Zack Snyder is all set to release the second part of his space opera magnum opus Rebel Moon. The Netflix film is the follow-up to last year’s Chapter 1 – A Child of Fire. The filmmaker has had a busy few years after helming large-scale blockbusters such as Army of the Dead and Justice League.
While Snyder has worked with many A-listers, he reportedly got a call from the legendary star Tom Cruise early in his career while he had just finished 300. The actor reportedly gave him a surprise call after the film opened big at the box office. Cruise was also reportedly Snyder’s first choice to play Ozymandias in his divisive Watchmen adaptation.
Tom Cruise Called Zack Snyder To Congratulate Him On 300’s Success
Zack Snyder began his career with a remake of Dawn of the Dead. While it was a remake of George Romero’s classic zombie film, Snyder’s version received positive reviews and grossed $102 million at the box office. The filmmaker soon followed it up with his adaptation of Frank Miller’s graphic novel 300.
Starring Gerard Butler and Lena Headey, the film was known for its unique visual style which was similar to the comics it was based on, and for its VFX. The film was a huge commercial success, earning a whopping $70 million in its opening weekend alone and breaking the biggest opening for a March release record (via Box Office Mojo).
It was here that Zack Snyder revealed that he had received a surprise call from Tom Cruise. Snyder told THR that he was filming a Miller Lite commercial when he got a call from the Mission Impossible star. Cruise reportedly congratulated the filmmaker for 300’s success and even spoke about its opening numbers.
Snyder later got a call from then-WB head Alan Horn regarding the same to which he said,
“I was like, ‘Oh, Tom already told me.’”
The filmmaker also revealed that he had met with the Top Gun star a year before when he had released the trailer of 300. Cruise had reportedly invited Snyder to his Beverly Hills home for breakfast and wanted to pick his brain about the visual style of the film.
Zack Snyder Wanted To Cast Tom Cruise In Watchmen
Right after the success of 300, Zack Snyder decided to tackle yet another acclaimed graphic novel. The filmmaker reportedly wanted to adapt Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen to the big screen, which was deemed to be unfilmable at the time. While the film underperformed at the box office, it later gained a cult following.
The film starred Patrick Wilson, Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Jackie Earle Haley. However, Snyder was reportedly interested in Tom Cruise for one particular role in the comic book film. In an interview with Josh Horowitz on the Happy, Sad, and Confused podcast, the filmmaker said that he met with Cruise for Watchmen.
“I wanted Tom Cruise for Ozymandias. Tom wanted to play Rorschach, which obviously he could have done, but we had Jackie already, and Jackie’s unbelievable. I certainly would have considered Tom in retrospect, if I hadn’t had Jackie.”
The filmmaker mentioned that he had already cast Earle Haley and he was perfect for the role. Cruise playing the role of Rorschach, whose face would be covered for the majority of the film would not have been the wise choice given the actor’s level of stardom. Even though Cruise had worked with prosthetics before on Tropic Thunder, Rorschach would have been too much.
Watchmen is currently streaming on Max, while 300 is streaming on Apple TV+.
