All the rumors swirling about a sequel/prequel of 300 just got a new boost now that director Zack Snyder told IGN at the Comic Con this weekend that he’s basically just waiting for Frank Miller’s draft of the comic. Snyder said that there’s a lot of Spartan history to draw inspiration from. He also hinted that even though his character King Leonidas died at the end of the movie, he doesn’t rule out Gerard Butler coming back in some form. Ha, if that’s true, Gerry better starts training pronto to get his 8-pack back. He’s been kind of plump lately, even on CNN’s review of The Ugly Truth, he’s called a ‘potato-faced Russell Crowe with a lot less charm.’ Ouch!
Speaking of Crowe, have you heard of the rejected Gladiator 2 script that was uncovered this past May? Apparently Crowe himself enlisted a fellow Aussie goth rocker (and sometimes screenplay writer) Nick Cave to write it. The supernatural-themed script has to be one of the most bizarre and preposterous scripts ever written. For those of you who haven’t seen Gladiator (would you just put it on your Netflix already?), Crowe’s character Maximus died at the end, but Cave’s script resurrected him by having the Roman gods reincarnate him and send him back to Rome. But it doesn’t stop there, according to the detailed review of it by Gone Elsewhere blog, the century-spanning script has Maximus stood up for early Christian rebels, as well as taking him to WW II and modern day Pentagon! [shakes head] No wonder the studios dismissed the script, deeming it too over the top despite thumbs up from Crowe and the original director Ridley Scott. The script itself seems like a hoot and craftily-written, but I can’t imagine it working as a sequel to such a classic film. I couldn’t even finish reading it, I mean I LOVE Gladiator and Maximus is one of my favorite cinematic characters, but what Cave wrote is just too out there and weird for my taste. Check it out for yourself (download the PDF) and let me know what you think.
I personally think they should leave masterpieces alone, why mess with perfection, you know? In the history of sequels/prequels, only a tiny handful of them actually works (The Lord of the Rings, Toy Story) but most sequels are craps driven merely by profits. Alas, they probably will do a sequel to both of them in the future, those suits in Hollywood just can’t resist it with the popularity of swords & sandals flicks popping up again (see my previous post). In fact, I just saw a promo shot of Jake Gyllenhaal as the Prince of Persia on the latest EW magazine at Barnes & Noble today. Jake’s looking very Ryan Reynolds-like with his new buff physique, but sorry I just don’t see him as a bad @$$ hero the way Crowe in Gladiator or Butler did in 300. It’s more than just the body IMO, it’s the panache/charisma of the actor that makes the character believable.
Anyhoo, enough with the sequel talks. I think Hollywood ought to invest in a fresh new crop of writers instead of doing the same thing over and over again.
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Well, I don’t mind seeing the hard bodies though if they do sequels! HAHA!
Too funny Juliet, but not sure if the actors are up to that task. Both of them have definitely lost their hard-earned physique (no pun intended), but even if they get their washboard abs back, looks alone CAN’T carry a flick!
I would love to see a prequel to 300, showing more of the everyday history of the Spartans, Leonidas’ relationship with his wife and family, fewer battles and less CGI, ala the HBO Rome series. That would totally make moot the fact that he dies at the end. But that might not sell so good in Hollywood or with die-hard 300 fans. But after seeing Gerry on the talk show circuit last week, he’s in much better shape, actually REALLY good shape since he filmed The Ugly Truth. Check out his appearance in the black T-shirt on Craig Ferguson, nothing to complain about there!
I don’t think a 300 sequel would work,becuase it was only succesful becuase of the gratuitous violence, i mean lets be honest, no one watched 300 for the story telling. But now that Leonidas is dead and Xerxes defeated, what would they do? They couldnt even call it 300 becuase Thermopale is done
As for Gladiator, you couldnt do a prequel becuase is goes over his past in the original movie, so idk where they are planning on going. Good luck Hollywood.