He’s the writer-director of TV series The Kill Point, starring Steve Cirbus, Donnie Wahlberg and Michael Hyatt, about a group of Iraq veterans who pull off a major bank heist. He’s also dabbled in a spot of editing, acting and producing with comedy Big Fan.

Now Josh Trank sets his sights higher by taking on his ‘reality TV’ style sci-fi thriller, Chronicle, about three high school friends who gain superpowers after making an incredible discovery and find their bond tested as they embrace their darker sides. The new film stars Michael B. Jordan and Michael Kelly, and relative newcomers Alex Russell and Dane DeHaan.

At an exclusive ‘first-see’ screening in central London in January, Trank talked about the origins of the Chronicle, working with director John Landis’s son, Max Landis, on the ideas and the script, his documentary influence, whether he’s been asked to revamp Fantastic Four/X-Men, and if there’s more to the story to warrant a sequel:

You’re known after Stabbing at Leia’s 22^nd Birthday on YouTube.

Josh Trank: We’re looking at the most self-photographed and filmed generation ever; maybe this movie can be part of that?

How did you and Max come to work together?

Josh Trank: I knew Matt from being a teenager. Max said he wanted to write a feature, and after seeing the treatment for Chronicle, she wrote something within two weeks.

Where did the concepts come from?

Josh Trank: From a daydream about wishing I could move stuff – the ability of telekinesis, and how would that be an everyday skill that could be developed. Chronicle is also a celebration of our love for comic-book heroes; what separates this story from other superhero ones is Chronicle doesn’t’ come from a moral justice aspect – the kids don’t have anything too prove and just do what they can do.

Why did you decide to use hand-held footage?

Josh Trank: I grew up with my dad (Richard Trank, who won the Oscar for Best Documentary in 1997 for The Long Way Home) as a documentary filmmaker so I wanted to blend documentary with sci-fi – as inspired by Neill Blomkamp’s sci-fi thriller District 9 and its documentary approach. I wanted to make this film look like raw and unhampered footage.

The POV of the camera operator chances throughout – who actually ‘edits’ it?

Josh Trank: Every scene plays deliberately as a long single shot. There is the idea of some kind of ‘outside existence’ editing it, what with the jump cuts. Perhaps, like the character Matt (played by Alex Russell) at the end, his powers allow him to start and stop the camera, so there’s no need for a camera operator? That’s one for the audience…

Did the family or teen issues in the film develop from the performances or were they always there in the original script?

Josh Trank: People respond better to real dialogue, rather than movie dialogue. Dane (DeHaan) was hired first out of the leads, and we auditioned the others to see how they would play off each other.

[SPOILER ALERT] Was following superhero tropes, such as making Andrew (DeHaan) into the villain, what was always planned as the outcome?

Josh Trank: Yes, definitely, also the influences of things going on around him, from him changing from being the victim to the threat. The character of Matt slowly grows up throughout, too, and goes to stop Andrew, not through any gallant superhero move, but because it’s a grown-up, adult instinct to do the right thing.

The film has a 80s’ feel to it…

Josh Trank: Yeah, it was only after watching the first cut that we realised this. Amy Heckerling movies obviously had a big influence in the way the characters relate to each other and have chemistry.

How are there no repercussions from Andrew and Steve showing off their magical talents at the school talent show?

Josh Trank: There were a couple of takes for that scene, like water going over the audience, but it stopping mid-air. However, we couldn’t afford to do that! We got give far enough at the talent show for it to still be humanly possible – any further and it would have been too far.

Anything else you left out of the final cut?

Josh Trank: Yeah, you’ll see them on the DVD extras; mainly things to do with scheduling or that didn’t fit into the movie. The idea is to be absorbed on first viewing, and asking, “where’s it going?”

Running at under 90 minutes, did you deliberately make the film short?

Josh Trank: I just like short movies – a movie needs to be as long as it needs to be. I’m a big Alan Clarke fan, and his movies are short and are played naturalistically.

Is the trailer cut short on purpose too?

Josh Trank: Well, it seems to be working and getting a lot of attention. I leave that sort of thing up to the marketing guys. I gave they some ideas, and just wanted them to embrace the style of the movie and that it gets darker.

Are there any nods to Brian De Palma’s Carrie in this?

