Joel Edgerton in talks to replace Gerard Butler in 300 sequel

I hope Joel Edgerton likes red sauce on his pasta.

The ANIMAL KINGDOM and WARRIOR actor is in talks to star in 300: BATTLE OF ARTEMESIA, the Zack Snyder produced sequel currently in pre-production at Warner Bros. While Edgerton wouldn’t replace original star Gerard Butler as Leonidas, he’d be the new lead of the film, Themistocles, who led the Greeks to victory over the Persians at the Battle of Artemisium.

Before you get too excited, it’s to note that this is not the first time Edgerton has been talked about to lead a big action film. Universal wanted him to take over as the lead of the new BOURNE franchise and later was in talks with the actor to star in SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN (a role he would turn down and later went to Chris Hemsworth).

Edgerton is currently taking a break from both action and adventure while filming THE GREAT GATSBY for Baz Luhrmann. ARTEMISIA currently has Noam Murro attached to direct with a script co-written by Snyder.

Should it all work out, perhaps one day Edgerton will be the subject of countless “This is SPARTA!!” memes.