Gyllenhaal is Prince of Persia

Wednesday, May 21, 2008
By: Ryan Ball

If you’re a dashing young Persian actor struggling to get a break in Hollywood, you might think that a movie called Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time could be it. Then you find out that the white guy from Brokeback Mountain got the job. According to Daily Variety, Disney has confirmed that Jake Gyllenhaal has been cast in the title role of Jerry Bruchheimer’s adaptation of the hit video game from Ubisoft. The actor will be joined on screen by Gemma Arterton, the next Bond girl in Quantum of Solace, coming out in November.

Gyllenhaal takes on the role of Dastan, a prince in sixth-century Persia who teams up with a feisty, exotic princess to prevent a villainous nobleman from possessing the Sands of Time, a gift from the gods that can reverse time and allow its possessor to rule the world. Mike Newell (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) is directing from a screenplay by Doug Miro, Carlo Bernard, Boaz Yakin and game creator Jordan Mechner. Shooting is scheduled to begin in July in Morocco and London for a Summer 2009 release.

Inspired by The Book of One Thousand and One Nights, Mechner teamed with developer Brøderbund to launch the first Prince of Persia Game for PCs and early consoles in 1989. Ubisoft decided to bring the franchise to PlayStation 2, Xbox and Gamecube in 2003 with Sands of Time, which has spawned six sequels.

Prior to taking his turn with the Harry Potter franchise, Newell directed a lot of British and U.S. TV before helming such popular films as Four Weddings and a Funeral and Donnie Brasco. His latest film, an adaptation of the Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel Love in the Time of Cholera, opened to mixed reviews in November.

Reader Comments

• lil rocker : director : woodnt u lik 2 no

  Thursday, May 22, 2008

  \"If you’re a dashing young Persian actor struggling to get a break in Hollywood, you might think that a movie called Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time could be it. Then you find out that the white guy from Brokeback Mountain got the job.\"
  
  What is the meaning of these sentences? Does someone have a chip on their shoulder or what? And pls do tell: How many dashing young Persian actors ARE there in Hollywood (don\'t forget they have to be great actors too!)??
  
  That \"white guy from Brokeback Mountain\" happens to be a DAMN GOOD ACTOR & gorgeous. So what is your problem and where is your professionalism?

• Rabban : Multimedia developer :

  Thursday, May 22, 2008

  I think its perfectly fitting to expect a Persian to play a Persian in a movie. If not, at least someone of Middle Eastern descent and not some Scandinavian Jew from Los Angeles. When I first read it was going to be Jake, I was surprised, dashing or not. It just a throw back to when whites painted their faces to portray Native and African Americans. Surely Night Shyamalan could suggest a few actors to take this lead role.

• david : wanderer : my own

  Thursday, May 22, 2008

  I would have thought Oded Fehr would be the best choice to play the Prince of Persia...

• Amanda : CEO : Disney

  Friday, May 30, 2008

  David Zandi the real Prince of Persia should\'ve been hired. Disney and Jerry really screwed up this great franchise.

• shesmiles :

  Sunday, June 01, 2008

  I am very disappointed in the movies Disney has made these past few years. What they did with Pirates of the Caribbean was really sad. They should have left it with the first movie and moved on.
  
  Casting Jake as the lead role to portray a prince from the middle east is ridiculous. I\'m not bashing the actor himself but I really don\'t believe his acting style or experience is a smart fit. What about an actor like David K. Zandi? He can speak English well and has been in Hollywood movies before.
  
  If Disney wanted to cast an \" underdog\" he would have been a neat choice. Or how about casting some other new face as the lead? Why must movies always have \" big actors\" as leading roles? Disney better watch out with their choices from now on because this is one fan who will not be at the theatres.