Josh Trank: Max and I have not gone into what other film influences are put in. We’ve basically tipped our hats to a lot of little things.

If there was a US version of Akira, Chronicle would be it ­– would you make one?

Josh Trank: After Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead, I stopped judging remakes. Who knows?

Will you be doing Fantastic Four or X-Men?

Josh Trank: It’s a little weird, as I knew this movie would work, but it’s been surprising how everyone’s responded. I have been working on some original ideas and things are being talking about, but nothing’s a signed deal yet.

Who’s your favourite comic-book character?

Josh Trank: Batman – Frank Miller is my favourite writer as I grew up with the Tim Burton Batman.

[SPOILER ALERT] Will the Chronicle story continue?

Josh Trank: We have ideas. We’ll see what happens as Matt’s still alive – and the others might be too…

Chronicle is out 1st February. Read our review here.

Honestly, if we had a nickel for every false-start Sin City 2 story we ran, we’d have…..five nickels. Anyway, with news that William Monaghan is now on board to get the script finished, we can only hope that the speculated shooting period of early 2012 will not prove to be another false dawn. Frank Miller gave more reassurance by discussing with MTV recently a bit more information about the stories that seem likely to find their way into the latest set of overlapping episodes.

A Dame to Kill For seems set to be the main story, which involves characters such as Gail, Miho and Manute (which may therefore see Michael Clarke Duncan and Rosario Dawson back on set), as well as Clive Owen’s Dwight. Further stories will also be involved, one featuring Jessica Alba’s Nancy (rescued by Bruce Willis from the mildly jaundiced Nick Stahl in That Yellow Bastard in the first film), in an effort to provide a through-line for audiences. To be honest, the world of Sin City is so stylish, so evocative, that it may not matter a great deal if anyone returns from the first film. It seems likely that the sequel will “work” regardless.

Miler says that “Just Another Saturday Night” will also be included, which might bring back Mickey Rourke’s Marv. A welcome addition to the film, though Mickey Rourke seems non-committal to say the least, having been quoted a few years ago as saying:-

“No, I’m not interested in that right now. That’s not a reality right now. It’s pissing in the wind. There’s different factions going different directions there. I don’t know. That’s three hours of make up and I’m claustrophobic, so I’m going to have to work something out”

But a few years is a long time and he may change his mind if the script is right and Robert Rodriguez does indeed return to direct. Frank Miller’s exact words to MTV were:-

“Sin City number two is primarily an adaptation of the book ‘A Dame to Kill For’. It also features the short story, ‘Just Another Saturday Night’ and two new stories. One involving Jessica Alba‘s character, Nancy Callahan, that I came up with for the movie in order to tie things together and make it be more united with the first.”

So there you go. Rodriguez won’t commit until he’s seen the script and is sure it is up to snuff, so as ever, we’ll see.

Source: IndieWire and MTV.

Warner Bros. have been producing animated movies of DC Comics’ most popular superheroes for a few years now, but for me they’ve always been rather hit and miss, with earlier original productions such as Mask of the Phantasm or Return of the Joker being far more enjoyable than adaptations of newer works such as Darwyn Cooke’s Justice League: New Frontier, which I felt was a cruelly truncated version of the original comic book.

The news that Frank Miller’s classic 1987 storyline Batman: Year One was being adapted for a direct to DVD/Blu-ray/download movie was thus greeted with somewhat muted enthusiasm by yours truly, but after settling down to watch the film I’m happy to announce that this is, for the most part, an enjoyable and faithful version of one of the most celebrated Batman storylines.

Year One, as its name suggests, is a Batman origin story, spanning Bruce Wayne’s first twelve months in the cape and cowl as he initially hones his crime-fighting skills on the petty criminals populating the streets of Gotham before turning his attention to the city’s corrupt officials and organised crime rackets run by Carmine Falcone. Running in parallel with the emergence of the Dark Knight is a plotline that details Lt. James Gordon’s assignment to the Gotham City Police Department and the battle against corruption that will ultimately lead to him being made commissioner. Sound familiar? It should – Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins drew inspiration from Year One, but while hints of familiarity are shared between the 2005 blockbuster and this latest entry in the DC animated movie series, there are enough differences to warrant the existence – and the enjoyment – of both.

