The new decade may very well be kicking off with more Greek-inspired cinema. Frank Miller is in the middle of writing a sequel/prequel to his masterpiece 300, which producer Zack Snyder has declared interest in directing a film adaptation.
The follow-up graphic novel is rumoured to be titled Xerxes.
The latest instalment to the 300 saga is expected to focus on the battle of Marathon that took place about 10 years prior to the Battle of Thermopylae on which the 300 story is based.
The Marathon battle was the first Persian invasion of Greece.
When asked about the allure of ancient Greek legend as inspiration for his writing, Miller responded “Every generation returns to ancient Greece because, well, the stories are so damn good. The fact and the myth are inseparable and, believe me, when you go sailing for a while in the Aegean Sea, you start believing in Poseidon.”
The original film 300 was an adaptation of the graphic novel of the same title by Frank Miller.
It is a fictionalised version of the book directed by Snyder, and Miller also had a hand in executive producing and consulting for the feature.
The story focuses on King Leonidas of Spartan and his 300 men who fight against their Persian nemesis Xerxes and his army of more than one million soldiers. As the conflict escalates, Leonidas’ wife Queen Gorgo rallies support in Sparta for her husband.
300 was released in 2007 and the premier was the 24th largest in box office history.
The next film Xerxes is expected to be released in 2011