Rodrigo Santoro Returning as Xerxes in ‘300: Battle of Artemisia’

It has been confirmed that Rodrigo Santoro will reprise his role as Xerxes in 300: Battle of Artemisia. Santoro will join Eva Green (Casino Royale) as Artemisia, Sullivan Stapleton (Darkness Falls) as Themistocles, and Jamie Blackley (Snow White and The Huntsman) as Calisto.

The story is rumored to be a sort-of-sequel which will follow Xerxes (Santoro) is pushed into the bloody battle with the Greeks by the gold-covered maven goddess Artemisia (Green). Artemisia utilizes her knowledge of how much Xerxes’ father King Darius’s death has affected him, persuades Xerxes to go into battle against those responsible. Artemisia also searches for  group of men to join Xerxes in the battle against the Greeks.

She manages to use her feminine wiles to convince Themistocles (Sullivan Stapleton) to side with her and Xerxes, even though the Persians took her family and he was firmly on the side of the Greeks. Ultimately, she convinces him that his life will be better off if he swaps sides. Themistocles’ skills as a fighter are only rivaled by his ability for deception and lies.

Other than the rumored synopsis,  story details are sparse and it’s not entirely clear how much of the story will be based on Frank Miller’s as yet to be released graphic novel, Xerxes or how much input Miller will have on the story or design aspects of the film.

The film will be helmed by director Noam Murro (Smart People).

300: Battle of Artemisia is currently in pre-production with an eye towards hitting the screen sometime in 2013.

More as this develops.