The film is produced by Bruce Timm, co-creator of Batman: The Animated Series, but it shares few visual cues with the iconic visual style of the classic television show. Instead, Year One errs toward a more gritty and realistic approach that is reminiscent of both David Mazzucchelli’s artwork from the original comics and anime movies such as Akira. Character animation is particularly good, especially in the action sequences where there’s an impressive fluidity to movement that makes these often complex scenes far easier to follow than might otherwise be the case. In fact, my only real complaint with regards to the look of the film are a few car sequences that lack a degree of polish – made all the more noticeable by similar examples elsewhere in the film being especially good.

Equally impressive is the movie’s cast, led by Ben McKenzie (The OC, Southland) as Batman/Bruce Wayne and Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad, Drive) as Lt. Gordon. McKenzie brings a suitably detached edge to his portrayal of a haunted young man taking his first tentative steps into life as a masked vigilante, an occasional uncertain quality to his voice lending a very human aspect to the character’s inner monologues. Despite not actually having as much screen time as you might expect, McKenzie makes a solid Batman, and is a more than worthy addition to the ranks of actors who have played the character over the years.

For the most part, however, Year One is James Gordon’s story, and Cranston puts in a sterling performance as the jaded police detective facing turmoil in both his work and private life. The actor is perfectly cast in the role; in fact, the highest praise I can give both Cranston and McKenzie is that I’d be interested to see them reprise their portrayals of Gordon and Batman/Bruce Wayne in whatever live-action movie follows The Dark Knight Rises, Christopher Nolan’s final Batman film.

Elsewhere, other familiar names include Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica) as Sarah Essen, the police detective with whom Gordon has an affair, and Eliza Dushku (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Dollhouse) as Selina Kyle/Catwoman. Sadly, while the casting of the latter in particular seems so perfect, Dushku proves to be one of Year One’s few disappointments, not because the actress is not suited to the role – she is – but rather because the character’s part in the storyline, as in the comic book, extends to little more than a handful of scenes.

Where Year One really excels is in its faithfulness to the source material. Scenes and dialogue from the comic book are brought brilliantly to life, most noticeably the sequence in which an injured Batman is trapped in an abandoned building and surrounded by a SWAT team, while the story’s more violent elements somewhat surprisingly survive the transition from page to animation intact; this is not an animated Batman film for young children – it’s dark in tone and particularly brutal in places, maintaining those aspects that made Miller’s story so successful in the first place. It’s by no means perfect, but it’s one of the best straight adaptations thus far produced as part of the DC Universe animated original movie series, and bodes well for the forthcoming version of Miller’s legendary The Dark Knight Returns.

***~~ (3/5)

Earlier today I had the extreme pleasure of being able to attend the US Premiere of Morgan Spurlock’s touching Documentary entitled Comic-Con Episode Four: A Fan’s Hope.  The film follows a week in the life of 7 individuals as they attend the biggest gathering of geeks and fanboys on the planet known as Comic-Con.

With Spurlock’s involvement, this film could easily been have been an 85 minute diatribe on the awkward social skills of basement dwellers, but instead, Spurlock abandons that sort of harsh critiquing that made Super Size Me so famous, and lets the film and its subjects speak for themselves.  Interestingly enough, the only bit of Spurlock you see is is name in the credits.  Separating each disparate story are clips of fandom icons such as Kevin Smith, Joss Whedon, Stan Lee, and Frank Miller, who each give their unique perspective on this one week a year when nerds can just be who they are, free of judgement.

Every member of the cast goes into the convention hoping to take something away, whether it be an award from the Masquerade, or a limited edition Galactus figure.  You find yourself rooting for these underdogs, hoping that one guy can get enough money from comic sales to clear his debt, or others to get noticed by the industry and realize their dreams of working in the business.  But the cruel reality is that while Comic-Con may be rooted in the unlimited possibilities of the Fantastic, it can also serve as a crushing reality check, and that’s exactly what we see in some cases.

Then there is this other to Comic Con which people like Harry Knowles are quick to bring up.  Every year the convention brings in over 150,000  people, which makes the Convention attendees a target for big business.  More and more companies are starting to view fandom as a bottomless goldmine, and have already begun disparaging fans by selling them useless trinkets like Wonder Woman’s Invisible Jet, and others.  Then there is also the unfortunate fact that for the last few years, the convention has been allowed to grow to the point where it no longer is just about comic books and super heroes, and instead includes just about anything with a large enough fan base.  Do you really think a Vampire Diaries or Mythbusters panel is what Shel Dorf had in mind when he started San Diego Comic Con in the 70s?  I think not.

