Surprise guests Jerry Bruckheimer and Nicolas Cage showed off two of next year’s big summer films, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.
“Prince of Persia” debuted the first trailer (which, though Bruckheimer claimed wasn’t complete, seemed ready to go effects-wise). The trailer featured quite a bit of Jake Gyllenhaal as Prince Dastan and explained the basic plot: there is a magical dagger that offers the bearer the power to travel through time. Ben Kingsley (as the evil Nizam) wants to steal it and use it it to destroy the world, so Dastan and Tamina (Gemma Arterton) have to take it to “the secret guardian temple” where it can be safe. There’s quite a bit of fast cutting and flirting between Dastan and Tamina. At one point, they appear to be in disguise as servants and she asks if he’s carrying the dagger. He tells her that she’ll have to do a pretty thorough search to find it.
Cage told the audience that Fantasia was “the most beautiful film of all time” and explained that The Sorcerer’s Apprentice was the kind of movie he felt was important to make in the world today. The footage shown mixed behind-the-scenes shots with actual segments from film. In it, Cage plays Balthazar Blake, an ancient sorcerer who has been searching for an apprentice “since the time of Merlin”. He finds it in young Jay Baruchel, who seems completely taken aback at the prospect of becoming a sorcerer himself.
Among the scenes showcased were glimpses of the famous broom sequence, originally from Fantasia and a quick shot of a live-action hat matching the conical blue one that Mickey Mouse wears in the feature.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is slated for May 28, 2010, while The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is scheduled to hit theaters July 16, 2010.
