A week shy of a year since we ripped open a new one for Clash of the Titans and it's 'diet coke' 3D conversion and ridiculous plotting - filming on the sequel is already under-way in London on the follow-up to the $500 million worldwide grossing fantasy epic. Titled Wrath of the Titans - a moniker which I contend makes absolutely no sense and it should instead be "Wrath of the Gods" (though the press release interestingly just says Clash of the Titans 2) - the sequel has brought back much of it's principal cast. However a new Warner Bros press release has brought with it confirmation of a new face. Becoming something of a geeky franchise regular (Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter and rumoured to be part of The Hobbit) - Brit character actor Bill Nighy has joined Wrath of the Titans as Hephaestus. If you know your Greek mythology, he was a son of Zeus, a grotesque and hideous (at least in the eyes of the Greeks) blacksmith God who represented manufacture and industry, a great role for Nighy - and he even has a physical resemblance to this statue of the character... Despite them all admitting the first movie wasn't up to much, the majority of the original cast have been happy enough to return for one more outing. Sam Worthington turned down a multitude of offers to reprise the lead role of Perseus, Liam Neeson continues his paycheck crusade and is back as Zeus, Ralph Fiennes return as Hades and Danny Huston is back as Poseidon (hopefully with a few more lines this time eh guys?, this is a huge character with a great actor playing him!!). Along with Nighy, the really exciting new additions are Edgar Ramirez (Ares, The God of War) and Toby Kebbell (Agenor) with Rosamund Pike also on board, replacing poor Alexa Davalos who was subbed when her part as Andromeda was increased. Here's the new press release which gives us full plot details of what is planned for the sequel, set ten years after Clash of the Titans;
A decade after his heroic defeat of the monstrous Kraken, Perseusthe demigod son of Zeusis attempting to live a quieter life as a village fisherman and the sole parent to his 10-year old son, Helius. Meanwhile, a struggle for supremacy rages between the gods and the Titans. Dangerously weakened by humanitys lack of devotion, the gods are losing control of the imprisoned Titans and their ferocious leader, Kronos, father of the long-ruling brothers Zeus, Hades and Poseidon. The triumvirate had overthrown their powerful father long ago, leaving him to rot in the gloomy abyss of Tartarus, a dungeon that lies deep within the cavernous underworld. Perseus cannot ignore his true calling when Hades, along with Zeus godly son, Ares (Edgar Ramírez), switch loyalty and make a deal with Kronos to capture Zeus. The Titans strength grows stronger as Zeus remaining godly powers are siphoned, and hell is unleashed on earth. Enlisting the help of the warrior Queen Andromeda (Rosamund Pike), Poseidons demigod son, Argenor (Toby Kebbell), and fallen god Hephaestus (Bill Nighy), Perseus bravely embarks on a treacherous quest into the underworld to rescue Zeus, overthrow the Titans and save mankind.
One conspicuous absentee from the new press release is that of Gemma Arterton, who's embarassingly reundant character in the original was shamefully revived from death towards the end of the film so she could take part in a sequel. But with filming on her part of Gretel in Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters alongside Jeremy Renner already underway and with the press release clearly stating 'sole parent', it looks like she's been dropped the film and will probably be written out by an off-screen death, we can only presume. A second conspicuous absentee is that no actor has been announced to play Kronos, the 'ferocious leader' of the Titans and the father of Zeus & Hades, and clearly is in need of a huge actor to portray the role. He would be the father of Zeus, father of Neeson & Fiennes! Sean Connery perhaps out of retirement? It literally has to be someone that big! The press release also encouragingly mentions that Steve Knight (Eastern Promises) has contributed the latest draft of the script, so hopefully he's cut the crappy parts that took two previous writers Dan Mazeau (Bruno) and David Leslie Johnson (Orphan) to be hired then fired. Jonathan Liebesman, who depressingly just directed the atrocious Battle: LA will direct and the film is pegged for a March 30, 2012 release date.