During the international press tour for his new movie Heleno, actor Rodrigo Santoro sat down with out partner site Omelete, and he talked about possibly returning to play Xerxes in Noam Murro's upcoming 300 sequel, 300: Battle of Artemisia. While the script was originally based on the prequel comic Xerxes, written by 300 author Frank Miller, the sequel has morphed into a story with an Athenian protagonist taking on the Persian king. Santoro says he's still in talks to return as Xerxes, and that the sequel will show a bit more of his character's backstory.Hit the jump for more. 300: Battle of Artemisia stars Sullivan Stapleton and Jamie Blackley. Santoro will next be seen in What to Expect When You're Expecting.
Here's what Santoro had to say to Omelete about where he is in the negotiation process:
Omelete: You said you are negotiating to do Xerxes in "300"
RODRIGO SANTORO: We are talking about it. Let's see what happens. It's a long story, my friend. A long story.
When asked about the script, and how much we'll see of Xerxes in the sequel, here's what the actor had to say:
SANTORO: I read one some time ago, but they are still working on it.
And in that version, Xerxes is shown in that period during the war? Or they show his childhood?
SANTORO: I think there is a little…some of his backstory. Some explanation but it will be very quick.
Finally, Santoro says that Battle of Artemisia takes place during the events of 300. While Xerxes is near the Battle of Thermopylae, the sequel will show what's happening on another battlefield:
SANTORO: The movie is set at the same time. The idea is to show another point of view. While that battle from the first 300 is taking place, there were others going on…Actually, it's all of this and then there is an intersection point with the first movie. It goes back and then goes beyond that. That was the initial concept.
Keep in mind that the script is still changing, but I'm curious to see how this simultaneous-story approach will work out assuming they choose to stick with it. Here's Santoro talking with our partners at Omelete in Portuguese. They were kind enough to translate it for us.
