As Zack Snyder puts it, Warner Bros. is not the biggest fan of him or his work. After cutting him out of the DCEU following the much-controversial Justice League debacle, Snyder revealed that the studio also put an end to one of his other projects. In 2021, Snyder planned to write a third 300 film for WB but ended up writing a historical gay love story. However, it was never greenlit by the studio.
Zack Snyder also vehemently defended 300 as many fans accused the Gerard Butler-starring film of homophobia. Snyder shared that the film, in some ways, was one of the gayest movies, with a male-centric story and vision to it.
Zack Snyder’s Dream Queer Romance Project Was Crushed By Warner Bros.
Zack Snyder and Warner Bros. don’t have a good history between them. No wonder the director chose to work with Netflix, where he was given all the creative freedom he wanted. During the filming of Justice League, the studio was constantly unhappy with how the film was shaping up under Snyder. The earlier DCEU film from Snyder, Batman v. Superman received some strong criticism, which made WB restless during the superhero ensemble movie’s progress.
According to ComicBook.com, the studio arranged for numerous rewrites during the filming of Justice League. The Man of Steel director stepped down from the movie due to personal reasons just before the reshoots, to never return to the franchise. However, Snyder revealed to Joe Rogan on his podcast that the DC film wasn’t the only time WB screwed over the director. They outright rejected another movie Snyder had conceptualized.
The Watchmen director shared that while penning a third film in the 300 franchise, he ended up writing a beautiful gay romance story. Written during the pandemic, Snyder’s story explored the romantic relationship between Hephaestion and Alexander the Great. It was not his intended final chapter of the 300 trilogy, but he pitched it to WB as a standalone film. However, the studio was not impressed with Snyder’s Blood and Ashes film pitch. Snyder told The Joe Rogan Experience:
“I just couldn’t really get my teeth into it. Over the pandemic, I had a deal with Warner Bros. and I wrote what was essentially going to be the final chapter in 300. But when I sat down to write it, I actually wrote a different movie. 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.”
Snyder continued about WB’s response to the film:
“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, [Warner Bros.] said no…you know, they’re not huge fans of mine. It is what it is.”
Zack Snyder could always pick up this story that he loves and pitch it to Netflix, who continues to support the director despite the negative reviews of Rebel Moon. While the third 300 movie script turned into an entirely different script, Snyder still wishes to explore that universe as he suggested to Rogan that he is eyeing a 300 TV series.
Zack Snyder Shut Down Accusations of Homophobia In 300
While on The Joe Rogan Experience, Snyder also reflected on the accusations of homophobia in his film 300. In one particular scene, Leonidas says the line “Philosophers and boy lovers” in a derogatory manner. Snyder defended the movie, sharing that while the Spartan’s comment might be derogatory, Leonidas could be a ‘lover of men’ according to the reality of the culture. He shared:
“People have accused me of being homophobic or whatever. There’s that one line where he says, ‘Philosophers and boy lovers,’ but I think that he’s clearly being cheeky, Leonidas. I of course was hyper-aware at the time that the reality of Spartan culture was like, obviously he means philosophies and boy lovers…he’s using that maybe as a derogatory comment but he’s a lover of men, probably.”
Snyder also added that all the male energy in the film nearly makes it one of the gayest movies. When Rogan asked if he planned to put any gay scenes in the film, the director shared that his primary goal was to capture the essence of Frank Miller’s comic book. However, he would like to add such subversive twists to a potential TV series adaptation.
Zack Snyder’s DCEU films are available for streaming on Max. 300 is available for streaming on AppleTV+.
