Legendary Pictures wants more 300. And no surprise since the film made its own history as the third highest grossing R rating movie ever. The good news is Frank Miller is writing the graphic novel that the company wants to turn into a 300 prequel or sequel. The bad news, sequel wise, is the bulk of the cast died in 300.
When last we saw King Leonidas and his men they were lying in a bloody heap. The brave 300 had fought their last stand at the Hot Gates in the Battle of Thermopylae. Sparta and Greece were saved to fight another day and the war between Persia and Greece continued. We know this from the historian Herodotus and because David Wenham as the story teller Dilios told us so.
There’s a treasure trove of history to be mined from the earlier Greco-Persian wars when Xerxes father Darius was on the throne or if Miller’s going sequel rather than prequel the Wars didn’t end at Thermopylae.
In other words, there’s lots of blood waiting to be spilt.
I have to reveal that Miller’s five comic book series turned graphic novel has long been a favorite of mine. Zach Snyder brought it beautifully to life in a film that looked like nothing else that had been made before.
300 put Snyder on the map as a director enabling him to get the millions he needed to film Watchmen and the film made Scottish actor Gerard Butler who played King Leonidas, a star.
Rumors about a follow-up were floating around, but caught fire when Snyder talked about it at the Saturn awards where 300 picked up awards for best director and best action film. Legendary has also co financed Snyder’s Watchmen with Warner Bros.
So, is this a good idea? For starters it’s a good sign Legendary wants Miller to come up with something first. Which moment in the history of the Greco-Persian wars will Miller choose to dramatize and can he mine gold from that era in history again?
As a little side note if anyone wants more of the famed 300 on film, it would be really nice to see Steven Pressfield’s great novel “Gates of Fire” turned into a film. George Clooney had the rights for a while, but nothing came of it. King Leonidas takes a back seat in Pressfield’s account of the Spartans and the Battle of Thermopylae and the story is told through the unique view of a young man who wants to be a Spartan.
Meanwhile we can wait and have some confidence that Frank Miller with his formidable talent, will come up with something that would be a worth prequel or sequel to 300.
Original story found via Collider, confirmed via Variety
What do you think of a 300 sequel, are you with it or against it?