First Look: Frank Miller's 300 prequel comic XERXES

The L.A. Times has posted the first preview image of Frank Miller's upcoming300prequel comic Xerxes which is already being touted as a potential future film at Warner Bros. The film is named after the Persian leader Xerxes, a real-life figure whose ruthless and androgynous portrayal in the 300 film was deemed to be so offensive by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that he even filed a complaint to the United Nations, claiming the movie to be a vicious propaganda piece against the historical identity of his people. He won't be all that happy then to hear that Miller has decided to name his prequel after Xerxes and once again depict the Greek's as the protagonists (the good guys basically). And he'll be doubly unhappy to hear that 300 director Zack Snyder, and Legendary Producer Thomas Tull have seen a couple of pages and are excited over it's cinematic prospects. Set ten years before 300 just after the Battle of Marathon, the comic follows Themistocles, a warlord of Greece who built their navy and is on the search to become a God.

"With Themistocles I have a character who is almost the dead opposite of Leonidas in that Themistocles was a lying, conniving, brilliant, heroic figure. He was nicknamed 'The Subtle Serpent' and he always manages to do the exact right things that will result in him benefiting greatly"

On his portrayal of Xeres (pictured below, the only image we have so far)...

"Yes, I suppose it will be seen as provocative, but really to me he is such a pivotal character and in this story I get to explain him so much more fully," Miller said. "I do my best to crawl inside his head rather than have him be this iconic force that simply commands this huge army. There are many scenes with him alone or just with his people. There's an extended scene set in Persepolis, for instance, where he takes power and there are several scenes where he is going through his transitions and he's shown speaking to his mother and his wife and with all of that he becomes that much more interesting as a character."

Miller says;

"The story will be the same heft as '300' but it cover a much, much greater span of time -- it's 10 years, not three days... ...This is a more complex story. The story is so much larger. The Spartans in '300' were being enclosed by the page as the world got smaller. This story has truly vast subjects. The Athenian naval fleet, for instance, is a massive artistic undertaking and it dwarfed by the Persian fleet, which is also shown in this story. The story has elements of espionage, too, and it's a sweeping tale with gods and warriors."

As to whether Gerard Butler could reprise the role of Spartan King Leonidis, a role that made him a huge movie star - well, it's left pretty unclear. In the comic at least, Miller says his part is restricted to a "brief but spirited debate with Themistocles" but one could imagine it being extended for a movie. The movie ends with a large scale war, ending right where 300 begins. Dark Horse Comics will release the first of a six-part series early next year. You can read the whole Miller interview HERE.