One of the worst things that happens to us as we progress in adulthood, is our loss of imagination.  As children we didn’t care if we look silly wearing tights and a cape, we just liked pretending to be pirates and superheroes and we were better for it!  As we grow we are told that dreaming is silly, and that imagination is a tool that is meant to be abandoned on the road to adulthood.  The truth is, when we make fun of the people that we see in films like Comic-Con, it’s not because we think down on them. It’s not because we think their stupid or childish.  It’s because we are jealous.  We’ve lost that sense of freedom and happiness that came only with the ability to pretend.  We’ve lost our optimism and hope.  Movies like this make you want to drop 1000 dollars on that Voltron costume you’ve always wanted to make and just run around and have a good time.  It’s a film that will bring both tears of elation and sadness as you watch these 7 individuals conquer their fears, and go up against a world that is a million times larger than them.  If you’ve ever been told to grow up, or that you’re to old for something, then this movie is one that most certainly will speak to you.

Now I’m not too certain as to when we’ll be seeing this film released on the National market, but I can assure you that with Spurlock behind the helm, you will almost certainly get a chance to check it out in the coming year.

Thanks to Jack Plunkett for the photo and all the other awesome pics he took throughout the fest!

Crew & Stars: Harry Knowles, Thomas Tull, Skip Harvey, Tova Goodman, James Darling, Chuck Rozanski and Holly Conrad at the Premiere of Comic-Con Episode IV

Goodness me, the development of Sin City 2 has been going on forever. There was a time when its entry on IMDb showed “In Production” for a 2010 release, which I think we can all now agree is unrealistic.

At Comic-Con in July, Rodriguez said that funding was in place and that shooting would begin once the cast and script were locked down. Miller has apparently sorted out the first draft of the script and no less impressive a writer than William Monahan, Oscar-winner for The Departed has now been drafted in to work on it further.

There is plenty of Sin City material to populate another film, whether utilising further stories for previous characters (like Mickey Rourke’s Marv), or bringing in hitherto unexplored strands. Hopefully this won’t be another false dawn and we can get back to Sin City some time soon. Monahan is said to be reuniting with Scorsese for a remake of 1974′s The Gambler and has also scripted Oblivion, a hot-hot-hot sci-fi project to which Tom Cruise is now attached, but he should be able to find ample time to have a bit of a tweak with Sin City.

Thanks to THR for the heads up on his one.

One-man film studio Robert Rodriguez is currently doing the promo rounds for the forth instalment of his Spy Kids series (really Robert, really?) and had this to say to We Got This Covered about work on his long-awaited sequel to the adaptation of the famed Frank Miller graphic novel series, and the follow-up to his Grindhouse-inspired effort from last year:

“ Sin City 2 is going good, we’re just finishing the script for that, we already got the money. We have everything we need so we can just start shooting as soon as we get the pages. And it’s the same thing for Machete 2. We’ve already got the budget, just waiting for the script. As soon as we’re finished writing we get to start the shoot.”

All this really begs the question, is Rodriguez planning on shooting anything in the near future which isn’t based on any of his past projects?

One thing which can be said about the director is that he isn’t adverse to wheeling out interesting gimmicks and marketing ploys to try and inject new life into those rehashes. The third Spy Kids film used 3D many years before James Cameron unleashed it on the cinema-going population, and Spy Kids: All The Time In The World is billed as being filmed in “4D Aromascope” (essentially, that old-school process which allows people to smell odors and aromas from the film via scratch & sniff cards).

Fans who were hoping the director might embark on something fresh and new, may groan at this news, but the fact is he’s a sound investment for Hollywood. This new Spy Kids adventure (which, incidentally, features the voice of Ricky Gervias as a talking dog) was made for the relatively smallish sum of $40 million (particularly restrained for a forth film in a popular series) and his next two sequels will undoubtedly follow a similar, modest budgetary path.

