Jake Gyllenhaal to play Prince of Persia News • News • Eurogamer.net

News PC PlayStation 2 PSP DS Xbox 360 PlayStation 3 Wii Retro

Love interest provided by Bond girl.

Jake Gyllenhaal, him out of Donnie Darko and Brokeback Mountain, has signed up to don the big trousers for the Prince of Persia film.

According to the Hollywood Reporter the film is set in 6th century Persia. Gyllenhaal will play the prince, Dastan, while the role of "feisty and exotic" princess Tamina will be played by Gemma Arterton. No, not Gemma Atkinson, unfortunately; Arterton is the one appearing in the new James Bond film, Quantum of Solace. Together, Dastan and Tamina must take on an evil nobleman who is determined to possess the Sands of Time.

Mike Newell (who made Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Four Weddings and a Funeral, amongst other things) will direct the film. The script has been written by Doug Miro, Carlo Bernard and Boaz Yakin (no idea but IMDB reveals Yoakin wrote Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, worryingly) together with POP creator Jordan Mechner.

Jerry Bruckheimer is producing and reckons Gyllenhaal is "charismatic", while Arterton is also a good choice despite not having been in Hollyoaks.

"We've been fairly fortunate with some of our leading ladies," he said. "Some of them have gone on to become major movie stars, going back to Nicole Kidman in a movie I did a long time ago called Days of Thunder to Keira Knightley out of Pirates of the Caribbean."

Bruckheimer would not reveal the budget for the film but did say, "It's not one of our smaller productions."

Filming will begin in Morocco and England this June, and the movie is pencilled in for a 2009 release.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

Comments (34) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

Order
- Oldest
- Newest
- Best
- Worst
Score
- -25
- -10
- -1
- 0
- +1
- +10
- +25

sailesh #1 4 years ago

Comment below viewing threshold Show
Sounds promising. Well a part from the smaller budget thing.

Edit: Yes... i meant 'Yay - no smaller budget, this is gonna ooooownzzz'

Edited by 1 at 21/05/08 @ 09:06
- Log in or register to reply
- 0 - +
BBIAJ #2 4 years ago

Comment below viewing threshold Show
How could you not mention Bubble Boy (2001)!?

@ sailsesh:

Erm, he said NOT one of their smaller budget productions...
- Log in or register to reply
- 0 - +
PearOfAnguish #3 4 years ago

Comment below viewing threshold Show
Yay someone else has heard of Bubble Boy.

500 dollar! 500 DOLLAR!!

Erm, anyway, yeah, not convinced about this casting, Ghyllenhaall is a fine actor but I have trouble picturing him as Persian royalty.
- Log in or register to reply
- 0 - +
muscleblade #4 4 years ago

Comment below viewing threshold Show
Why is the movie based on Prince of Persia Sands of time. That was a very good game indeed but its not like anyone play it now is it? I guess they release it on XBLA/PSN when the movie premieres.
- Log in or register to reply
- 0 - +
MiY4MOTO #5 4 years ago

Comment below viewing threshold Show
lol @ Bubble Boy

"Have you ever been karmically bitch-slapped by a six armed goddess heh? - I'LL TAKE THAT AS A NO!"

Awesome film.
- Log in or register to reply
- 0 - +
acehotshot #6 4 years ago

Comment below viewing threshold Show
So that's where Mike Newell went after leaving Luton Town.....landed on his feet to be fair!
- Log in or register to reply
- 0 - +
TafKas #7 4 years ago

Comment below viewing threshold Show
"Ice cream, Ice cream! Curry, Curry!"
Bubble boy rocks!
- Log in or register to reply
- 0 - +
spongebob #8 4 years ago

Comment below viewing threshold Show
At least Gyllenhaal can act. Just give him a proper script.
- Log in or register to reply
- 0 - +
Immaterial #9 4 years ago

Comment below viewing threshold Show
No mention of Uwe?
- Log in or register to reply
- 0 - +
Nilsy #10 4 years ago

Comment below viewing threshold Show
yeah well, we knew they were gonna cock it up somehow.
Oded Fehr was born for it, yes, bit old but still.
Hope it turns out good anyway.
- Log in or register to reply
- 0 - +
asphaltcowboy #11 4 years ago

Comment below viewing threshold Show
@JSPOOLE: Are you f*cking kidding? (wrt your post about Gyllenhaal being no better than Bloom)

Anyway, back to the story, wouldn't have been my obvious choice, but he's a good actor, so let's hope the script and budget it do it justice.

Edited by 2 at 21/05/08 @ 10:19
- Log in or register to reply
- 0 - +
peterfll #12 4 years ago

Comment below viewing threshold Show
No better than Orlando Bloom? Errr, OK!

