There's been a few Spore expansion packs and console ports, but could Electronic Arts be planning an entirely new franchise spinoff...with potentially darker overtones? Judging by three different trademark filings they made for "Darkspore," then yes, maybe they are.

The trademark filings were found by Superannuation, and whatever "Darkspore" actually is, EA evidently plans to milk the hell out of it: The three different trademark filings cover videogames, online games, handheld games, movies, action figures, playing cards, and more -- you know, the sort of merchandizing you might expect to see a franchise like Spore bleed into.

What's more, there's also the business of an EA financial report from earlier in the year, which revealed a new Spore title was planned for release sometime before March, 2011. So while nothing's yet confirmed, it does seem pretty likely EA may soon reveal a new Spore game sporting a decidedly evil emover (because as we all know, the emover has replaced the moustache as the telltale sign of evil).