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Alfred Molina and Ben Kingsley Join Prince of Persia!

by Alex Billington
June 3, 2008

Finally we're getting some solid casting confirmations for Prince of Persia! A couple of weeks ago we announced that Jake Gyllenhaal and Gemma Arterton had been cast as the two leads in the film. Confirmed today, both Alfred Molina and Ben Kingsley will join the cast as well. Molina will play Sheik Amar, who becomes a mentor to the prince, and Kingsley's role hasn't yet been revealed yet but we can guess that it's probably the Vizier, the main villain in the film. Jerry Bruckheimer is producing and Mike Newell is directing this video game adaptation, with filming slated to begin in July in Morocco and England.

In the fantasy adventure, Jake Gyllenhaal will play Dastan, a young prince in 6th century Persia who must join forces with Tamina (Gemma Arterton), a feisty and exotic princess, to prevent a villainous nobleman from possessing the Sands of Time, a gift from the gods that can reverse time and allow its possessor to rule the world.

I think this is actually great news. I don't necessarily believe that Gyllenhaal is the perfect choice, but I think the addition of Molina and Kingsley means that this could possibly be incredible. Bruckheimer is smart enough to realize that by bringing names like this on, it could really have the potential to break the bad video game movie mold. And both Molina and Kingsley are incredibly strong actors who should bring a definite depth to the film. This is one of the few upcoming blockbusters that I'm genuinely very excited for and interested in and will be following very closely. Is Prince of Persia starting to sound better?

Explore tags: Casting, Movie News

The Enchanted One

Pretty good cast. Let Paul W.S Anderson learn a lesson by this. This could be a good video-game adapted film. Also don't forget that MGS film that's rumored to be directed by that other Paul.
nha

Anyone know if they're gonna be doing extra casting in england anywhere?
Garrett.king

Shiek Amar?...this movie's screwed..the prince had no mentor in the game, what the hell. kingsley as the vizier will work though.
cheater

still WHERE IS ORLANDO BLOOM AS THE PRINCE!
Garrett.king

Orlando Bloom would be a lot easier to handle than Jake Gyllenhaal. This is gonna be embarrassing. I feel like starting up a revolt like what was done when it was announced that Jack Black would play the Green Lantern. what does everyone else think?
Nettle

No. Just no. And Orlando Bloom would be this movie's ruin if he were the lead. He'd have the same look on his face that he does in every movie: constipation. Gyllenhaal's a solid actor, but I don't know if he can pull this off.
Icarus

Am I the only one who thinks this is going to be cool? I mean, I certainly respect Gyllenhaal's acting ability. And Molina and Kingsley look freakin legit. Say what you will, I think this looks like a super fun, wall-running, popcorn adventure.
Hector

I too think this is going to be cool. It seems is going to be a great epic adventure, Jake Gyllenhal seems a good choice no matter his skin color, what Im looking for is a great performance no matter the looks. Alfred molina as a mentor is going to give the movie another depth, they couldn't be restricted by using only the characters in the game. Remember that the movie world is different than the video games world, and they have stated before that they are trying to do something similar to adapting this movie to what they did with Pirates of the Caribbean. This film has my support!
Darrin

i still say the son who got his head sliced off in 300 should be prince. that guy looks exactly like prince, and we all know he could sword fight and kick serious ass.
http://www.firstshowing.net Alex Billington

Why so much hate?! Prince of Persia has the potential to be incredible. And Orlando Bloom for the lead is just obnoxious!! Gyllenhaal is far better than Bloom and is a strong enough actor to potentially make this a huge hit. I'm definitely looking forward to it a lot!
drunkimus

Zen Brant Gesner I think look better for the Prince
http://deadlystealthfrogs.wordpress.com Eric

Loved that game. It drove me freaking crazy, but still, loved it. Gyllenhaal = good; Molina, Kingsley = good, though I can't help remembering the last movie Molina and Kingsley were in together... Species.
Hector

@ Darrin The lead character for the prince of persia should be able to do a good performance, because they're probably looking forward to make it a franchise. Sword fighting and physical appearance are not the only requirements for that
Cris

I agree with DRUNKIMUS Zen Brant Gesner is perfect just compare the game and The Adventures of Sinbad
Garrett.king

I've never been able to sit through a Jake Gyllenhaal starrer, aside from Brokeback Mountain..but that was largely due to Heath Ledger. Jake is NOT a solid actor. Why can't we just find a Persian actor?!
yashar

this is brilliant to have such great actorss in Movie ,Im proud as Persian .perfect match for Vazir and King,Im not sure about the prince and farah but wish you would be faithful to story line and Persian History,regards
Irapers18

They have made a disastrous casting for the two protagonists. Jake Gyllenhaal is a brokeback homosexual. The prince deserves to be played by a masculine and strong actor that is actually from Iran (Persia). They've done another disastrous decision by casting Gemma Arterton. Farah (or Tamina in the description) deserves to be played by the gorgeous Indian actress Deepika Padukone. She would be an excellent choice. The only good castings have been Alfred Molina and Ben Kingsley. For this movie to be credible, they need to cast actors and actresses that actually "look" like the video game characters. Not western looking actors like the ones that they plan on casting. They need to cast the two protagonists as a Persian actor and Indian actress. This movie has a lot of potential, and I want the director and the producers to do a superb job on this movie based on a video game.