300: Battle of Artemisia

A prequel rather than a sequel, exploring how Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) became the God-King of Persia. This means that none of the Spartan heroes from the first movie will reappear – a disappointment to fans of large men in small skirts. Comic-book legend Frank Miller will return to pen the screenplay, but director Zack Snyder has bigger fish to fry in the form of 'Superman: The Man of Steel', so he's handed the reins over to Noam Murro, whose only other directing credit was 'Smart People', a largely forgotten 2008 comedy with Dennis Quaid. Unusual training for a blood-spattered cartoon about ancient toughnuts knocking seven shades out of each other, but hey, that's Hollywood.