EW's Nicole Sperling broke the news today that Jake Gyllenhaal has signed on to star in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, the big screen adaptation of the hit video game series from Ubisoft. The Brokeback Mountain star, forever listed as the frontrunner to replace Tobey Maguire as the lead in Spider-Man 4, will instead seek to build a tentpole franchise of his very own as the titular time-travelling Arabian adventurer created by legendary game developer Jordan Mechner.
Bond girl Gemma Arterton will also star. Prince of Persia is set to begin shooting this July, with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire director Mike Newell helming. Disney and superproducer Jerry Bruckheimer are eyeing a June 16, 2009 release date.
Can we put all of the Spider-Man rumors to bed now? Please?
Source: EW