Move over, Orlando Bloom, megaproducer Jerry Bruckheimer has found a new action hero, none other than Jake Gyllenhaal. The "Pirates of the Caribbean" star had been rumored to take on the leading role in Bruckheimer's new movie adaptation of the hit video game "Prince of Persia," but the producer elected to go with the Academy Award nominee instead. According to Variety, the flick will be entitled "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time," and Walt Disney Studios is hoping it's the first installment of a long-running franchise.

Set to be directed by Mike Newell ("Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"), "Persia" will find Gyllenhaal playing Dastan, a sixth-century prince who is forced to team up with the exotic princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton) to stop an evil nobleman from obtaining the Sands of Time, a powerful artifact that can reverse time and allow the villain to take over the world (scary).

The video game has actually been around since 1989 and has generated six sequels, including "The Sands of Time" series, although it's unclear how much the film will draw on that particular story line. A new "Persia" game is scheduled for release later this year.

As for Gyllenhaal, he's no doubt counting the days until he sets foot on a big-budget studio production like "Persia" again. Over the past few weeks, the actor has been shooting David O. Russell's new indie comedy "Nailed" in South Carolina with Jessica Biel and Catherine Keener. Both the Screen Actors Guild and the IATSE unions have forced the movie to shut down on two separate occasions because of irregularities with the project's financing. Russell's difficult reputation had already made "Nailed" one to watch. Now his latest film has become legendary before it's even finished shooting. Luckily, Gyllenhaal can breathe easy, as he also has Jim Sheridan's anticipated drama "Brothers," with Natalie Portman and Tobey Maguire, set for release this fall.

Production on "Persia" will begin this July in Morocco and London. It's expected to hit theaters sometime in the summer of 2009.

Oh, and as for Mr. Bloom? He just shot a small role in the anthology film "New York, I Love You," but since the third "Pirates" wrapped more than two years ago, he hasn't worked that much. I wonder why ...

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