According to Variety, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time has landed some more top-notch talent. Alfred Molina and Sir Ben Kingsley have joined Jake Gyllenhaal and Gemma Arterton in the video game adaptation.

Molina will be playing Sheik Amar, who becomes a mentor to Gyllenhaal's prince. No word on who Kingsley is playing, but popular consensus is that it will be the villainous Vizir. Of course, since they aren't sticking to the video game storyline, it could be anyone -- but Kingsley is one of those go-to actors for villains.

Jerry Bruckheimer definitely knows how to guide a good cast. There are shades of Pirates of the Caribbean in this line-up, and that perks my interest. I do find myself amused by the addition of Molina, an actor of Italian-Spanish descent, as a shiek. That isn't going to help claims that the casting is ethnically insensitive.

I really dug Orlando Bloom in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, then recoiled in horror at his work in Pirates. Okay, not horror, but I was completely disappointed and wished the entire time that Will Turner would get killed and Sparrow would get Swann. When you're rooting for the womanizer, even when he's played by Johnny Depp, you know something is off. So, I wasn't really into the idea of him as the Prince of Persia, and was relieved to hear that he was out of the picture. Who's the next big name to make waves?

Latino Review says that Jake Gyllenhaal has been offered the lead role in Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. Now, if the site is to be believed, this will be the best film of all time. Well, the most visually appealing, that is. Okay, just something immensely appealing to my movie-fan heart. It's not just the Jake -- they say that lots of parkour is involved as well. (If David Belle got involved too...)

But seriously -- parkour is beautiful, and immensely great to watch on film -- unless it's being done by a bad guy who out-cools James Bond. And Gyllenhaal, he's got the acting chops and the body, and he'd also be a solid choice to make the film desirable to a larger audience. However, LR does note that Jake's messed up his ankle playing basketball, so he'd have to mend up first before taking on the role that starts this summer in Morocco. (Mend, please mend!)

I've said my piece, but what do you think?

UPDATE: Cinematical has talked with a Disney rep who would not deny nor confirm this rumor. Their "you'll see soon enough" stance leads us to believe there might be some truth here. Oh, and expect both leads to be announced at the same time.

Though this news hasn't officially hit the trades, Hollywood.com is reporting this morning that Orlando Bloom has landed the lead role in Jerry Bruckheimer's next giant adventure trilogy, The Prince of Persia. The deal is reportedly worth $40 million, and Bloom beat out Zac Efron (no way could I see him in that role) for the part. Bloom, as we all know, helped Bruckheimer's previous Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy become one of the most lucrative ever. So if Bloom is in, and a Princess still needs to be cast, does that mean we could be hearing Keira Knightley's name pop up in the near future?

Last we heard from Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, shooting was to begin in Morocco this summer, with a release date of June 16, 2009 already in place (check out some concept art here). Mike Newell (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) will direct off a script from Jordan Mechner. Prince of Persia, of course, is based on the very popular series of video games. The story will revolve around a Prince (Bloom) who teams with a rival princess (Knightley???) to stop an evil ruler from unleashing a sandstorm that could destroy the world.

So, what do you fans of the game think about Orlando Bloom in the lead role?

UPDATE: Disney has gone on record with several sources (including Cinematical) claiming this story is absolutely not true. Of course, we will let you know whenever the real casting announcement has been made.

Since way back in 1897, Morocco has been a popular location for movies looking for a little 'exoticism' in their backdrops. Variety reports that the next big-budget Hollywood flick to land there will be the big-screen version of The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Director Mike Newell signed on back in November, and will be shooting from a Jeffrey Nachmanoff (The Day After Tomorrow) script starting early this June. Persia is based on the best-selling franchise from Ubisoft about a royal son with the power to control time -- with the added bonus that he is responsible for unleashing the mother of all curses on his kingdom.

Back in December, producer Jerry Bruckheimer had confirmed that a script was in the works. Other than some info that they would be using plot elements from the game Sands of Time, nothing had been finalized. In fact, there are still a lot of question marks hanging over the film, including who was going to be donning the hero's puffy pants. Earlier this month, there was a quick glimpse of concept art, but let's just say you aren't going to learn much about the flick by looking at a few title cards. Bruckheimer and Disney are eyeing a summer release in 2009 so they are going to have to get to work if they want to meet the deadline. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is tentatively scheduled for release on June 16th, 2009.

