Warner Bros. Television is developing a TV series adaptation of Zack Snyder's 2006 movie 300, Variety reported.
The film was based on the 1998 limited comic book series of the same name written by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley. The series' plot details haven't been announced yet, but sources have said that it would serve as a prequel to the film. Currently, there are no writers or streaming platforms attached to the project.
However, the film's director and co-writer is in negotiations to to helm and executive produce the series. The film's EP Deborah Snyger, is also set to return in the same capacity under her and Snyder's Stone Quarry production team, with Wesley Coller. Other producers on the film such as Gianni Nunnari, Mark Canton and Bernie Goldmann are also in talks to return.
This is Sparta! coming to the small screen
The comic book series was also inspired by Rudolph Maté's 1962 movie The 300 Spartans.
The film and comic book follows the story of the Leonidas (Gerard Butler), the king of Sparta. He leads a small force of soldiers against Xerxes I (Rodrigo Santoro) of Persia. Lena Headey (Queen Gorgo), David Wenham (Dilios), Dominic West (Theron), Vincent Regan (Captain), Tom Wisdom (Astinos) and Michael Fassbender (Stelios) also starred in the film.
The movie became a massive hit when it was released, earning more than $450 million at the worldwide box office against a reported $65 million budget. The film also inspired several parodies such as the 2008 movie Meet the Spartans and the D-Yikes! episode on South Park.
The film also became famous for Leonidas' battle cry in what arguably is the most recognizable scene in the movie where he kicks the Persian herald into a bottomless pit while yelling, “This is Sparta!”
The story is told through a voice-over narrative by Dilios, as various fantastical creatures are introduced. The movie was filmed using a superimposition chroma key technique to mimic the look of the original comics.
Historically speaking…
Historically speaking, the Battle of Thermopylae depicted in the movie, was fought in 480 BC between Xerxes I's Achaemenid Persian Empire and an alliance of Greek city-stated led by King Leonidas I's Sparta. The battle lasted three days, and is often considered one of the most prominent battles of both the second Persian invasion of Greece and the overall Greco-Persian Wars.
A sequel was released in 2014, 300: Rise of an Empire. This was based on Miller's graphic novel Xerxes. Snyder co-wrote the screenplay but with Noam Murro directing. Headey and Santoro returned to reprise their roles, with Sullivan Stapleton playing the lead Themistocles and Eva Green as Artemisia. While it didn't do as well as the first movie, it still earned a respectably $337 million against a $110 million budget.
Themistocles, on the other hand, was an Athenian politician. He commanded the Greek allied navy at the Artemisium and Salamis battles that occurred at the same time as Thermopylae in 480 BC.
Artemisia is a real historical figure, but her background is different from the way she is portrayed in the movie. While it is true that did fight as Xerxes' ally, she did not become a slave. She took the throne as queen of the Greek city-state Halicarnassus (present day Bodrum, TurkeY) after her husband's death. The film, though, correctly portrays her as having personally commanded the ships at both Artemisium and Salamis. The historian Herodotus wrote about how Xerxes greatly esteemed her.
Film-to-series adaptations
If the 300 series does get greenlit, it will be the latest project in a long line of film-into-series adaptations, a trend that has been prevalent. Amazon currently has two Legally Blonde projects in the works and the upcoming live-action Tomb Raider series from Phoebe Waller-Bridge. It recently released the Mr. and Mrs. Smith series starring Donald Glover and Maya Erskine.
Apple is also gearing up to adapt a series based on Terry Gilliam's 1981 film Time Bandits. The tech giant also has the series Presumed Innocent, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, adapted from the 1990 film starring Harrison Ford.
Miramax is also set to adapt the Halloween franchise into a series. Netflix isn't behind as it recently hosted Avatar: The Last Airbender and has renewed it for two more seasons.
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