Following a tad slowly on the heels of "Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief" and the upcoming "Clash of the Titans" remake is another blockbuster involving Greek mythology: "War of the Gods" (aka "Dawn of War"), a sword-and-sandals epic being helmed by visionary filmmaker Tarsem ("The Fall") that will tell the story of Athens founder and legendary Minotaur-killer Theseus. Henry Cavill (Showtime's "The Tudors") will star as the hero, and now joining him, according to Variety, is Indian actress Freida Pinto ("Slumdog Millionaire").
Pinto will play Phaedra, "an oracle priestess" and (future?) wife of Theseus, who joins him in the quest to stop the titular war -- pitting the younger Olympian gods against the elder Titan gods -- from beginning. The character has been portrayed many times on screen, mainly in adaptations of plays by Euripides and Jean Racine, the most recent of which starred Helen Mirren in the part.
No past depiction of the tales of Theseus, Phaedra or the Greek myths in general will likely compare to Tarsem's version though. Still unfortunately best acclaimed for his MTV Award-winning video for R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion," and likely still best paid for his "Gladiator"-inspired Pepsi commercial starring Britney Spears and Beyonce, the India-born filmmaker has directed only two feature films so far, "The Cell" and "The Fall" (he also did second unit shooting on "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"). Both were lacking on the writing side but featured gorgeous visuals.
For something like this, though, eye candy is really all we need. We don't typically expect a strong script with this kind of film, produced purely for spectacle, so while Universal and the overseers of "War of the Gods" (including "300" producers Gianni Nunnari and Mark Canton) are likely focused on spectacular effects, they might as well also employ a filmmaker with an eye for spectacular shots and cinematography.
As for Pinto, she'll definitely be contributing to the beauty of the film as well. Since making her debut in "Slumdog," she has been a coveted actress. So far she's worked with Julian Schnabel, on "Miral," and Woody Allen, on "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger" (Cavill also just recently worked with Allen, in "Whatever Works, so the two may have some things to talk about).
Are you familiar with Tarsem's work? Do you agree he's a great choice to direct a myth-based epic? And what about Freida Pinto? Aren't you dying to see her in something besides "Slumdog Millionaire" already?
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