Joel Edgerton in talks for 300: Battle of Artemisia

For someone who burst onto the scene so quickly with last year's Animal Kingdom, Aussie actor Joel Edgerton has had a rough go at it proving to be a leading man here in the United States. No doubt he's wrangled his fair share of upcoming projects, such as The Great Gatsby, The Odd Life of Timothy Green, and possibly Kathryn Bigelow's Seal Team 6 film. But what's all that newfound fame done for his last two starring films? Warrior got KO'ed by audiences in the 1st round, and The Thing couldn't even get the die hard John Carpenter fans to attend. That doesn't look good at all.

A turnaround may be in the works, however, as Edgerton has entered talks to star in 300: Battle of Artemisia, a prequel to Zack Snyder's hit 2006 film featuring sweaty bare chested dudes, lots of animated blood, and a nauseating amount of speed ramping. Noam Murro(Smart People) is directing, with a script from original 300 scribe Frank Miller(co-written by Snyder), and takes place ten years prior to the famous battle at Thermopylae. He would take on the role of Themistocles, one of the generals who helped lead Athens against both Persian attempts at invasion. He was one of the primary leaders at the Battle of Marathon, which the film is said to focus a great deal on.

I would say this is a good, logical move for Edgerton, but I'm not convinced anybody's screaming for a 300 origin story. Especially without Zack Snyder at the helm, and most of the principle players not returning. Gerard Butler has been rumored to make an appearance as Leonidas, but that hasn't been confirmed yet. [Vulture]