A few weeks ago, Epic Games vice-president Mark Rein said that rumors that Epic Games would be bought by Electronic Arts were "rubbish". Now Variety has word from what they call are "multiple sources" (all unnamed) that Epic is in talks to be purchased by movie company Legendary Pictures.

The movie financing company has gotten its money from a number of Wall Street investors and currently has a five year deal with Warner Bros. Studios to co-finance films like Batman Begins, Superman Returns, 300, and The Dark Knight. Legendary is also helping to develop the upcoming Watchmen and World of Warcraft films and signed a deal to co-finance a Gears of War movie adaptation. It's unknown why Legendary feels buying a game developer will be a help to their business, although Epic's licensing of their Unreal Engine has made it more than just a simple game studio for some time.

In his Cut Scene blog, Variety reporter Ben Fritz admits that this deal may not go though but he states, "I can assure you based on my reporting that there are serious talks going on." However when Big Download contacted Epic VP Mark Rein for comment he replied, "It is just another rumor."