This morning Variety is confirming news that probably won't surprise anyone. 300, the graphic novel adaptation that cost virtually nothing to make but grossed over $200 million last spring, is getting a sequel. Well, probably. Legendary Pictures, which is also developing The Watchmen, is interested in the graphic novel Frank Miller is currently working on, which may be a prequel or some kind of spinoff.

300 director Zack Snyder, as he said to Collider.com last week, will probably be as much a part of it as Miller is. That is, if the graphic novel is any good, Snyder will be on board. It almost seems beside the point for a 300 sequel to exist, given how many parodies have cropped up since the movie became such an unexpected success. And, of course, there's the issue of revisiting the same characters, given that-- SPOILER ALERT-- most of them died at the end of the first film.

But hey, when have any of those problems stood in the way of Hollywood making some cash? Really, given the intense fanboy love for the original 300, and the quality of work Frank Miller has put into his other efforts for movies, there's no reason to believe this will be some cheap attempt at cashing in on 300's success. If that were the case, the sequel would have been off the ground the minute 300 hit #1 at the box office. All parties involved seem to be taking the idea of this sequel-- or prequel, or spinoff, or whatever-- very seriously, so I guess we have no choice but to follow suit.