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'300' Director Returns to Persian Wars With 'Xerxes'

Now that we know Hollywood will be twisting Captain America into Captain And All That Stuff, we can at least start to look forward to director Zack Snyder’s follow up to “300,” a film that made absolutely no apologies or morally relativistic statements about the exceptionalism of Western Civilization.

xerxes

According to the L.A. Times, Frank Miller, the creator of “300,” has shown Snyder enough of his upcoming graphic novel “Xerxes,” a companion to “300,” that the director has already begun writing the script even though a formal deal isn’t yet in place for him to direct.

It’s neither prequel nor sequel, precisely, since the time setting begins years before the events of “300” and then moves up past the first film’s 480 B.C. Spartan battle.

“This movie follows Themistocles and the Battle of Artemisium, which coincidentally happens on the exact same three days as the Battle of Thermopylae [which was the basis of ‘300’],” Snyder said. “This one starts off with a quick retelling of the why of the Persian wars. It starts off at the Battle of Marathon and then it goes back to Themistocles finding out that Persians are invading again. and off we go over to learn a little bit about why Xerxes is the way he is.”

He went on with a Greek history lesson told in Synder’s dude-speak: “Darius [the Persian king and father of Xerxes] gets wounded at Marathon and he’s super cool and like a great guy. Even the Greeks are like, ‘Darius is awesome.’ After Darius dies, Xerxes is so distraught, but Darius had told him, ‘Don’t attack the Greeks, only a god can punish the Greeks.’ So that’s when he calls his mystics and wizards and says, ‘Make me a god so I can avenge my father.’ “

Below the fold Snyder does something virtually unheard of in Hollywood today, he uses the word “democracy” in a positive way:

He added: “Themistocles is kind of the father of democracy. It’s much more about these guys choosing. The Spartans are, ‘We fight, we die,’ so that’s an easy choice for them, there’s no surrender. The cool thing about Themistocles and his gang is that it’s way more difficult. Things aren’t as clear or unchallenged. He has to be more political to get everyone to agree. It’s political, in the soap-opera sense of the word. There’s a relationship with Leonidas … and … well, we’ll see where it all goes.”

“What I said to the studio is that ‘300’ gave everyone a chance to fight alongside a super warrior, a chance to fight alongside these Spartan warriors that you could never fight against; but Themistocles is different, he is us,” Snyder said. “It’s much more about the everyman.”

Much more good news here. And please give Snyder’s masterful “Watchmen” a second chance. Within our lifetime it will be rediscovered as a classic and this is your chance to be ahead of that curve.


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