So its good news for the cost conscious studios and bad news for those out there who are still waiting on Rodriguez to fulfil his prophesy of being the man to revolutionise the film industry. Or maybe he has already?

Robert Rodriguez has been in San Diego promoting his new production company, Quick Draw Productions, and two of the things he’s looking to make are the follow-up to Sin City and the two sequels that would make a Machete trilogy, THR report.

The brilliant writer, director, producer, and all-round talented filmmaker has been talking about a Sin City sequel for a while now, and with his new production company starting up, we can hopefully look forward to this much sooner rather than later.

He’s announced that his new company will be partnering with AMD Austin, a hardware company he’s long been working with, whose technology he says,

“force him to stretch creatively to meet the new possibilities.”

It’s almost always good news to hear directors trying to stretch themselves, especially with as talented a director as Rodriguez, and this is definitely good news when it includes his vision for Sin City 2. Rodriguez says that he and Frank Miller will be co-directing the sequel as they did the first film, and that Miller is finishing up the screenplay now,

“which has reverted back to the trio-of-storylines approach of the first movie—“A Dame to Kill For” plus two new stories Miller has devised. Many of the characters from the first film would reappear, and Rodriguez says he doesn’t see scheduling as a problem since in the last one the green screen allowed him to shoot actors in the same scene as much as eight months apart. No one has yet been cast, though the writer-director claims they could shoot it soon and quickly, as early as the fall.”

Though it’s still pretty early days yet, I’m remaining optimistic because Rodriguez sounds optimistic. With his own production company granting him more control of what he wants to make, it could well mean that he and Miller will be able to start filming as and when he sees fit after Miller finishes the script.

Rodriguez also says that the sequel will be in 3D. And whilst that might cause a bit of a sigh for many, the director thinks that the technology will only serve to make the film that much better, saying that it will,

“really enhance the CG-noir landscapes the content uses (the actors are filmed against green screen).”

I think the man is talented enough a filmmaker for people who aren’t that fond of 3D films to grant him more than a bit of trust to bring us an awesome sequel, and if shooting really does begin as early as autumn, then we might well be able to look forward to a second Sin City before long.

Coming next from the writer-director-producer is the fourth Spy Kids film, Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D, which stars frequent collaborators Antonio Banderas, Jessica Alba, and Danny Trejo. And with the new film introducing a new set of kids, if the fourth succeeds, Rodriguez admits that more films in the series could be on the way.

Trejo and Alba most recently worked with Rodriguez on last year’s Machete, and Rodriguez also has sequels in development for that too. The first of two planned sequels has already been written, and hopefully it won’t be long for them to go into production either. Obviously, with Rodriguez helming all of these projects, they can’t really all be done at the same time. But he’s known for firing on all cylinders, non-stop, so expect big things to come from him and Quick Draw Productions over the next few years.

THR are reporting that 20^th Century Fox have hired Brad Caleb Kane, writer-producer of Fox’s popular series, Fringe, to write the script for the upcoming reboot of Daredevil.

Last seen on the screen back in 2003 with Ben Affleck then taking the titular role, this new film is to be directed by British music and film director, David Slade, who last directed the third film in the Twilight saga, Eclipse.

Though the original film wouldn’t make it onto many people’s favourite comic book movies of all time, I think it often gets over-looked and is underrated in a lot of people’s opinions. Affleck played the role of the blind superhero brilliantly, and the film had the added bonus of having a cameo from one of my favourite directors, who’s friends with Affleck, Kevin Smith. It may not have done incredibly by Fox’s standards, making $180m. off an $80m. budget, but I’m still very much looking forward to this reboot.

Kane has been asked to adapt Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s Born Again, a 7-issue arc from the Daredevil series back in 1986 that has a much darker take on the tale of the superhero, seeing his identity uncovered by the Kingpin (last played by Michael Clarke Duncan) and falling further and further into insanity at the mob boss’ doing.

Slade, whose feature credits include Hard Candy and 30 Days of Night, is no rookie to dark films, and I think he could shoot the hell out of a Born Again-based Daredevil script. As good as the first film was, I think a darker take on Daredevil could definitely make for a much more interesting story.

Affleck said many years ago that he didn’t ever plan on reprising his role as the superhero, so it’s not likely that he’ll be donning the Daredevil costume second time around. A few years ago, the L.A. Times reported that at Comic-Con International 2008, Jason Statham expressed a very clear interest in playing the role:

“Just give me the chance, I would love to be Daredevil.”

