Frank Miller’s possible 300 prequel
300 set the record for highest-grossing March release ever, quite a feat for a film based on Greek mythology. Since then there have been reports that Frank Miller is working on a sequel. Coincidentally, the aughts have seen a great deal of films based on Greek mythology. In an article in The LA Times’ Hero Complex, Geoff Boucher explores this resurgence of Greek mythology in popular culture and sheds some light on Frank Miller’s “Xerxes.”
Zach Snyder, director of 300, has already expressed interest in “Xerxes” as a film property. The film will begin ten years prior to the events of 300m thus making it a prequel and not a sequel to 300. Xerxes is the name of the Persian King, played by Rodrigo Santoro, who led the Persians to Greece in 300.
Where 300 centered on the defeat of the Spartans at the battle of Thermopylae by Persian hands, “Xerxes” deals with the battle of Marathon where the Greeks defeated Persian forces. Miller said, “It’s the battle of Marathon through my lens.”
Much progress has been made on the graphic novel, as Miller said, “I’ve finished the plot and I’m getting started on the artwork.”
In history, it was Xerxes’ father who fought the Battle of Marathon and, according to Wikipedia, “Darius left to his son the task of punishing the Athenians, Naxians, and Eretrians for their interference in the Ionian Revolt and their victory over the Persians at Marathon.” So perhaps, “Xerxes” will play as a coming-of-age story.
Source LA Times via MTV Splash Page
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