Edited by 1 at 21/05/08 @ 10:23
- Log in or register to reply
- 0 - +
Razzajazz #13 4 years ago

Comment below viewing threshold Show
"Not Gemma Atkinson, unfortunately"? Have you seen Gemma Arterton? She is HOT! Much rather her than the ex-Hollyoaks/I'm A Celebrity personal flotation device.
- Log in or register to reply
- 0 - +
Razorus #14 4 years ago

Comment below viewing threshold Show
Nooooo. This is bad news IMO. Jake can act, but I don't think this role is suited for him. Firstly, I don't think he's athletic enough for parkour. Stunt Double ftw. Secondly, he doesn't look as good as Oded or David Zandi, who would have been better. However, the Prince is not completely semetic-looking so they could pull of an "aryan" style character I guess.

Also, a lot of you seem to like the idea of Oded as Prince. He's way too old now and a lot of fans would be upset if he was chosen. I won't go into details but maybe one or two of you will get me. David Zandi would have been better. He looks a bit like the Prince, and plus he's actually descended from Persian royalty.

And finally....Gemma Aterton for Princess? Worst decision ever? She doesn't look nearly exotic enough and is not hot IMO. They would have been better off using Aishwarya Rai, like the rumours suggested.

Overall, I'm very disappointed by this news.

Edited by 1 at 21/05/08 @ 10:29
- Log in or register to reply
- 0 - +
asphaltcowboy #15 4 years ago

Comment below viewing threshold Show
David Zandi would have been better

How exactly, apart from 'looks', would this guy have been better? He's only had TWO (uncredited) roles on his CV! I'm sure he's a brilliant actor! :/
- Log in or register to reply
- 0 - +
Razorus #16 4 years ago

Comment below viewing threshold Show
Apparently he's not a bad actor. I've seen him in Men in Black 2 too! *cough, nervous shuffling*.

Still, Oded is old and something else *mumble*

The worst thing is Gemma Aterton though.
- Log in or register to reply
- 0 - +
Razorus #17 4 years ago

Comment below viewing threshold Show
[link url=http:/ /i191.photobucket.com/albums/z270/erikkocanierro/female%20ce lebs/aishwarya/Aishwarya-Rai-Pic-020.jpg
]http://i1 91.photobucket.com/albums/z270/...[/link]

[link url=http: //uk.imdb.com/media/rm2920191488/nm2605345
]http://uk .imdb.com/media/rm2920191488/nm...[/link]

Now, tell me who should be FTW.
- Log in or register to reply
- 0 - +
peterfll #18 4 years ago

Comment below viewing threshold Show
@Razorus

Trust me; Mr Gyllenhall has the athletic quality to pull this off (oo-er); he's QUITE buffed, if you actually take notice of such things.

Edited by 1 at 21/05/08 @ 10:51
- Log in or register to reply
- 0 - +
ghearoid #19 4 years ago

Comment below viewing threshold Show
"Mr Gyllenhall has the athletic quality to pull this off (oo-er); he's QUITE buffed, if you actually take notice of such things."

I can vouch for this having spent many long hours studying our Jakey. I hope he gets to wear a shirt ripped to the waist!

Edited by 1 at 21/05/08 @ 10:54
- Log in or register to reply
- 0 - +
Riggers #20 4 years ago

Comment below viewing threshold Show
I just can't see Jake Gyllenhaal as the Prince of Persia. Acting skills aside, he's not good looking enough, and he aint even remotely Persian. Pfft! Pfft I say!
- Log in or register to reply
- 0 - +
Razorus #21 4 years ago

Comment below viewing threshold Show
I'm going to have to disagree with y'all about Jake's athletiscm. He's not lean enough, he's too buff (in the sense that he is too large muscularly, not attractive, which I'm sure he is but I don't swing that way). Parkour is usually performed by smaller, less built and leaner individuals.

And I still don't like Gemma Arterton.
- Log in or register to reply
- 0 - +
Darkedge #22 4 years ago

Comment below viewing threshold Show
let the hollywood assraping of a computer game commence AGAIN.
- Log in or register to reply
- 0 - +
Thalanos #23 4 years ago

Comment below viewing threshold Show
Ignoring the casting for a minute... POP:SOT is one of the few games that could actually make a great movie if done right.

The characters have some kind of a story arc, the setting is good, the bad-guy is the right kind of melodramatic.

If they can find a way to make the time-reversal action sequences cool then I'm all for this. *Preys for a very long single-take shot in a fight sequence with multiple painful looking hits and rewinds in it. No cuts*

Of course it could all go wrong, but it's easier to be optomistic about this than most crossovers.
- Log in or register to reply
- 0 - +
dk_rare #24 4 years ago

Comment below viewing threshold Show
I hope he's shirtless through most of the movie, that would make me very happy.
- Log in or register to reply
- 0 - +
Chaote-Imagicka #25 4 years ago

Comment below viewing threshold Show
"It would have been nice if they actually went for a Prince who actually looked somewhat Persian."

