Director Jonathan Liebesman Updates Wrath of the Titans; Sequel Starts Production Soon
Posted 02.24.11 by Ryan
With his alien invasion movie Battle: Los Angeles opening in March, director Jonathan Liebesman can look ahead to his next movie, Wrath of the Titans, the sequel to Clash of the Titans. Liebesman takes over for director Louis Leterrier for the continuation of the Greek Epic that previously saw Perseus (Sam Worthington) defeat the Kraken and save Princess Andromeda (Alexa Davalos) — a role Rosamund Pike will take over in the sequel.
With ComingSoon revealing that Wrath of the Titans will start shooting in 10 days, Liebesman told Collider that the shoot will last for 78 days ("It ends in like late June," said the director). Liebesman admitted he was excited for the shoot, despite his personal ties to Letterier.
Well it's exciting because I think — again Louis Letterier is one of my mentors from NYU, so I'd never say anything bad about him 'cause he has taught me a ton of s**t— I think the first Clash was a missed opportunity. I think the second one ... we've got a great cast, the same cast, and I want to ground it in a similar reality to say Battle: LA, like have that real grit to it. And within that, you have the fantastical creatures. So really bring it down to something recognizable, realistic in the costume and the way it's shot and the lighting, lots of atmosphere like what Ridley Scott does, and put fantasy into that. 'Cause I haven't seen that in this genre, I haven't seen fantasy in something that looks like Gladiator.
Liebesman revealed that he will not shoot Wrath of the Titans in 3-D, but, like many other directors, turned to 3-D guru James Cameron for advice. "Sam Worthington put me in touch with Jim Cameron, we spoke a lot about aspect ratios and 3D," admitted Liebesman, who continued to compare Wrath of the Titans to Gladiator.
Again I think this is more something in line with say Gladiator, where there are aspects of that grounded filmmaking but I don't wanna take it too far.
For me, taking Greek mythology and all that fantasy and putting it in a real world that's epic, like Gladiator, like a big Ridley Scott movie, and taking all that fantasy and putting it in, grounding it, making it feel real, that's the movie that I wanted to see when I walked into Clash 1 and that's the movie that Clash 2 is gonna be. That's what I was looking for, I was looking to come in and have a real, intense, visceral kick-ass experience with spectacle but grounded, with great actors, and that’s what the second one will be.
Audiences will have to wait until Wrath's March 23, 2012, release date to see if Liebesman delivers.