Counting Down to 300 Sequel
For Greece! For glory! For ripped guys in skimpy armor!
Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. are looking for a plot to hang a follow-up to 300 on, as they try to repeat the surprise blockbuster success of the 2006 flick adapted from Frank Miller’s graphic novel.
Fanboys will be heartened to know that, according to Variety, original director Zack Snyder is being wooed for the next installment, which will be based on a new graphic novel from the acclaimed comic-book writer.
The problem is exactly who will be going to war this time around, considering nearly all of 300’s main characters were killed off at the end of the first film, including Gerard Butler and his heroic pecs. Butler’s testosterone-fueled King Leonidas led Sparta’s small yet fierce army in a doomed but inspiring standoff against the Persians in the Battle of Thermopylae.
Miller must work out whether the new saga will be a prequel, a sequel or a possible spinoff headlining those who survived the brutal fighting, and whether there will be a number referenced in the title (150? 600? 3,000?).
The 300 follow-up isn’t the only swords-and-sandals epic in the works. Legendary is also hatching a remake to 1981’s Clash of the Titans under the direction of The Incredible Hulk helmer Louis Leterrier. Relativity Media, meanwhile, is developing a project entitled War of Gods. No word when those will unspool.
Snyder’s next film, Watchmen, an action sci-fi fantasy following a vigilante who investigates the murder of an ex-superhero, hits theaters next March. And Miller is set to make his directing debut with an adaptation of his graphic novel The Spirit, due out this Christmas.
Mark Wahlberg Talks Aronofsky’s The Fighter, The Departed 2 and 3
According to Mark Wahlberg, Darren Aronofsky’s The Fighter will begin filming this October. Awesome. You may remember that the film, a biopic on badass pugilist “Irish” Micky Ward, gained considerable traction in the press last year when Wahlberg and others compared it to a “new Raging Bull.” Brad Pitt later signed on to co-star as Ward’s brother/trainer, which was a welcome surprise after his casting debacle on Aronofsky’s The Fountain.
“I’ve been training for two years now. I’m ready,” Wahlberg told MTV. “I want to look like a champ, not a chump. …I want to do [Ward] proud. The guy did everything I wish I could have done. He came from nothing, went on to win the world title with all the odds stacked against him.”
Ward fought throughout the mid-’80s and ’90s, but he’s best remembered for three battles with Arturo Gotti in the early Oughts, two of which went down as the greatest in the history of the sport. Ward lost each one, but, well click here for a surreal refresher. Earlier this year, Aronofsky (Pi, Requiem for a Dream) wrapped up filming on the white trash indie epic, The Wrestler, starring Mickey Rourke (release date TBA), so if all goes as planned, we’ll be getting one helluva manly double feature to convert us into jittery pacifists. Somebody combine the Requiem for a Dream score with the YouTube link above to induce insta-goosebumps.
Wahlberg also updated on The Departed 2…
“They’re [still] developing it,” Wahlberg sighed. “If it can be better than the first, then great. I’ll be all for it. I’m not interested in going for the paycheck. I love ‘Godfather 2’ but, then again, I don’t like ‘Godfather 3.’”
Everybody wants to be The Godfather 2 these days, eh? Nothing revelatory in the quote above, but he also mentions the possibility of a Departed 3 (a prequel a la Infernal Affairs 2) as well…
“We may do another one, because it’s based on a Hong Kong film [’Infernal Affairs’], and there is a trilogy. So we may do a sequel with a new cast, and a prequel and bring back the rest of the guys…”
That would make for some heavy dream team assembling.
300 Sequel News
Collider spoke with 300 producers Mark Canton, Gianni Nunnari and Bernie Goldmann at the recent Saturn Awards and got them to reveal that not only are they working on a Blu-ray edition of the film but they’re also planning a sequel and/or prequel. Frank Miller is busy working on a brand new story and director Zack Snyder says that if they think it could work as a movie, they’re going to make it!
I know some people would prefer 300 to stay as a standalone film, however this is Hollywood. 300 was a surprise hit for Warner Bros, having septupled (x7) its budget, so it makes business sense to jump on the sequel bandwagon.
What are your thoughts?
300 Prequel/Sequel Moving Forward
Earlier today, Peter reported on the race to the screen between two new Greek mythology epics inspired by 300. The flip side of this news is that both director Zack Snyder and 300 producers, Mark Canton and Gianni Nunnari (who are also producing one the aforementioned epics) confirmed to Collider at the Saturn Awards that a 300 sequel/prequel is finally bubbling.
“We’re working on sequel of 300, the prequel of 300,” said Nunnari. Canton chimed in with, “We’re looking to do another 300 and we’re looking for Frank Miller and Zack to do their thing. …Because we’ve had obviously around the world quite seriously such an amazing journey. It keeps on going. We’re talking about the genius of Frank Miller and Zack Snyder.”
In a separate interview, Snyder confirmed that if “something is cool” they’ll do it (isn’t this Hollywood’s MO right now?)…
“Yeah, I’ve talked to Frank a little bit about it, and he’s going to do something, I think he’s going to draw something. We’ll see what he does. If something’s cool we’ll make a movie out of it,” said Snyder.
There you have it! He’s going to draw something. For over a year, news about a follow-up to the game-changing green screen money maker has floated about the Net. Back in March ‘07, Miller was said to be prepping one, even. As for a storyline, nothing was offered up in these interviews. Previously some readers suggested that “a sequel could be made using 10,000: The Battle of Plataea or the naval Battle of Salamis.” Of note: Snyder is interested in returning, whereas some speculated that Miller—with The Spirit already campaigning hard in Geek Land—would helm.
Up next for Snyder after Watchmen is the animated owl fantasy, Guardians of Ga’Hoole. He also has The Tattooed Man on the burner. He is also quite flabbergasted that some people don’t “get” the commentary that is nippled regalia in Watchmen.
Resurrected Discuss: Uh oh. Some commenters below still feel with a certain passion that 300 was not “historically accurate.”