“300” was the first movie Zack Snyder made at Warner Bros., and it marked the start of a partnership that lasted 15 years between the filmmaker and the studio. Adapted from Frank Miller and Lynn Varley’s comic book, “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. However, Snyder tells The Playlist that Warner Bros. was apparently interested in continuing the “300” franchise to the point that he wrote a script for the third entry during the pandemic.

“I just couldn’t really get my teeth into it,” Snyder said. “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.”