Jake Gyllenhaal regrets starring in the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time adaptation for numerous reasons, but mostly he wasn’t the right person for the role.
In retrospect, Mike Newell’s 2010 « Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time » may seem like one of those early misguided video game adaptations that completely missed the mark. But the truth is, the Jake Gyllenhaal-led action-fantasy was a step in the right direction, compared to earlier attempts at turning games into spectacles like 2007’s « Hitman » or 2008’s « Max Payne » on the big screen. « Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time » at least resembled the vibe of the source material despite failing to recreate the IP’s essence in another medium. That said, the movie was undeniably a far cry from successful game adaptations like « The Last of Us. »
It was way too generic and lifeless, ignoring most of the strengths that made the games a thrilling and singular adventure. Looking back, Gyllenhaal seems to agree, and he kind of regrets picking the role that wasn’t really meant for him. In a 2019 interview with Yahoo Entertainment, the « Spider-Man: Far From Home » actor admitted that the part of Dastan wasn’t the right fit for him.
