Universal Hires Controversial Filmmaker Behind ‘Innocence of Muslims’ to Direct ‘Battleship 2’ 2 out of 5 based on 1 ratings. 1 user reviews.

Universal Pictures announced today that it had hired Sam Bacile, the controversial filmmaker behind the incendiary film, “Innocence of Muslims,” to direct “Battleship 2,” the sequel to last summer’s big-budget boxoffice flop. The of hiring of Bacile, whose real name is Nikoula Nikoula, and who wrote and produced the anti-Islamic film which was responsible for deadly riots across the Middle East, came after nobody else in Hollywood would take the job directing “Battleship 2.”

“Even Alan Smithee turned us down,” said Universal president and CEO Ron Meyer, who, like millions of others, discovered Bacile after watching his film’s infamous trailer on YouTube. “I haven’t seen people react so negatively to a movie since audiences first saw ‘Battleship.’ ”

Meyer went on to explain that he made his decision to hire Bacile to direct “Battleship 2” after he learned that “Innocence of Muslims” had a higher rating than the original “Battleship,” on the website Molotov Cocktails, which is the Middle Eastern version of the movie review site Rotten Tomatoes.

The hiring of Bacile by Universal led to even more violence in the Middle East, where protesters took to the streets and burned copies of the classic board game, “Battleship.”

Universal also announced that “Battleship” star Taylor Kitsch has signed on to reprise his role as Lieutenant Alex Hopper.

“When I heard the actors from ‘Innocence of Muslims’ say that they had no idea what kind of movie Bacile was actually making, it reminded me of my experience filming ‘Battleship,’ for director Peter Berg,” said Kitsch, who also told Hollywood & Swine that he has a lot in common with his new director.

“Like Sam Bacile, a Jihad was called against me after Islamic audiences saw ‘John Carter,’ ” Kitsch said. “The only difference is the movie didn’t offend them as Muslims, It offended them as moviegoers.”

According to Bacile, unlike the original, “Battleship 2” will not involve a threat by aliens. Instead, the plot will focus on a Battleship in the Persian Gulf that is besieged by violent Islamic fundamentalists after Kitsch’s character unwisely draws an unflattering cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad.