He wasn't supposed to have a name. For years, the protagonist of the Prince of Persia series was just "The Prince." He was a blank slate, an avatar of fluid motion and tragic mistakes. Then 2010 happened. Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer decided to turn the pixels into a summer blockbuster, and suddenly, we had Prince of Persia Prince Dastan.
Jake Gyllenhaal put on the leather armor. He grew out the hair. He did the parkour. But if you look at the long, winding history of this franchise, Dastan is a weirdly isolated figure. He exists in a cinematic bubble that the gaming world almost entirely ignored afterward.
It’s strange, honestly. Usually, when a massive movie drops, the games scramble to align themselves with the "new" version. Think about how Marvel comics started looking like the MCU. That didn't happen here. Dastan remained a movie-only experiment, a name that fans still debate over late-night forum posts and Reddit threads.
The Identity Crisis of Prince of Persia Prince Dastan
Let’s be real: giving the Prince a name was a massive risk. In the Sands of Time game trilogy, his anonymity was part of the charm. He was a mythic figure. By naming him Dastan—which means "story" or "tale" in Persian—the filmmakers tried to ground him. They gave him a family. They gave him two brothers, Tus and Garsiv, and an adoptive father, King Sharaman.
In the film, Prince of Persia Prince Dastan is a street urchin. He's a kid who gets noticed by the King for showing "nobility" during a scuffle in the marketplace. It's a classic hero's journey trope. The King adopts him, making him a Prince by merit rather than blood. This creates the central tension of the movie; he's the outsider in his own royal family.
Jordan Mechner, the creator of the original 1989 game and a screenwriter for the 2010 film, has spoken about this transition. He wanted the movie to feel like a "new branch" of the tree. It wasn't supposed to replace the game's Prince, but rather provide a structured narrative that a two-hour film requires. Games can get away with "The Prince" because you are him. Movies need a name to call out when someone is falling off a roof.
The name "Dastan" actually has some deep roots in Persian literature, specifically the Shahnameh. It’s not just a random cool-sounding word. It links back to the hero Zal. But for gamers who grew up with the 2003 masterpiece, it felt... different. It felt like Disney-fication.
Why Gyllenhaal’s Dastan Split the Fanbase
Some people loved the parkour. Others couldn't get past the accent. It's a weird mix. Gyllenhaal clearly put in the work—he looked the part, his physique was ripped straight from the Warrior Within concept art, and he did many of his own stunts.
Yet, Prince of Persia Prince Dastan felt a bit too "clean" for some.
The games, especially Warrior Within, were dark. They were gritty. They had a heavy metal soundtrack and a Prince who was literally being hunted by the manifestation of Fate (the Dahaka). Dastan, by comparison, felt like a swashbuckling hero from a 1940s adventure flick. He was cheeky. He was a bit of a rogue.
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The chemistry with Gemma Arterton’s Tamina was great, sure. But the stakes felt more like Pirates of the Caribbean than the existential dread of the Sands of Time. This tonal shift is why "Dastan" never became the definitive version of the character. When Ubisoft released The Forgotten Sands around the same time as the movie, they specifically used the game's version of the Prince. They didn't call him Dastan. They didn't use Gyllenhaal's face.
They knew.
The Mechanics of the Dagger and the Sands
You can't talk about Prince of Persia Prince Dastan without talking about the Dagger of Time. In the movie, the Dagger is treated more like a MacGuffin than a tool. It's a physical object that everyone is chasing.
In the games, the Dagger is an extension of your hand. It’s a gameplay mechanic first and a story element second.
The movie actually did a decent job of visualizing the "rewind." When Dastan presses the jewel on the hilt, the world melts away in a golden blur. It looks expensive. It looks cool. But the movie limits its use. Dastan can't just spam the rewind button like a frustrated teenager trying to beat a platforming level. He has to use it sparingly.
This is where the movie gets interesting. It introduces the idea that the Dagger can be used to see the future, not just fix the past. It adds a layer of political intrigue. The villain, Nizam (played by Ben Kingsley), wants the Dagger to go back decades and change a single moment so he becomes King. It’s a classic "Time Travel 101" plot, but it works for a blockbuster.
The Cultural Impact and the "White-Washing" Controversy
We have to address the elephant in the room. Even in 2010, the casting of Prince of Persia Prince Dastan was controversial. Casting a Swedish-Jewish actor as a Persian Prince raised eyebrows then and looks even weirder now.
Gyllenhaal later admitted in an interview with Yahoo! Entertainment that he "learned a lot" from the experience and realized the role wasn't quite right for him. He said, "I think I learned a lot from that movie in that I spend a lot of time trying to be very thoughtful about the roles I pick and why I’m picking them."
