It seems Warner Bros.’ 300 spin-off is having a bit of an identity crisis, starting with the title; originally being called Xerxes, after Frank Miller’s prequel comic by the same name, only to be renamed 300: Battle of Artemisia. But even now, that title isn’t official and may change later on.

As a matter of fact, not even the plot is official. It was originally pegged as a prequel, but that’s now an uncertainty. The current word is that the film is “neither a prequel or a sequel and that the filmmakers are still figuring out its positioning.” So possibly a film taking place at the same time but from a different perspective? Who knows?

Well, today’s news has nothing to do with a title change or plot news, but rather the fact that the first actor is in final negotiations to join the historical epic. According to Variety, that actor is none other than Sullivan Stapleton, most notable for his role in the Australian film Animal Kingdom, as well in the upcoming Gangster Squad.

So who will he play? Well, it was originally speculated that the actor would portray Xerxes – the central antagonist in 300 played by Rodrigo Santaro – but it’s looking likely he’ll play Themistocles, “the famed archon and general who led the Greeks to victory against the invading Persians in 480 BCE”. Regardless to who he will play, Stapleton is in talks to be the main character.

Though not official yet, Eva Green (Casino Royale) is reportedly finalizing a deal to join the film as Artemisa, a fact-based character formulated in Kurt Johnstadt and Zack Snyder’s screenplay. On that note, Snyder is also producing, but is giving up the director’s chair Noam Murro due to the scheduling of Snyder’s Man Of Steel.

Like I stated before, the plot has not yet been confirmed but it may be safe to bet that it might somewhat resemble the plot to Miller’s Xerxes comic:

“This is a more complex story. The story is so much larger. The Spartans in ’300? were being enclosed by the page as the world got smaller. This story has truly vast subjects. The Athenian naval fleet, for instance, is a massive artistic undertaking and it [sic] dwarfed by the Persian fleet, which is also shown in this story. The story has elements of espionage, too, and it’s a sweeping tale with gods and warriors.”

So things may not seem stable or official just yet, it’s still good to see the film actually getting on track and out of production limbo. With that being said, it can almost be certain that the film will take a less stylized, artistic approach than Snyder’s 300, due to the nature of the plot. But, again, hardly anything can be confirmed just yet so take these as just speculations. Considering the prequel/sequel is slated to shoot in summer 2012, confirmations may be coming soon.

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Xerxes, a graphic novel prequel to 300 written by Frank Miller, will be released as a six-part tale sometime next year. Zack Snyder has been saying from the start that he intends to make Xerxes into a film, and it was just a matter of Miller finishing the story.

Now in a recent interview Snyder confirmed that work on the Xerxes script has started, and while he hasn’t signed up to direct, he intends to.

From Hero Complex:

It’s official: Zack Synder, the director of “300,” is going back into battle on the side of the ancient Greeks — and Frank Miller. “We closed the writing deal on ‘Xerxes.’ We started writing about a week ago,” Snyder said, referring to his script work with “300″ collaborator Kurt Johnstad. “So we’re doing it. It’s happening.”

Snyder has a first-look deal with Warner Bros. and the presumption is that Snyder will direct this film, but that’s not a done deal yet.

“It’s really going to depend on what the studio wants to do and what we do when we finish; I don’t have a directing deal in place but we are writing it, so call it intent,” Snyder said with a chuckle when I visited his office the other day. “If there was a crime they could probably convict me.”

Last month Miller revealed a few details on what Xerxes will involve, and who we can expect to show up:

The time frame begins 10 years before ‘300? and the story starts with the Battle of Marathon” … “The lead character is Themistocles, who became warlord of Greece and built their navy. The story is very different than ‘300? in that it involves Xerxes search for godhood. The existence of gods are presupposed in this story and the idea is that he is well on his way to godhood by the end of the story. With Themistocles I have a character who is almost the dead opposite of Leonidas in that Themistocles was a lying, conniving, brilliant, heroic figure. He was nicknamed ‘The Subtle Serpent’ and he always manages to do the exact right things that will result in him benefiting greatly.”

Miller also said two other characters from 300 will make appearances in Xerxes: Ephialtes, the Spartan traitor, plays a part in the tale and there is “a brief appearance by Leonidis,” the Spartan king portrayed by Gerard Butler. I wonder if Butler would be interest in returning if his character is only in it briefly? There is also a possibility that Rodrigo Santoro could return as Xerxes.

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Frank Miller has been working on a prequel to 300 called Xerxes over the past few years which Zack Snyder intends to make into a movie just like he did with 300. In March Snyder said that Miller would be showing him the graphic novel soon, and the movie may be the next thing he begins work on.

Well Miller spoke to The L.A Times recently and along with releasing the first bit of artwork (which you can see here), he spoke about what Xerxes will involve:

On the story:

“The story will be the same heft as ’300′ but it cover a much, much greater span of time — it’s 10 years, not three days,” Miller said. “This is a more complex story. The story is so much larger. The Spartans in ’300′ were being enclosed by the page as the world got smaller. This story has truly vast subjects. The Athenian naval fleet, for instance, is a massive artistic undertaking and it dwarfed by the Persian fleet, which is also shown in this story. The story has elements of espionage, too, and it’s a sweeping tale with gods and warriors.”

