A Plethora of Sword-and-Sandals News: "300" Sequel/Prequel, "Clash of the Titans", "War of Gods"

Greek mythology buffs are in luck. Reports have been flooding in these past couple of days about three new sword-and-sandals epics that are being prepped for production.

Probably the most interesting piece of news for most will be the varying discussions of having a 300 sequel/prequel by both the producers of the first film and director Zack Snyder, the comments for which were intercepted courtesy of an interviewer over at Collider.

First the producers revealed this little nugget:

We’re working on sequel of 300, the prequel of 300. We’re looking to do another 300 and we’re looking for Frank Miller and Zack to do their thing. We’re talking about the genius of Frank Miller and Zack Snyder.

Then Zack Snyder confirmed:

Yeah, I talked to Frank a little bit about it, and he’s going to do something. I think he’s going to draw something. So, we’ll see what he does. If it's something cool we’ll make a movie out of it.

But of course the news doesn't end there. Another Greek epic from the 300 producers, War of Gods (not be confused with the video game God of War), has gotten underway with director Tarsem Singh (The Fall, The Cell). The film is said to be using the same greenscreen effects used to bring 300 to life.

Variety describes the project as "a mythological tale set in war-torn ancient Greece, as the young warrior prince Theseus leads his men in a battle against evil that will see the gods fighting with soldiers against demons and titans."

And then the last bit of news has to with the remake of Clash of the Titans, which was greenlit after finding its new director, Louis Letterier (Unleashed, The Incredible Hulk).

Out of these developments, I'm actually much more interested in the latter two than the 300 sequel/prequel. The first film was entertaining due to the unique visual experience it offered and its stylized action, but it also spent more time showing off half-naked buff guys grunting and yelling a lot than telling a compelling story. And seeing as how War of Gods is apparently meant to be in the same vein stylistically as 300, I'd rather see what a creative talent like Tarsem Singh has planned than simply more of the same "This is Sparta!" nonsense.

Hopefully the release dates on these pictures aren't too close together. I don't know about you guys, but there's only so much epic-ness I can take in a single year.

[Sources Collider via Slashfilm, Variety]