Jason and the Argonauts Heading to the Big Screen

Posted on August 12, 2008

Screenwriter Zack Penn, who wrote The Incredible Hulk and The X-Men, is writing the script for a feature film version of The Argonauts for 20th Century Fox. But that's not the only sword and sandals epic heading to the big screen. Many more films are planned.

In the wake of the success of "300," sword-and-sandals pics have become a hot commodity. Warner Bros. is moving forward with a "Clash of the Titans" remake, with Louis Leterrier at the helm, as well as a "300" sequel. Joining the chariot race is Relativity Media, which has fast-tracked "War of Gods" about Greek warrior Theseus, who led a fight against imprisoned titans.
And at least three Hercules pics are in development around town, including Universal Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment's "Hercules: The Thracian Wars," which Peter Berg is attached to direct. Meanwhile, Universal also has a "God of War" pic in the works, based on the epic Greek myth-inspired vidgame, with Brett Ratner attached to helm.
Fox's version of "The Argonauts" is based on Penn's original take on the classic Greek tale. In Greek mythology, the Argonauts were a band of heroic sailors who, in the years before the Trojan War, accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. The Argonauts name comes from the sailors' ship, the Argo.

We can't believe there are going to be three Hercules films all coming out around the same time. That seems quite ridiculous. Still, we do like Hercules. But it's one of those stories that lives or dies with two things: the casting of the main character and the script. Mess those up and you get something totally ridiculous.

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