On the characters:

The time frame begins 10 years before ‘300? and the story starts with the Battle of Marathon” … “The lead character is Themistocles, who became warlord of Greece and built their navy. The story is very different than ‘300′ in that it involves Xerxes search for godhood. The existence of gods are presupposed in this story and the idea is that he is well on his way to godhood by the end of the story. With Themistocles I have a character who is almost the dead opposite of Leonidas in that Themistocles was a lying, conniving, brilliant, heroic figure. He was nicknamed ‘The Subtle Serpent’ and he always manages to do the exact right things that will result in him benefiting greatly.”

Miller also said two other characters from 300 will make appearances in Xerxes: Ephialtes, the Spartan traitor, plays a part in the tale and there is “a brief appearance by Leonidis,” the Spartan king portrayed by Gerard Butler. I wonder in Butler would be interest in returning if his character is only in it briefly? There is also a possibility that Rodrigo Santoro could return as Xerxes.

Xerxes will be a six-part tale with each individual installment being released next year. Are you interested in seeing this 300 prequel on the big screen? I’m sure Warner Bros. will be eager to get it into development following the success of 300 ($456 million worldwide + $261 million on DVD sales from a budget of $65 million).

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The L.A Times recently got the chance to get an update on the follow-up to 300 from Frank Miller. It doesn’t seem to have moved much further from when we heard Miller was working on the graphic novel back in June, however we now have a title and we now know which battle the film will showcase.

Miller is preparing a follow-up now titled “Xerxes,” which begins about 10 years before the events of “300,” and Snyder has expressed interest in it as a film property as well. “It’s the battle of Marathon through my lens,” Miller said Wednesday. “I’ve finished the plot and I’m getting started on the artwork.”

Miller said he is not surprised Greece is resurgent in Hollywood. “Every generation returns to ancient Greece because, well, the stories are so damn good,” said the artist, who also directed last year’s “The Spirit.” Miller said that during his research trips to Greece he realized that the myth and history overlap begins to blur, which adds to the storytelling allure. “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.”

As it takes place 10 years before 300 there is a chance Gerard Bulter could return, which would be cool. The film can’t get the green-light until Miller finishes the graphic novel, so he better get a move on!

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It looks like Sin City 2 may actually get made. Since Sin City was released in 2005 directors Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller have been talking about making a sequel every year. In 2008 they were apparently “close to beginning production”, then they were planning on filming this year, and now the latest from producer Stephen L’Heureux is that it will begin production in the second half of 2010.

From Mania:

L’Heureux confirmed for us that the long-awaited sequel ‘Sin City 2′ will go into production in the second half of 2010. Unlike the first movie, which used the graphic novels as both screenplay and story boards, the sequel will be based on an original script by Miller. As with the original, Miller will co-direct with Robert Rodriguez.

I’ll believe it when I see it!

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Warner Bros. held a press conference recently to showcase the upcoming Blu-ray releases of Watchmen and 300. Zack Snyder, director of both movies, was in attendance and he spoke to ComingSoon.net about the 300 sequel that we heard details about last year.

“I know for a fact that Frank [Miller] is writing right now,” says Snyder, who explains that the plan is for Miller to create the story as a comic book first, “[He's] drawing away and seems to be knee-deep in it. I think he’s going to head back to Greece again and do another reconnaissance.”

With the first 300 having been created on a decidedly smaller budget than Watchmen, Snyder says that he probably wants the look and feel of a sequel to maintain that of 300, even though Miller’s notes promise a grander scale.

“I think we would use the same technology… I don’t want it to look too Star Wars-ian… Just from what [Miller] told me, it would be bigger as far as landscape and terrain. We’re going to see Athens and the Aegean and other places. There would be an opportunity for bigger visions, though I’d hope for the same aesthetic. The tech we used for ’300′ was not a revolution. It’s basically what the weatherman has. Look, instead of Accuweather it’s Sparta… It’s going to be the same way, but on crazier steroids.”

Snyder has said in the past that he will definitely direct, and that it will take place between the Battle of Thermopylae and the Battle of Plataea, the battle that narrator Dilios is at while re-telling the story of King Leonidas and the Spartans to a new group of warriors at the end of 300.

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Frank Miller, director of The Spirit and one of the directors of Sin City, spoke to IGN and revealed that Sin City 2 is edging closer to being made, nearly 4 years after we got the first film.

“Sin City 2 is written,” he told the site. “It’s mainly a matter of working out the details of the production. I’m hoping to do it with Robert Rodriguez again in the same circumstances that we did the first one, and we could be shooting as soon as April.”

No word on cast details yet, although if they do end up shooting in April we should be getting more info over the next few months.

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Today Frank Miller was in Rome presenting new scenes from The Spirit. He revealed a brand new trailer which showed some new scenes, including Eva Mendes’ naked butt and some action clips. BadTaste.it was there to give us the info, and you can read a detailed description of the footage shown by clicking here!

Frank Miller also spoke about his future projects, which I am sure many are glad to hear involves Sin City 2.

I cant’ talk about my projects, because I don’t believe a movie is real until I see the title on the screen. There are many things that can go wrong. But I can tell you that I’m very close to begin Sin City 2 with Robert Rodriguez. We have to arrange a few things and we’ll be back in action.

I know fans have been waiting for Sin City 2 for some time (well since Sin City came out 3 years ago), and now it seems things are in the works!

And to round off today’s Spirit news we have some new posters, which you can see by clicking here!

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The widget countdown timer depended on your timezone, so there was some confusion as to why the trailer didnt show when the timer reached zero. However, the trailer is finally online for all to see!

Check it out below!

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AICN got an exclusive look at a new teaser poster for The Spirit…and its awesome.

Click the poster below for the super hi-res version!

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