Ritchie plans historical comedy

Director Guy Ritchie is undeterred by the poor response to his latest movie, he's already planning his next film project - an ancient historical comedy.

Revolver, Ritchie's return to the gangster genre, disappointed critics and fans - just three years after his previous big screen effort, Swept Away, flopped miserably.

But Ritchie has already begun work on a new movie about the 16th century Great Siege of Malta by the Ottoman (Turkish Empire).

He says: "I finished another scrip, which was based on the siege of Malta, and that took about a year to write. I was going to do that one first but then a load of epics came out. So I thought I'd see how they did. I'd still like to make it."

Ritchie was inspired to make the new movie a comedy after witnessing the success of Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl. He adds: "I think they work best if they're fun. They don't seem to work if they're serious because they're silly stories.

"If I was to go either way, it would probably be more towards Pirates."