Zack Snyder on 300 revisited and Xerxes.

Speaking at ShoWest last week Zack Snyder delivered an intriguing insight to the possible future re-release of 300 and provided an update to its prequel currently being penned by Frank Miller, titled Xerxes.

Following the financial successes of Avatar and Alice in Wonderland, it has fast become accepted that with any studio announcement for a new release, comes with the prerequisite of being 3D orientated. Now, Warner Brother’s are taking this development a step further, with the potential rerelease of a 300 in 3D.

Speaking with SuperHeroHype, Snyder revealed that Warner Brother’s converted a section of the 2007 film in order to gauge its quality after transition. ‘ I saw maybe like a ten minute section [of 300] that they’d just done, I haven’t seen the whole movie but they’re talking about doing the whole movie’.

This move by Warner’s, would undoubtedly open the flood gates for studio’s looking to cash in on converting their back catalogue. James Cameron, for one has talked about rereleasing Titanic in 3D, and for what purpose? What would a revisualization bring to the aforementioned release? After all it is the highest grossing 2D film ever to be made and was handsomely awarded critically, with Oscar’s galore.

As for Xerxes, Snyder is currently waiting on Miller to finish writing his graphic novel prequel to 3OO. Still, he has shed light on the progression of the project and hints to the fact he will potentially direct that prequel.

"I'm waiting on Frank (Miller) for the sequel to '300' and there's a really good chance that will be the thing we do," he said, "He's been working hard, so he's supposed to show me something really soon; actually in the next few months, he's going to show me something. There was a big discussion about what we would do for the sequel to '300' and I said, 'I didn't tell Frank what to write the first time, and I'm not telling him what to write this time,'" he told us when asked who came up with the idea for Xerxes. "I'll take it and I'll adapt it and make it into a movie and I'll write a screenplay, but I want him to do whatever he thinks. I'm not going to say I'm 100%, like that's it, but on the other hand, I'm pretty confident it's going to be awesome."

For the uninitiated, Xerxes will resolve around the Battle of Marathon that took place in 490 BC during the first Persian invasion of Greece.  It will likely depict the vast Persian armada and infantry landing on Greek soil in retaliation to the supporting a revolt of Persian rule. Despite a numerical superiority, Athens immobilised an army to defend their territory against the Persians.  

You will be forgiven in thinking that the prequel reads like a large scale 300. That is exactly what it will entail. The question is, whether Xerxes can transcend that tag? Will the vision of Frank Miller and the adaptation of Snyder lead the prequel towards a fresh direction, or will it only seek to make a grander 3D [is there any doubt that it wont be?] sequel to 300? 

MATT RICHARDSON