Dark Horse comics have released the first piece of art from Frank Miller's upcoming miniseries Xerxes, the series will serve as a a prequel to his 1998 graphic novel '300' which was adapted for the screen by Zack Snyder.
The description of the series is:
"Xerxes rose to power in fifth-century-BC Persia and became known as 'The King of Kings,' eventually raising and leading a massive army intent on ruthlessly destroying the hated Greeks who killed his father. Xerxes seeks nothing less than to become a god himself -- and achieves his wish!"Frank Miller also spoke to LA Times about the mini series, he revealed that Leonidas will have a small cameo and he has no plans to make direct the film adaption:
"The time frame begins 10 years before 300," said Miller, "and the story starts with the Battle of Marathon, which was killer to draw, by the way, even if it was a lot of work. The lead character is Themistocles, who became warlord of Greece and built their navy. The story is very different than 300 in that it involves Xerxes' search for godhood. The existence of gods are presupposed in this story and the idea is that he's well on his way to godhood by the end of the story."
"There's an extended scene set in Persepolis," adds Miller, "for instance, where he takes power and there are several scenes where he is going through his transitions and he's shown speaking to his mother and his wife... The new tale climaxes with a massive naval confrontation that is so dense that it is fought like a land war and it ends on the same day as the events of 300."
As for any Hollywood life for "Xerxes," Miller said he has no desire to direct or co-direct it and can't approach his bordered pages as storyboards for a film. "I don't do a comic book thinking there is a movie. I just want it to be as good a comic book as it can be. It's up to Zack and company to make it work as a film."
