Jake Gyllenhaal crowned 'Prince of Persia'

"Rather than do a straight beat-for-beat adaptation of the new videogame, 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." –Jordan Mechner

It is one of the most anticipated film projects in recent years and one that has been subject to much rumors, counter rumors and exaggerated speculations by fans and studio executives alike. The latest major Jerry Bruckheimer ( Pirates of the Caribbean I, II, III, Pearl Harbor) production “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time,” is finally set to start shooting. After such known Box Office pretenders as Orlando Bloom ( Troy, Pirates of the Caribbean) , or Rodrigo Santoro ( Who played Persian King Xerxes in 300 ) to virtually unknown ethnic candidates like Iranian model/actors David K. Zandi and David Zahedian, the producers have finally officially announced

that BrokeBack Mountain awarding star Jake Gyllenhaal will finally star in “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time,” Disney’s feature adaptation of Ubisoft’s popular video game.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a third-person action adventure video game. It was released on November 6, 2003 and is a continuation of the landmark MS-DOS and Macintosh game series Prince of Persia, created by Jordan Mechner in 1989. Developed for the PC, PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, and later a 2D version for the Game Boy Advance and mobile phones, The Sands of Time was a major hit. The success of The Sands of Time led to two sequels, Prince of Persia: Warrior Within and Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones, in 2004 and 2005, respectively. The Screen adaptation of the latter will certainly depend on the success or failure of The Sands of Time that ambitions to become the next Hollywood Blockbuster Franchise.

In the fantasy adventure, Gyllenhaal will play Dastan ( which mean’s “Story” in Persian), a young prince in 6th century Persia who must join forces with Tamina (known as Farah in the Game is played by the latest James Bond Girl Gemma Arterton), a feisty and 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.