14 DAY TRIAL // It was nothing but an “erroneous error,” Warner Bros., the movie studio working on a sequel to 2007’s blockbuster “300,” says of a certain rumor that Guy Ritchie may direct the long-awaited sequel.
In a statement to Entertainment Weekly, Warners denies that they ever approached Ritchie with an offer to take over from visionary director Zack Snyder.
As fans must already know, “300” was directed by Snyder on a script he co-wrote with the author of the original graphic novel Frank Miller.
A while back, Miller was asked to do a sequel to the novel – which turned out to be a prequel, “Xerxes.” He and Snyder then set out to write the script based on it.
“Guy Ritchie will not be directing Xerxes, the sequel to the 2007 surprise blockbuster 300, a Warner Bros. spokesperson tells EW,” EW writes.
“Reports that the Sherlock Holmes director had been formally offered the job are ‘an erroneous rumor,’ according to the rep,” the publication says.
As we also noted the other day, word had it that either Warners wanted Snyder to be focused more on the “Superman” reboot or they were trying to get him out of the picture because his popularity was decreasing.
A third option that no one seemed to have considered – and that EW now underlines – is for Warners to wait until Snyder is done with “Superman” and then only afterwards set to work on “Xerxes.”
In other words, the prospect of getting a sequel to “300” has just become more distant than ever.
“300 director Zack Snyder, meanwhile, is currently occupied working on the new Superman movie, which is due to start shooting this summer and hit theaters late next year, effectively preventing Snyder from taking the directing reigns of Xerxes until 2012,” EW notes.
“Whether Xerxes could hold until Snyder would be available is unclear: The project — based, like 300, on a Frank Miller graphic novel — remains in active development but has not yet been greenlit,” the e-zine further says.