Donnie Darko Himself, Jake Gyllenhaal, is the Prince of Persia?!

So apparently we live in a world where Jake Gyllenhaal could conceivably be the Prince of Persia. Let that sink in for a bit.

I'm a huge fan of Gyllenhaal, don't get me wrong, but somehow I just don't see this working. Not only is he not much of a physical and action-oriented actor, I can't help but think this is another typical Disney move, a la The Forbidden Kingdom, when it comes to getting minorities on the big screen.

He's the fricking prince of Persia people!

We've mentioned before that a real Persian prince may have been up for the role as well, but we all knew that never was a real possibility. I suppose with his dark features, and maybe a bit of a tan, Gyllenhaal could pass for Persian, but that's obviously besides the point.

Of course looking at this realistically, it's aiming to be a big budget action film in the vein of Pirates of the Caribbean, so they obviously needed a known and bankable star. It's times like this that I realize reality totally sucks sometimes.

He'll be costarring with Gemma Arterton, a new Bond girl, and the film will be helmed by Mike Newell. Don't even ask for a plot description.

[Source: EW via Geeks of Doom]