With the upcoming zombie action movie, Army of the Dead, director Zack Snyder appears to be returning to his roots. After all, his directorial debut was the remake of George A. Romero’s renowned zombie classic Dawn of the Dead. In more recent years, Snyder's name has become synonymous with various mature superhero films, such as his DCEU entries and Watchmen, but there was a time where the director was perhaps best known for his work on another comic book adaptation, Warner Bros.' 300, and he intended to revisit the franchise for the third time.
Released in 2006, Snyder's adaptation of 300 was a huge success, smashing box office records and being quoted into oblivion by fans. It inspired a sequel, 300: Rise of an Empire, which was not directed by Snyder due to his commitment to Man of Steel. The second movie did not perform as well as the first and with Snyder moving on to the DCEU, it seemed like the short-lived 300 movie franchise was over. However, it appears that Snyder was actually planning on writing and directing another installment, but unfortunately, due to his often fought relationship with Warner Bros., the project was abandoned before it could take off.
The Playlist reports that Snyder recently discussed his attempt to write the third 300 film for Warner Bros. on an upcoming episode of The Fourth Wall podcast. “When I sat down to write it I actually wrote a different movie," Snyder told the Fourth Wall. "I was writing this thing about Alexander the Great, and it just turned into a movie about the relationship between Hephaestion and Alexander. It turned out to be a love story. So it really didn’t fit in as the third movie.” He also said of the finished product, "There was that concept, and it came out really great. It’s called ‘Blood and Ashes,’ and it’s a beautiful love story, really, with warfare. I would love to do it, [WB] said no… you know, they’re not huge fans of mine. It is what it is.”
Based on the Frank Miller graphic novel also titled 300, the movie adaptation told the story of King Leonidas (Gerard Butler), who leads 300 Spartans into battle against a massive invading Persian army led by King Xerxes. While his first film certainly set the stage for the director's use of gore, it was really 300 that defined Snyder's unique style and approach to action. Using a technique called "speed ramping," Snyder showed off the vicious fighting style of the Spartans by slowing down and then speeding up the action, a practice the director continues to use to this day and is often seen in other recent Hollywood action films.
So it looks like we won't be seeing Blood and Ashes anytime soon. It would certainly be interesting to see Snyder's take on a love story. That being said, Snyder is still interested in developing another idea for a historical epic based on King Arthur which he describes as "kinda weird," saying that he wants it to be set during "the Gold Rush Era of America." It sounds like Snyder could be working on a kind of King Arthur Western. That definitely sounds weird, and we'll have to wait and see if any studio decides to go for it.
With Snyder speaking quite frankly about his fractured relationship with Warner Bros., it's unlikely we'll see the studio work with him anytime soon. If Snyder's Army of the Dead is a hit, maybe Netflix will be willing to finance this Gold Rush Era King Arthur so we can see the legendary knights of the round table shoot each other in slow motion.
300 is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
Source: ThePlaylist