And Miller, who was also at the event, said,

“I think he should be Daredevil too.”

Whether or not that still stands, I don’t know. I’m a really big fan of Statham’s though, and if he thinks he can do it, I believe him, and I’d love to do see him do it. With a director and writer now signed on to the project, it hopefully won’t be long until we get news of who it is that gets to put on the red suit.

This film has certainly been a long time coming. Back in 2000, news emerged that Warner Bros. had hired Darren Aronofsky to write and direct a Batman reboot, based on Frank Miller’s seminal Batman: Year One graphic novel. Aronofsky worked with Miller on getting a script drafted, loosely adapting Miller’s original material, but the project was eventually put on the backburner.

Now, however, The Playlist is reporting that the project is very much taking shape, with two pictures from the animated film having been released, which you can see below. The film is to be co-directed by Lauren Montgomery (Green Lantern: Emerald Knights) and Sam Lui (The Batman), both of whom have a solid grounding in directing animated versions of comic book superheroes. And the announcement of the cast is looking very promising.

Taking the lead, playing Bruce Wayne/Batman, will be Benjamin McKenzie (The O.C.), whose TV series, Southland, has recently been picked up for a fourth season. Bryan Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle, Breaking Bad) is going to be lending his voice for James Gordon, Eliza Dushku (Dollhouse) will be playing the voice of Catwoman, which seems like a perfect fit, given Dushku’s familiarity with roles that require a bit of an edge. Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica) will be voicing Detective Sarah Essen, a love interest for Cranston’s Gordon, and Alex Rocco (Smokin’ Aces) will be voicing Carmine Falcone.

According to executive producer Bruce Timm (Green Lantern: Emerald Knights), the film will be staying quite close to Miller’s original 1987 work:

“The source material is surprisingly cinematic; it’s a pretty straight forward literal retelling… [David] Mazzucchelli‘s artwork is beautifully composed and we were able to refer to the comic for about 80 percent of the camera setups.”

And THR quotes Cranston as saying that he had initially turned down the Gordon role without even wanting to read the script, unaware of the kind of depth animation can have:

“I wasn’t aware of this level of storytelling in animation. I confess that freely,” he says. “They didn’t give the characters the short shrift. I was stunned.”

So far, so good. Warner Bros. have announced that they plan to premiere the film at Comic-Con this summer, and the film will then go straight to DVD after that. I have to admit, I’ve not read Miller’s original, but the two pictures they’ve released from the upcoming film both look pretty great, so it’s certainly tempting me to go pick up a copy of Batman: Year One and get through it before the film comes out. Until then, here are the two pictures to whet your appetites:

In a livechat Facebook interview that took place over the weekend, Robert Rodriguez told fans that Sin City 2 would be filmed after production has wrapped on Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World.

He was quoted as saying:

“Frank Miller and I are working on it [...] It’s slated to be the next one, but if the script is not ready, then we’ll have to move to the next one.”

Also, despite the fact Bruce Willis’ character Hartigan died in the first Sin City film, Rodriguez hopes they can find a way to bring him back in the sequel.

“I wanna bring him back for Sin City because he’s so bad-ass.”

Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World is currently shooting in Austin, Texas, so don’t expect work to commence on Sin City 2 for at least another year. However, that said, this gives Sin City fans hope that the long-delayed sequel may still see the light of day.

Kick-Ass creator Mark Millar is stepping behind the camera to helm a superhero film he describes as “X-Men meets Trainspotting”. I’m sold already!

Miracle Park, currently being shot in Millar’s home country of Scotland, focuses on a group of animal rights activists who break into a low-level research laboratory to find a mile-long underground base owned and facilitated by the US government.

The movie is being filmed entirely on a hand-held camera to give it a naturalistic, gritty feel, very much the antithesis of your traditional comic adaptation.

Let’s hope he makes a better job of it than fellow comic book writer Frank Miller’s first solo directorial effort, The Spirit.

This news was courtesy of IGN.

Although Dawn of the Dead was a scintillating Hollywood debut for Zack Snyder, it was his adaptation of Frank Miller’s graphic novel “300″ that really put him on the map. Filmed entirely against green screen (à la Sin City) and built with enough testosterone to power a city, it made a star of Gerard Butler and opened the door to Watchmen for Snyder.

