After the Watchmen preview yesterday, IESB spoke to Zack Snyder, asking him about the 300 prequel/sequel that was supposedly in the works.
Surprisingly, he had a little input on it!
Snyder says that the film will be sort of a prequel AND a sequel, taking place in the year between the end of the Battle of Thermopylae and the Battle of Plataea, which is the massive battle between Xerxes’ Persians and 10,000 Spartans PLUS 30,000 Greeks. This technically makes it a sequel; we only saw but a slight glimpse at that last battle and this will pick up after the core story of the first film ended.
This is both really good news and really bad news.
Bad news first — this means we’re not likely to get Gerard Butler back as Leonidas, which is why most fans wanted a prequel.
Good news is that we might actually get to see the insanity that the last battle looked like it would be right before the movie ended. This too is what many fans wanted to see! I mean, come on, it could have been the coolest battle scene in cinematic history, it’s almost mandatory we get it in some form. I don’t even care if they released a completely story-less, direct-to-DVD version of the battle just so I can witness the destruction of that bastard, Xerxes.
Sadly, again, it is one or the other and it looks like it will be the Battle of Plataea. Why can’t we have our cake and eat it? Flashbacks maybe? Too cheesy?
Don’t get your hopes up to see this any time soon, though. Snyder is leaving all creative choices to Frank Miller, who is writing and drawing the graphic novel for which the sequel will be based. Simply put… we need to wait for the graphic novel to be written, drawn, and released before anyone even begins to work on the script.
This could be a while.
After the Watchmen preview yesterday, 
With this increase of combatants, I hope the film runs for 3 hrs (or more!) instead of two so we get to see even more agonizingly slow but ‘cool’ death scenes. Maybe the whole thing should just be agonizingly slow combat and death scenes. They wasted 1/3 of the last movie on ‘plot’ and ‘talking’. WTF.
Comment by JM — October 3, 2008 @ 6:46 am
This has echoes of The Lost World. Spielberg wanted to make another movie, so Michael Crichton wrote a book for them to base it on.
Hmmmm…
Comment by NeverWanderer — October 3, 2008 @ 11:17 am
Having as a kid read the original story ‘300’ was (very loosely) based upon, I have to say I was very disappointed with the film in terms of it’s historical accuracy. I mean don’t get me wrong, the film looked awesome and had very cool imagery. But Frank Miller basically offered a very different view/opinion on Spartan society and culture (and especially the battles they were engaged in) while at the same time trying to make a movie that portrayed Asians/Arab countries as populated by what I can only describe as dark-skinned homosexual monstrosities. He took way to many liberties. Maybe if I had not read the original source material, ‘300’ would’ve been more palatable and not so annoying. I got that same feeling when watching that first “Resident Evil” movie made by Paul Anderson. And since I’m a big fan of the videogames, it was almost unbearable to see how Anderson got the source material wrong at almost every turn. So… here’s hoping that this time around Frank Miller will write and draw a graphic novel that sticks more closely to the facts. But somehow I doubt it.
Comment by Edgar — October 4, 2008 @ 2:12 pm
A sequel to 300 should be proof to anyone that there is some form of a God in this universe. Those arguing over the historical inaccuracies of a movie based on a comic book should not be allowed in theaters. Seconds after the movie ended I began dreaming that I would be frozen until a sequel was produced, half of my prayers have been answered. Thank you Mr Frank Miller, I have been a fan for 2 decades, and thank you Mr Zack Snyder, Ive only recently been introduced, but I look forward to your future. Two great minds that have engraved their names on the forehead of history. Well done, and thank you again.
Comment by Bramlet — December 12, 2008 @ 2:07 am