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Noam Murro to Direct WB's Xerxes Spin-Off '300: Battle of Artemisia'

by Alex Billington
July 17, 2011
Source: THR

Though we reported previously that directors like Guy Ritchie had been offered the chance to take on this project, THR is now saying it's Noam Murro who will be getting the offer this week to direct Xerxes, the upcoming spin-off from Zack Snyder's 300. Murro is an Israeli director whose feature debut was the indie Smart People, however he's already attached to direct Die Hard 5, when/if that ever happens. Additionally, the project has been retitled from Xerxes (the original Frank Miller graphic novel title) to 300: Battle of Artemisia, to connect it more with the first movie. The aim is to shoot Artemisia in a similar style as 300.

As we learned last year, Xerxes, or now 300: Battle of Artemisia, will focus on the Battle of Artemisium, which is where the Persian leader Xerxes (seen above) fought the warlord named Themistocles. The story takes place over the course of several years, but the focal point is the Battle of Artemisium and learning about why "Xerxes is the way he is." The only odd part of this news is that THR says Murro is getting the job essentially because Jaume Collet-Serra was given Akira, and WB was placing each of these directors on each film, so Murro is going to be offered Artemisia. Let's hope he's got the chops to take on this kind of project.

Snyder wrote the script for 300: Battle of Artemisia, from Frank Miller's graphic novel, with 300 co-writer Kurt Johnstad. I'm interested to see how this turns out, mostly because I enjoyed 300 and I think it'll be badass to see more about Xerxes, too. But I haven't seen Murro direct anything but comedy (and I liked Smart People, but it has no action) so I hope he's been watching and learning and is able to kick ass with Xerxes. We'll let you know if the deal changes or if there are any other updates, so stay tuned! Interested?

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