Joel Edgerton In Talks for 300 Prequel

Stardom remains in Joel Edgerton's sights yet still elusive.

His performance in the magnificent Warrior was his biggest profile role to date but the Gavin O'Connor-directed MMA-drama tanked and most of the pre-release talk/press focused on the Tom Hardy hype machine and Nick Nolte's supporting turn as the two leads' pitiful and sober father. Both were also wonderful but your heart went out to Edgerton and his turn as a good guy doing whatever he can to put bread on the table for his family even if it means getting the shit beat out of him and losing his high-school teaching position. He was also in that shitty Thing prequel but we won't hold that against him, and, at the moment, filming Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby. But again by the time that drops next Christmas, the talk will center on the bigger names Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire.

Here lies his next shot at household name status. Vulture reports the Aussie actor is in talks to headline 300: Battle of Artemisia, the highly-touted prequel to Zack Snyder's 2007 smash. The leading role in question is that of Themosticles, the general who led the Greeks against the Persians in 480 BCE.

Remember how Gerald Butler was a lesser-known before 300, turned his career around from doing strictly-crap cinemas where everyone knew his name only for him to go right back to the schlock? Well, Edgerton is a much better actor generally-speaking and 300 was quite the popular yarn for the masses and continues to make a nice profit for Warner Brothers. How do you think Snyder got the Superman gig?

Not crazy about him latching on what feels like second-helpings, but if it makes the public finally embrace the guy, then fine. It's about damn time it happened.