Zach Snyder's Third '300' Film – Conceived As A 'Gay Love Story' – Nixed by Studio

After two "300" films, both Warner Brothers and writer/director Zach Snyder were interested in a third, the Playlist reported. Toward that end, Snyder wrote a script for what he considered to be the final film in the franchise; but what happened didn't turn out to be another action pic set in Ancient Greece, but something completely different.

"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 told the Playlist in an interview.

He added, "But 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 comic series by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley, the first film in the series centered on a fictionalized retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae, as Spartan king Leonidas (Gerard Butler) led 300 men against the incredible might of the Persian army. "Though 300 inspired some controversy over its historical accuracy and depiction of Persians, it was a box office success and has become a favorite among Snyder fans," wrote ScreenRant.

"300" grossed $456 million worldwide and started a franchise that continued in 2014 with the Snyder co-penned "300: Rise of an Empire." The sequel underperformed with $337 million worldwide. Nonetheless, Warner Brothers was interested in a sequel and Snyder spent some time during the pandemic coming up with a treatment.

"Snyder did not necessarily deliver the '300' sequel that the studio envisioned," wrote IndieWire and the project was killed.

"With his zombie epic 'Army of the Dead,' Snyder has made the jump to Netflix and thus his 15-year relationship with Warner Bros. has temporarily come to an end," writes IndieWire. "The friction around the release of Snyder's 'Justice League' soured the relationship between the two parties."

Snyder did release a four-hour version of that DC superhero team-up movie in March on HBO Max. But, the Guardian reported, "It was the end of a complicated saga: in 2017 Snyder suffered a personal tragedy (his 20-year-old daughter killed herself), while around the same time, Warners lost faith in his dark, glum vision for the DC universe, as showcased in his earlier 'Man of Steel' and 'Batman v Superman,' and – after he quit – replaced him with Joss Whedon."