It's kind of funny if you think about it, but Steve Martin really does have two entirely different careers. First, there is the goofy family friendly guy who stars in middling comedies like Bringing Down the House and Cheaper By the Dozen; and then there is the acerbic wit who writes abstract New Yorker pieces and stars in David Mamet films. Plus, occasionally he comes up with an idea for a movie of his own. RowThree.com is now hosting two new stills from the political thriller, Traitor. Martin will not be starring in this film, although he will serve as an executive producer. Originally Disney had lined up to produce the film back in 2002, but after a few staff changes at "mouse headquarters," the project was dropped.

Traitor stars Guy Pearce, Don Cheadle, and Jeff Daniels. Jeffrey Nachmanoff directed the film and the plot is is described as a "topical, politically relevant story dealing with international terrorism and U.S. traitors." Pearce plays FBI agent Roy Clayton; a straight arrow type who is drawn into a political conspiracy when everything points to a Special Operations officer (Cheadle). From there on it sounds like your usual espionage fare and, "obsessed with discovering the truth, Clayton tracks Horn across the globe as the elusive ex-soldier burrows deeper and deeper into a world of shadows and intrigue."

Nachmanoff isn't exactly a household name, but you might recognize him as the man who wrote The Day After Tomorrow (which isn't exactly good news, now is it?). But, I'll rely on the reputations of Pearce and Cheadle to guarantee me at least a decent popcorn movie if nothing else. Nachmanoff also wrote the script for Traitor before heading off to work on pre-production for Jerry Bruckheimer's video game flick, Prince of Persia. Traitor is still in post-production so a release date has not been set. Stay tuned to Cinematical for any updates that come our way.

Collider recently caught up with blockbuster producer Jerry Bruckheimer during a press junket for National Treasure 2, when the subject of the big screen version of Ubisoft's Prince of Persia came up. Bruckheimer tells Collider that Persia is set to begin shooting this June. Unfortunately it all hinges on whether the writer's strike has been resolved, since Bruckheimer admits that the script is far from complete, saying, "we have a screenplay, we're just starting to develop the look of it" -- which roughly translates to "my assistant has made some notes while playing the game," I'm guessing. The original plot of the game centered on Prince Shahraman, who is tricked into unleashing a plague on his land and gains the power to control time. Of course, there is also the usual video game goal of rescuing a princess.

Back in November, Chris had reported that Harry Potter director Mike Newell had been offered the job. Well, it seems that Newell is officially on board since Bruckheimer told the site, "We hired a very interesting director, Mike Newell, who did one of the Harry Potter's and also did Donnie Brasco and he's a very inventive, ingenious director and I think he's going to bring something really special to it." The film is expected to work in some of the plot elements of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.

The third person action game released by Ubisoft back in 2003 was a huge fan favorite. Combined with the outright suckiness of most video game flicks, there is a lot for Newell to overcome if he wants to make sure that audiences are happy with the final product. Two more sequels to the game were released in '04 and '05, so there is plenty of opportunity for additional films. Considering Bruckheimer's fondness for franchises, there is a real possibility we will be seeing more of the Persian Prince in the years to come.

I know I'm relatively alone on this, but my favorite Harry Potter movie is Goblet of Fire, which was directed by Mike Newell. I thought Newell, who also gave us Four Weddings and a Funeral and Enchanted April, got a lot of great stuff out of the cast and also seemed to inject a Britishness that I felt was missing from the series. Now, I'm not sure if either character development or Anglo-ization is something needed in an adaptation of the video game Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, but I'm still happy to see that Newell could be hired to direct the movie. According to Variety, Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney have offered Newell the project, which is expected to spawn a new franchise for the producer and studio -- likely as a replacement for the maybe-done Pirates of the Caribbean series. The Prince of Persia script has been written by Jeffrey Nachmanoff (The Day After Tomorrow) and had earlier been offered to blockbuster director Michael Bay.

