PoP update

Almost a year ago I posted about what was at the time the next project on the horizon for "awesome" action director Michael Bay, an adaptation of the very popular and extremely fun video game Prince of Persia. Well back in November, there was a shifting of the sands at the Jerry Bruckheimer camp, and the directors gig fell to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire helmer Mike Newell. Good news if you ask me, of course Bay would've done a tremendous job, but Newell is more than adequate to bring this story to the screen. And now that the strike is over, and the script by Day After Tomorrow scribe Jeffrey Nachmanoff is in, production is really starting to gear up.

The story itself will reportedly not directly follow the plot of the game, although The Sands of Time will be retained as a subtitle. The original screenwriter Jordan Mechner claimed that PoP would be closer in style to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. And undoubtedly Disney and producers would love to have another tentpole action series that rakes in the money like the Pirates films.

Frankly, I think they just might. While a lot will depend on casting, the story (at least in the game) is strong, the visuals are something American film audiences won't have seen much of before, and come on, who seriously doesn't love a rollicking adventure film? The film will be shot in England and Morocco probably beginning sometime this June assuming the SAG doesn't strike. I am definitely looking forward to this one. Considering the pedigree of the games, this should be a really cool film.
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