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Q: Given the recent trend in remaking/adapting Greek myth movies/books, are any more due to be made? — Bee
A: By Athena, yes! The unexpected success of 300 (which, of course, wasn’t “Greek” and didn’t involve myths, but was set in the ancient world) and the strong buzz for the upcoming Clash of the Titans, which opens in April, has inspired a veritable mare-of-Diomedes-like stampede of Greek-myth-themed movies.
Dawn’s rosy fingers may soon rise on these projects:
Clash of the Titans
- Jason and the Argonauts, now in development at Universal, which, unlike Clash of the Titans, isn’t a remake of a Ray Harryhausen classic, but instead tells the story of Jason’s journey home after capturing the Golden Fleece (which is where Harryhausen’s movie leaves off).
- Dawn of War, now in pre-production, tells the exploits of Theseus, including his battle with the Minotaur, but is to be done in a “Renaissance painting style action,” with a Baz Luhrmann-like mix of ancient and modern worlds.
- Odysseus, in pre-production at Warners, is based on the end of Homer’s famous epic, the part when the king returns home after 20 years of fighting in the Trojan War, to find his wife, son, and kingdom under siege. Rumor is, this one will include major 300-style gore.
- Speaking of which, a prequel to 300 is in the works, based on a still-being-written graphic novel by Frank Miller (who wrote the famous 300 graphic novel). 300 director Zack Synder has expressed an interest in directing, assuming he likes the source material.
- A sequel to Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief called The Sea of Monsters (based on the book series) has long been in the works. The relatively disappointing showing of The Lightning Thief means this one may never get made.
- Scarlett Johansson was once attached to a movie called Amazon, but it seems to have stalled for the time being.
You’ll note that these movies are still in development. Why? Because Hollywood is waiting to see how Clash of the Titans performs (the film was once in a mad race with Dawn of War to be the “first” of the new wave of Greek-myth-based movies).
Why does it matter how Titans does? Because, in Hollywood-logic, if Clash of the Titans tanks, it won’t be because it’s a crappy movie, poorly conceived or executed.
No, it’ll be because it’s based on a Greek myth!
It’s all complete nonsense, of course — movies tend to succeed or fail because the movies themselves succeed or fail. But it’s easier to blindly follow the latest fad than to, you know, actually make a good movie, so the above kind of thinking makes everyone in Hollywood feel better.
Q: With all this talk about the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios’ Islands of Adventure theme park, no one ever says when it will open! When will that be? — Sophie, St. Paul, MN
A: That’s because, in the mad rush to get everything ready for a “spring” opening, even the park itself didn’t know. They still haven’t announced an actual “opening date,” but Fox News Orlando received a press release from Universal Studios saying they’re offering vacation packages for the attraction starting May 28th. So the attraction will at least be open by then!
Q: This is a test of your fantasy-knowing prowess: Without doing an internet search, what movie includes the Widow of the Web? — MAGPIE, Toronto, Canada
A: The 1983 fantasy film, Krull.
Please. You’ll have to get up much earlier than that to fool the All-Knowing Fantasy-Questioning-Answering Oracle. It was the one cool scene in an otherwise crappy film.
I confess, I did have to do a search to find the scene on YouTube:
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I myself enjoyed the new Clash of the Titans and hope to see it in 3D before its run in theaters ends. But I can’t help but think that it might have been better-received if they’d made Medusa the main villain, titled it something else, and billed it as just another telling on Perseus’ story.
Definitely looking forward to Jason and the Argonauts, Dawn of War, Odysseus, and Hercules: Thracian Wars due to them being something new (technically-speaking, I mean) instead of more remakes.
I’ll wait until I hear more about the story and cast behind this 300 sequel to make any kind of judgment (it’s pretty stupid to label a movie bad without having actually seen the damn thing, like I see a lot of these days), but since I enjoyed 300, I’m confident about it.
And I really hope the God of War movie gets off the ground. I immensely enjoyed all the games save for Chains of Olympus (which I haven’t played due to not having a PSP), so I doubt a movie would be any different.
Don’t forget Hercules: The Thracian Wars, not based on myth as such but peopled by characters from myth. And if it succeeds, no doubt they’ll make The Knives of Kush too!
Good one! Didn’t know about this.
Is Hercules: Thracian Wars still happening? That’s good news to me.
It would be great to see a darker take on the Hercules myths since they’re not the light and fluffy tales of kittens and candy that most versions have made them out to be.
At this point, I think a lot depends on Clash of the Titans. On the other hand, the success of Spartacus (and Sands of Time) means Ancient World stuff is here to stay for a bit, I think!
Also rumoured to be made at some point is a film based on the Playstation game “God of War” and a film called “War of the Gods” (both sporting highly original titles) with Henry Cavill and Freida Pinto, although the latter may actually be the aforementioned “Dawn of War” as I think its had a name change or two during its long development.
And there’s the LONG over-due “Wonder Woman” film, which could include a heavy-dose of Greek mythology if they use some of the more recent story-lines (say past 10-20 years).
I forgot about WONDER WOMAN! There’s been movement there too.
Yeah, DAWN OF WAR is the old WAR OF THE GODS (both bad titles!). GOD OF WAR (based on the video game) is supposedly dead, although if these others succeed, it’ll be back…