Also an Indian Princess who looked vaguely Indian would be nice.

Bet the Vizier is brown though.
- Log in or register to reply
- 0 - +
Razorus #26 4 years ago

Comment below viewing threshold Show
Just a note to anybody who's interested. The Prince and Princess and even much of the story is actually not meant to be a precise adaptation of the game. The creator himself wrote the script for the film and said that he wanted it to be a sort of alternate version, hence no Indian-looking Princess and a named Prince.
Also note that the Prince does not therefore have to look like one from the game, and as long as Jake gets a slight tan, he could actually look like an Iranian guy (like the Aryan ones).

I still don't like the choice of casting though. And I still don't like Gemma Arteton.
- Log in or register to reply
- 0 - +
monkie_king #27 4 years ago

Comment below viewing threshold Show
I may be misremembering, but the SoT prince was from the matinee idol template, wasn't he? More Errol Flynn than Saladin? I always thought that Sands was in the Indiana Jones Saturday-matinee-serial swashbuckling tradition, and was deliberately inauthentic in terms of voice acting and ethnicity.

Anyway, I just hope they find a way to keep the circular arc of the narrative intact, and maybe even re-use the voice-over mechanic to do it.
- Log in or register to reply
- 0 - +
andromeda #28 4 years ago

Comment below viewing threshold Show
although i like Jake as an actor....

Instant Fail
- Log in or register to reply
- 0 - +
DarthInsinuate #29 4 years ago

Comment below viewing threshold Show
I'm going to predict Omid Djalili appears in the film as a token Iranian.

I'm also going to predict there'll be a scene where Jake Gyllenhaal tries to wall run past a trap, but keeps getting it wrong, so he keeps reversing time and trying again, back and forth. That'll be about half the film.
- Log in or register to reply
- 0 - +
agparrot #30 4 years ago

Comment below viewing threshold Show
Prince of Emo.
- Log in or register to reply
- 0 - +
Triggerhappytel #31 4 years ago

Comment below viewing threshold Show
JSPOOLE - "It would have been nice if they actually went for a Prince who actually looked somewhat Persian."

My thoughts exactly. But then it probably wouldn't fare too well in the US if Sendhil Ramamurthy or someone who looks vaguely darker-skinned was to star in a Hollywood movie, huh? I wouldn't mind; it would have a much more genuine air of authenticity.
- Log in or register to reply
- 0 - +
lordvitriol #32 4 years ago

Comment below viewing threshold Show
HAHAHA so typical to let an american play an "foregner".
- Log in or register to reply
- 0 - +
- Edit
- Delete
- Ignore
johnnybrn #33 4 years ago

Comment below viewing threshold Show
Noooooooooooooooooooo!

I always though Peter Petrelli from Heroes would make a good prince.

Not emo-boy Donnie Darko!
- Log in or register to reply
- 0 - +
leilamaria #34 4 years ago

Comment below viewing threshold Show
Jake Gyllenhaal has been cast as the Prince of Persia. And Gemma Arteton is playing the Indian princess. WTF?

This guy is NOT the prince of persia Go here to see the one who SHOULD be...his name is Hrithik Roshan and looks more like the true prince...

[link url=http://www.housefull.in/wallpapers/hrithik -roshan/hrithik_roshan-1.jpg
]http://ww w.housefull.in/wallpapers/hrith...[/link]

OR JOHN ABRAHAM who has strong Persian roots and looks like the perfect prince! almost a duplicate of him.

[link url=http://www .gpsinfoway.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/bollywood/john-abrah am/john-abraham-05.thumbnail.jpg
]http://ww w.gpsinfoway.com/blog/wp-conten...[/link]

And this should have been Tahmina...she looks way more like Farah: [link url=http://www.parinda.com/files/storyimages/Bipas ha_Basu_no_entry.jpg
]http://ww w.parinda.com/files/storyimages...[/link]

Why is Hollywood so stupid and racist? They always have actual Persians or Arabs play terrorists, but when it comes to the hero or good guy, they only let famous brand namers play it. Look at how they portrayed Persians in 300. I just threw up a little in my mouth at the thought of Jake Gyllenhall playing a Persian Prince and Averton play a wannabe exotic princess....she doesn't look exotic at ALL.

And hey if you don't agree with this choice go to this website and sign this petition :

[link url=h ttp://www.petitiononline.com/popfilm/petition.html
]http://ww w.petitiononline.com/popfilm/pe...[/link]

Please sign before July!
- Log in or register to reply
- 0 - +
- Edit
- Delete
- Ignore