greetings, Heroes Fanatic followers.

We're excited to report that the site now includes a fully updated Heroes music library.

Browse through songs and artists from the season premiere, "Genesis," through the season finale, "How to Stop an Exploding Man." Just look how excited Claire is over this news:

Come back after every episode in season two for updates to the section. Enjoy.