This controversy is a big reason why Dastan hasn't been brought back. Modern audiences expect more authentic representation. When Ubisoft announced the Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown in 2024, they introduced a new protagonist named Sargon. He’s Persian. He has a distinct look. He feels grounded in the culture in a way that Dastan never quite managed.
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Dastan was a product of a specific era of Hollywood—the "star-driven blockbuster" era where the IP mattered less than the face on the poster.
Where Can You Find Dastan Today?
If you’re looking for Prince of Persia Prince Dastan now, you won't find him in the recent The Rogue Prince of Persia or the Sands of Time remake (whenever that actually comes out).
He’s relegated to:
- The 2010 Blu-ray and streaming platforms like Disney+.
- A series of LEGO sets (yes, there is a LEGO Dastan).
- A graphic novel titled Prince of Persia: Before the Sandstorm, which acts as a prequel to the movie.
- Random action figures gathering dust in collectors' basements.
It’s a bit of a sad end for a character that was supposed to launch a massive franchise. Disney wanted their next Pirates, but they got a "one and done."
The Technical Parkour: Realism vs. CGI
One thing Dastan actually got right was the movement. They hired David Belle, the founder of Parkour, to choreograph the stunts. When you see Prince of Persia Prince Dastan running across walls or jumping between rafters, there’s a weight to it.
The film used a mix of "wire-work" and actual athleticism. This was a nod to the game's rotoscoped origins. Back in 1989, Jordan Mechner filmed his brother running and jumping in a white tracksuit to get the animations right. The movie tried to honor that spirit of physical movement.
The set design for the city of Alamut was also staggering. It wasn't just green screen; they built massive, intricate sets in Morocco. The scale was huge. If you watch the movie today, the practical effects and the locations still hold up remarkably well. It’s the CGI "Sand Snakes" and the final battle that feel a bit dated.
The Legacy of a Forgotten Prince
Is Dastan "canon"?
In the world of the games: No.
In the world of the fans: Maybe.
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Most people just view him as an alternate-universe version of the character. He’s like the "Ultimate" version of a superhero—a different take for a different medium.
What's fascinating is how the gaming industry has moved on. We’ve seen the rise and fall of Assassin’s Creed (which literally started as a Prince of Persia spin-off idea). We’ve seen the "Metroidvania" rebirth of the series with The Lost Crown. Through all of it, the name Dastan has become a trivia answer rather than a pillar of the brand.
He represents a moment in time when Hollywood thought every game could be a tentpole movie if you just added enough sand and a recognizable face.
What to Do if You Actually Like Dastan
If you're one of the people who actually enjoyed the 2010 film (and honestly, it's a perfectly fine 6/10 popcorn movie), there are ways to dive deeper without waiting for a sequel that’s never coming.
- Read the Shahnameh: If you liked the name and the "lore" of Dastan, go to the source. The Persian Book of Kings is full of actual myths that make the movie look tame.
- Play The Forgotten Sands: This game was released to capitalize on the movie's hype. While it doesn't feature Dastan, it has the same "vibe" and some of the elemental powers that feel cinematic.
- Check out the LEGO sets: Seriously, they are surprisingly detailed and cover the Alamut escape scenes quite well.
- Watch the "Making Of" featurettes: Seeing David Belle train Jake Gyllenhaal is more interesting than half the scenes in the actual movie. It shows the respect they had for the game's movement.
The story of Prince of Persia Prince Dastan is a cautionary tale about adaptation. It shows that you can get the costume right, the stunts right, and the budget right, but if you lose the soul of the "nameless" hero, you might just lose the audience too.
Practical Next Steps for Fans
If you're looking to revisit this character or the world he inhabits, start by separating the movie from the games. Treat the 2010 film as a standalone epic.
Track down the prequel comic. It's written by Jordan Mechner himself, so it carries a lot more weight than a standard movie tie-in. It fleshes out Dastan's relationship with his brothers, which was one of the strongest parts of the film.
Compare the wall-running. Watch a side-by-side of Dastan in the movie versus the Prince in Sands of Time. You'll notice that the movie actually captures the "weight" of the jump better, while the game captures the "fluidity."
Ultimately, Dastan remains a fascinating footnote. He’s the Prince who was given a name, a face, and a Disney contract, only to be swallowed by the very Sands of Time he tried to control. He didn't save the franchise, but he did give us one hell of a parkour show.
Stop waiting for a Prince of Persia 2 movie. It's been 16 years. Instead, look toward the remake of the games. That's where the real soul of the Prince—nameless or otherwise—truly lives.
Key Takeaways for Fans of the 2010 Film:
- Dastan is a name derived from Persian literature, meaning "Story."
- The movie is technically a "standalone" and does not connect to the Ubisoft game timeline.
- Jake Gyllenhaal performed many of his own stunts under the guidance of parkour inventor David Belle.
- The Dagger of Time in the movie has a different internal logic than the one found in the game trilogy.