Seems like a morning for Frank Miller movie news. Alongside word that Sin City 2 appears to be finally underway, Portuguese site The Omelete sports an interview with Rodrigo Santoro (the salient points of which are helpfully provided in translation by Collider), in which the actor reveals he's been in talks to play Xerxes once again in **300: Battle Of Artemisi****um.
Xerxes you'll recall, as presented in Zack Snyder's 300, is a peculiar god-like entity in the form of a 7ft Emperor with an entourage of battle rhinos. We don't remember those particular details from Herodotus, but hey.
The word on the street thus far had suggested that Battle Of Artemisium would be a prequel concerned with how Xerxes achieved that deified status, but with the screenplay still in a state of flux, Santoro suggests that there's now much more to it than that.
"It's set at the same time as 300," he says, "and the idea is to show a different point of view. While that battle from the first 300 is taking place, there were others going on. It's all this, and then there's an intersection point with the first movie. It goes back and then goes beyond that. There is some explanation of Xerxes' backstory, but it will be very quick." Prequel? Sequel? Paralleloquel?
Santoro's involvement is not yet set in stone; he says it's "a long story, so we'll see what happens." But we do know that Noam Murro is directing, and that Eva Green, Sullivan Stapleton and Jamie Blackley are currently attached for some green-screen action, whenever the cameras eventually roll.