Snyder has now (according to the LA Times) signed a writing deal for “Xerxes”, a new Frank Miller prequel/sequel to 300 and has already begun working on the script with his 300 collaborator Kurt Johnstad. We reported here on the development of the graphic novel and speculated on whether Snyder would direct again and although that has not been confirmed yet, Snyder did call the fact that he was writing the script a show of ”intent”.

Xerxes will begin many years before the events portrayed in 300, showing Xerxes relationship with his father Darius and then telling the story of Themistocles and the Battle of Artemisium, a battle which happens to take place on the same three days as the battle at Thermopylae (as shown in 300). Snyder sees Themistocles as a very different character to Leonidas, a democrat rather than purely a warrior, an “everyman” rather than a superman. Nothing has been said yet about whether Leonidas will make a cameo appearance, however Snyder has said that he sees Xerxes as being the same visually as 300. Most intriguing is the final sea battle, with ships crashing together and men fighting across the decks of the ships as they collide.

Snyder did such excellent work on 300 and although many (not least the Iranians) protested about its portrayal of the Persians and sometimes questionable historical veracity, it was nonetheless a thrilling, visceral experience and scooped up over $450 million at the worldwide box office into the bargain. Warner Bros (who have given Snyder a first-look deal on the project) should have confidence that Snyder will be a safe pair of hands for this, but given how quickly reputations are made and ruined, the box-office performance of Snyder’s upcoming “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga-Hoole” (yes, that’s right) will surely have a bearing on how Warner Bros decide to proceed.

Fans of shouting half naked Greek warriors are in for a treat as Frank Miller and Dark Horse Comics have revealed the first piece of art from Frank Miller’s prequel to 300, Xerxes.

The massive success of Zack Snyder’s film adaptation of 300, and Miller’s own subsequent critical drubbing following his movie The Spirit, means that the time for another trip back in time is on the cards.

Whether the publication of Xerxes will hurry along a Snyder-helmed film, but recently he spoke to ComingSoon regarding the project,

I’m waiting on Frank for the sequel to ’300,’ and there’s a really good chance that will be the thing [I direct next].

I didn’t tell Frank what to write the first time, and I’m not telling him what to write this time. 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.

Miller himself gives this synopsis of the comic book, and the first image of Xerxes himself is below,

The story will be the same heft as ’300′ but it cover a much, much greater span of time — it’s 10 years, not three days…This is a more complex story. The story is so much larger. The Spartans in ’300′ were being enclosed by the page as the world got smaller. This story has truly vast subjects. The Athenian naval fleet, for instance, is a massive artistic undertaking and it dwarfed by the Persian fleet, which is also shown in this story. The story has elements of espionage, too, and it’s a sweeping tale with gods and warriors.

The time frame begins 10 years before ’300′ and the story starts with the Battle of Marathon, which was killer to draw, by the way, even if it was a lot of work…The lead character is Themistocles, who became warlord of Greece and built their navy. The story is very different than ’300′ in that it involves Xerxes search for godhood. The existence of gods are presupposed in this story and the idea is that he well on his way to godhood by the end of the story

After years of being nothing more than a dangling carrot, it seems that Sin City 2 is finally moving forward.  While there isn’t a ton of information about it, Mania.com reports that Producer Stephen L’Heureux confirmed that production is to start in the latter half of 2010.  The difference between the first film and the sequel however, is the sequel will be based on original material written by Frank Miller.

It’s been 4 years since Sin City was released and in that time talk of a sequel has been heard over and over but it’s been nothing more than tentative speculation.  It seems like now there is more than a shred of hope that part 2 will actually happen.  Good news for the fans who have waited patiently.  Let’s just hope that by the time it makes it to theaters it won’t be too late.

For fans of Frank Miller, another one of his graphic novels is being developed as well.  Hard Boiled is on deck to be adapted for film as well.  This one may be a ways off however due to Sin City 2.  It’ll be a while before this one makes it to the screen.

You can check out the full story at Mania.com.  /Film also posted a piece that talks about it as well as the logistics of getting Miller and Robert Rodriguez back together to direct.

We’ll keep you updated with information as we get it.