Joy! More sweaty, chiseled dudes in loincloths and naked chests. Tell me again why guys loved 300 so much, cuz I don't see it. Anyway, with Zack Snyder far too busy crafting the adventures of the Man of Steel, Warner Brothers pushed ahead with a sequel titled 300: Battle of Artemisia, with a script by Snyder and co-writer Kirk Johnstad. Based on a graphic novel by Frank Miller, the story will take place a decade before the battle at Thermopylae, and deal with the Xerxes' attempt to gain godhood. A number of directors were on a shortlist for the job with the two lead dogs being Jaume Collet-Serra(Orphan
) and Noam Murro(Smart People
). Now it appears Warner Brothers has landed on Murro for the gig.Makes sense, since the studio only just a day ago pegged Collet-Serra for their troubled Akira
adaptation. Murro is relatively untested as a director, having helmed the plodding and unfunny Smart People. He's been linked to the possible Die Hard 5 flick nobody wants to see, but lord knows when that'll get off the ground. Hopefully never. Murro's real claim to fame comes from those awesome Halo:Reach TV spots from awhile back, but that doesn't sell me on his ability to handle a film like this. He'll be expected to match or surpass the distinctive look Snyder presented, and I don't know if he can do that. I guess we'll see. Another question I have is in the portrayal of Xerxes. Rodrigo Santoro played the lanky and somewhat androgynous ruler in the first film. Will he be coming back for this one?
