Jake Gyllenhaal Cast as the Prince of Persia

(1up) -- Hopes are high for the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time film, what with its heavyweight Hollywood backing (including producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Mike Newell of Donnie Brasco and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire fame) and because it's based on a game with a story that may actually be worth adapting. So it'll be interesting to see how this news reverberates in the howling gloom-pit that is the Internet: According to The Hollywood Reporter (via Joystiq), Jake Gyllenhaal has been cast as the titular Prince. And the Prince, apparently, has a real name now, to boot. Gyllenhaal will play Dastan, a prince in sixth-century Persia who joins forces with a princess named Tamina (presumably based on the character Farah from the Sands of Time game) to stop a "villainous nobleman" from using the power of the Sands of Time to rule the world. The Hollywood Reporter also revealed that Tamina will be played by Gemma Arterton, a relative newcomer who has a role in the upcoming Bond film Quantum of Solace. So -- Jake Gyllenhaal. Thoughts? The guy's a fine actor, but we're having a little trouble imagining him as a gallivanting Persian action hero.