Trivia / Clash of the Titans (2010)

• Ability over Appearance: Originally, Perseus was envisioned as being more of a young slender man. Louis Leterrier had watched Sam Worthington in the film Somersault, and thought that he would be ideal, and was therefore somewhat taken aback when he met Worthington. The actor had bulked up considerably for his roles in Avatar and Terminator Salvation.
• California Doubling: Set in Greece, but filmed in the Canary Islands, Shepperton Studios in London, and Wales.
• Creator Backlash:
  • Louis Leterrier disowned the final film, claiming "It's not my movie" and refused to return for the sequel.
  • Gemma Arterton has expressed distaste for the film, to the point where she refused to appear in the sequel (thus explaining why Io was killed off between movies). Arterton stated that the initial script sounded interesting but that when it came to the filming and editing process, it was very rushed and ended up completely different, to her disappointment. She even stated she felt Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (another 2010 film she starred in) was the better film of the two and didn't understand how Clash made more money.
  • Alexander Siddig, who played Hermes, referred to this as "the lamest movie I ever made", claiming 50% of his performance was deleted.
  • Sam Worthington was disappointed in his performance in this film, though he blames it more on himself than anything else.
• Deleted Role: Apollo and Athena had major roles in the original cut, but the film was reworked. Apollo's role was heavily reduced, while Athena was almost cut completely. Additionally, all the Gods originally had lines in the first scene on Olympus.
• Dueling Works: This was released the same year as Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and features several similarities. This is about Perseus, and the latter's protagonist is named after him. Both deal with internal strife between the Gods in Olympus - and both make Hades the antagonist (when he wasn't in either original story). Both feature a Gorgeous Gorgon incarnation of Medusa, and the latter's head is used to turn a giant monster to stone. Even Gemma Arterton and Alexandra Daddario look a bit similar as the main love interests. Clash of the Titans was even going to feature a scene where the demigod visits Olympus for Calling the Old Man Out, and the Gods are rendered as gigantic.
• Executive Meddling: Louis Leterrier actually suggested filming the movie for 3D early on, but the studio didn't want to pay for the expense. After Avatar was a huge hit though (and they secured Sam Worthington to boot), the studio insisted on a 3D conversion after the film was shot, leading to the rushed, grainy look the theatrical cut had. The fallout led Leterrier to decline returning for the sequel.
  "It was famously rushed and famously horrible, the 3D. Nothing was working. It was just a gimmick to steal money from the audience."
• Fake Brit: Well The Queen's Latin but you know. This doesn't count for Sam Worthington and Mads Mikkelsen, who used their own Australian and Danish accents respectively.
  • Liam Neeson (northern Irish) as Zeus.
  • Alexa Davalos (French) as Andromeda.
  • Liam Cunningham (Irish) as Solon.
• Follow the Leader: Followed-up on the rekindling of interest in Greco-Roman set films by Gladiator as well as arguably even more prominently the popularization of a heightened and fantastical style of 300.
• Pop-Culture Urban Legends: There's a persistent rumour that Bubo the owl was originally going to have a bigger role, and Sam Worthington hated the character and insisted it be taken out. A magazine called Female First alleged that Louis Leterrier badmouthed the actor for this, but the interview has never been confirmed nor verified by any reliable source.
• Promoted Fanboy: Gemma Arterton was a fan of the original Clash of the Titans.
• Saved from Development Hell: Warner Bros. acquired the rights to remake the film in 1996. Lawrence Kasdan and Stephen Norrington were attached to make the film in 2007.
• So My Kids Can Watch: Liam Neeson signed on solely because his children were really into Classical Mythology and thought it would be cool for him to play Zeus.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Matthew Belamy was writing the score, but had to abandon midway through as Muse started a tour.
  • As detailed here, the film's original story was drastically different:
    • Perseus and Io's relationship was purely platonic, with a romance developing between him and Andromeda during his time in Argos. It would have ended with a Maybe Ever After situation between them.
    • Perseus's main motivation for going after the Gods in the original was to show that mankind did not need to rely on them for anything. Likewise he wished to save Andromeda because he felt that nobody should be sacrificed for the sake of the people. In the finished film, he just wants revenge on Hades.
    • Apollo and Athena had major roles, conspiring against Zeus and Hades. Apollo was originally the one who offered Perseus passage onto Olympus.
  • Zeus was far more villainous in the original cut. The film would have ended with Perseus going to Olympus and putting Zeus and the rest of the Gods on notice. Zeus would offer him a seat, but Perseus would refuse — saying his father is a dead fisherman.
  • The original idea for the movie was a Crossover Cosmology with Tiamat waging war against the Greek pantheon and Perseus being assisted by Thoth, Osiris, Marduk and Yahweh. He would also apparently have a romantic affair with some "Cthonian Earth goddess," with Andromeda being relegated to be a spoiled princess with a male harem.
  • Robert Rodriguez declined to work on the film.

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