'300' Star Rodrigo Santoro Talks Sequel, Reprising Xerxes

You wouldn't expect "300" to lend itself easily to a sequel, since all of the relevant characters are pretty much dead by the end (spoilers!). But there were events happening before and during the Battle of Thermopylae, which is why the concept is being revisited in "300: Battle of Artemisia," a prequel/sequel/??? with a release date in the vague future. It'll supposedly be about an Athenian hero taking on the Persian king Xerxes, sort of in the way that "300" was about a Spartan hero taking on the same guy.

There will be at least one constant between the two: actor Rodrigo Santoro, who played Xerxes in "300" and is in talks to reprise his role in "Battle of Artemisia." Speaking to Omelete, Santoro discussed his involvement with the movie and its premise.

"The movie is set at the same time," Santoro said. "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."

Having read the script, Santoro also dished some details about Xerxes' role in the film. "I read one some time ago, but they are still working on it," he said. "I think there is a little…some of his backstory. Some explanation but it will be very quick."

That said, his involvement isn't guaranteed -- there's still a contract to be worked out, as well as the final details regarding whether "Battle of Artemisia" is for real. "We are talking about it," Santoro said. "Let's see what happens. It's a long story, my friend. A long story."

As mentioned, there's no firm release date or production schedule for "Battle of Artemisia," so hold your excitement for the time being. You can watch Santoro in the upcoming "What to Expect When You're Expected," which is about as far from "300" as humanly possible.

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