I probably know the least about video games than anyone (I only like playing Rampage at my favorite arcade-bar), and Wikipedia's detail of the storyline of Prince of Persia makes my head spin. So, all I can really tell you about the story is that it involves an ancient Persian prince, a "Dagger of Time" that allows the prince to control time, and some undead creatures made of sand. Hopefully a game-playing reader can give a more concise plot description in the comments. It sounds a little more action-packed than Newell is used to, and I suspect many fans of the games will be skeptical of his ability to handle the material. I think I like Newell more than most people -- though I couldn't bring myself to watch Mona Lisa Smile -- and I look forward to seeing what he does with it. I'm still anxious to see his upcoming adaptation of Love in the Time of Cholera (out 11/16), despite the few bad reviews I've seen, and I really wish he'd be called back for the final Potter movie.

It appears to be a busy week for Ubisoft game titles. Latino Review now has a script review of the big-screen version of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time for Disney. Since the fate of Disney's other hi-action franchise is still hanging in limbo, Prince of Persia could be their next chance at another blockbuster series. The game has existed in one form of another since 1989, starting on the Apple II and has lasted right up to the latest generation consoles. Rights to the film were bought by action-mogul Jerry Bruckheimer back in 2004, but it took over three years to get a script about a "a brave medieval prince sets out to rescue the kidnapped daughter of the Maharajah and save his realm from certain destruction." And so far, Latino Review seems happy with what they have seen, including a first act that sounds remarkably similar to the opening of the game Sands of Time.

Fans will be happy to know that our acrobatic friend will be in fighting form since the film plans to make use of the French art of Parkour, "the aim of which is to move from point A to point B as efficiently and quickly as possible, using principally the abilities of the human body" -- the most recent example would be the amazing chase scene in Casino Royale, or there is my personal favorite, Nike's The Angry Chicken. IESB had reported that Michael Bay was set to direct the film for a summer release in 2009 just as soon as he was finished with Transformers, but nothing has been confirmed. But, if the script is the real thing, it could mean that maybe the film is just a little closer to becoming a reality.

What, you were expecting a low-budget character study? Disney is hoping that right after wrapping Transformers, Michael Bay will direct Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, an adaptation of the extremely popular video game. Jerry Bruckheimer is producing, and the film is planning for a Summer 2009 release. The Bay/Bruckheimer collaboration has so far given us Bad Boys and Bad Boys II, Armageddon, the incredibly awesome The Rock, and the incredibly anti-awesome Pearl Harbor. Of this new project, Jordan Mechner, the game's creator, says "Rather than do a straight beat-for-beat adaptation of the new video game, we're taking some cool elements from the game and using them to craft a new story, much as Pirates (of the Caribbean) did with the theme park ride."

The game is part of a trilogy -- "Sands of Time" was followed by "Warrior Within" and "The Two Thrones." Naturally, Bruckheimer is hoping to make Persia into a franchise, a la Pirates. You can head over to IESB to see some concept art for the film. Now, I haven't played "Prince of Persia." In fact I haven't played a video game since the original Nintendo. But apparently "Persia" is a third-person action-adventure game that follows "an adventurous prince who teams up with a rival princess to stop an angry ruler from unleashing a sandstorm that could destroy the world." That sounds fine I suppose, but when am I going to get Paperboy: The Movie? Tetris: Rock Out With Your Blocks Out?

Not long ago, I pointed you toward a story over at Jim Hill Media in which Hill himself talked about how Disney's planned adaptation of the Prince of Persia video game might soon become the studio's next big franchise. We already know the first Persia-related film Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, is currently in development; IMDb lists a release date of 2008 and Charlie Clausen has apparently nabbed the part of the prince.

Our Italian friends (oh yes, Cinematical has friends all over the globe) from Badtaste seemed to have uncovered some promotional artwork for either the film or a new video game. They claim to have received the images in a promotional document from Disney, and promptly scoured the net for similar game-related images, but could not find any that matched. Which, of course, leads us to believe that this is our first look at some of the pre-production artwork for Disney's "next great franchise." Story follows a prince and a rival princess who team up to prevent a villainous ruler from unleashing a world-ending sandstorm. For those of you Prince of Persia fanatics out there, take a look at the pics and let us know what you think?