After Zack Snyder’s success with 300, studios started greenlighting mythology-based films left and right. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief and Clash of the Titans are currently high in the public consciousness, but there is one more project we haven’t discussed much here at Filmonic.

Tarsem Singh (The Cell, The Fall) is directing another mythology-infused film, the title of which will either be Dawn of War or War of the Gods, and has secured Slumdog Millionaire’s Freida Pinto for the cast. Mickey Rourke is currently in talks for a role as well.

The film’s logline is the longest run-on sentence I’ve read since graduating from elementary school:

A purported bastard who retains an allegiance to his mother despite the fact that he longs to join the quest of a king who is battling demons in ancient Greece later embarks on a grail of discovery that has him finding he is the king’s son and also fated to become his country’s greatest hero as he leads the successful war against long-imprisoned Titans who are hoping to use the demons to restore their power.

Whew.

So far Henry Cavill (Albert Mondego from 2002’s The Count of Monte Cristo) has signed on as the hero, Theseus. Pinto will play Phaedra, an oracle priestess who joins Theseus on his quest. Mickey Rourke is in talks to play King Hyperion, a Greek ruler at odds with the gods. Rourke is also being courted for a role in the new Conan the Barbarian film, so it is unclear whether he will be able to take both roles or be forced to choose between them.

Tarsem recently said this newest feature is “a really hardcore action film done in Renaissance painting style.” The painting imagery sounds consistent with his previous work, and I’m incredibly excited to see how he tackles a full-on action film. If you haven’t seen The Fall, I’d highly recommend it. Tarsem has only directed two feature films (after a career of mostly music videos) but he has already left his mark as one of the most visually interesting directors working today. Dawn of War (or War of the Gods) begins filming April 7th, 2010.

I am somewhat suspicious that The Hollywood Reporter have revealed casting news for both War of the Gods and Clash of the Titans at the same time. However, it makes things interesting so I will put my suspicions aside.

War of the Gods and Clash of the Titans. Both Greek mythology-themed projects. Both currently in pre-production. Both inspired by 300 and both wanting to be released first.

THR say that Sam Worthington, who is mostly likely going to be huge by the end of 2009 after Terminator Salvation and Avatar, is in talks to play the role of Perseus in Clash of the Titans which will be directed by The Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier. The film is a remake of the 1981 epic and tells the story of Zeus’ son Perseus and his battles against mythology beasts such as Medusa.

Meanwhile, Henry Cavill (The Tudors, nearly Superman in Superman Returns) is being lined up to play Theseus in War of the Gods. The film is about a war between Gods and humans.

At the moment Gods has the edge as it will begin filming in February and has a bigger budget ($85 million), whereas Titans has a smaller budget of $70 million and will start filming in April.

If you were a fan of the drama surrounding the 2008 Presidential Election then this epic battle may keep you interested in 2009. I suspect we will get accusations flying around that Sam Worthington has never put lipstick on a Minotaur, and that Henry Cavill has been associating with Hydra’s.

As well as discussing 300, producers Mark Canton, Gianni Nunnari and Bernie Goldmann spoke to Collider about another upcoming project of theirs, War of Gods. The movie (not to be confused with the game God of War) is another Greek epic about a war between Gods and humans. They are aiming to start filming at the beginning of 2009, and it will be filmed in a similar style to 300.

Yesterday Variety reported that Warner Bros. have signed The Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier to direct their remake of Clash of the Titans. While both War of Gods and Clash of the Titans will have different plots, storylines and subject matter, they both evolve around Greek mythology. This has inevitably caused a battle of epic proportions, with both movies wanting to be released first. If the general public see two trailers for two different movies about similar things, they usually go to see the movie released first. Everyone saw Madagascar over The Wild, and Finding Nemo over Shark Tale. There were also two movies released within a year of each other about Truman Capote. Which one got all the attention and Oscars? The one released first staring Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Obviously other factors contribute, such as the actors and marketing. However, if two movies both include Zeus, Gods and monsters then the one with the earliest release date will have the advantage. At the moment it seems War of Gods has the advantage, as a filming start date is in place, while Clash of the Titans has only just been greenlight with the arrival of Hulk director Louis Leterrier.

May the battle commence!