300 Prequel TV Series In The Works, Director Zack Snyder To Return

Writer, director, and producer Zack Snyder has become forever entwined with comic book cinema, with many devoted fans knowing him best for his work with the DC universe, but once upon a time he directed a very different kind of comic book movie. Nearly 20 years ago, back in 2006, a little movie called "300" blew everyone's minds and kicked itself into the pop culture consciousness, teaching us all about the ancient Battle of Thermopylae, where King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and his 300 Spartans held off a massive Persian army under King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro). Sure, it wasn't super historically accurate because it was based on the graphic novel by "Sin City" artist and scribe Frank Miller (with colors by Lynn Varley), but it was impossibly cool. It inspired all kinds of tributes and spoofs and even a spin-off film, "300: Rise of an Empire," which showed the naval side of the battle, and now, it sounds like we're going to get a prequel TV series. 

According to Variety, Warner Bros. is developing a "300" prequel series with Snyder in talks to direct and executive produce. With the underwhelming response to "Rebel Moon: Part Two," maybe it's a great time for Snyder to return to a well-known and loved franchise that's pretty much ready-made to please the vast majority of audiences. After all, who doesn't love cool one-liners, half-naked hard bods, and beautifully choreographed battle sequences?

Sword and sandals stories might be making a real comeback, with Ridley Scott's "Gladiator 2" set to return audiences to Ancient Rome in the near future, so a "300" prequel actually makes a lot of sense. According to Variety everything is still in the early stages of negotiation and there aren't any writers attached, though the film's producers and production company are all in talks to join Snyder. No platform has been announced, though the Warner Bros. streaming home, Max, would be the logical guess. 

A prequel could take a number of different routes depending on how early they decide to go, but audiences are more likely to watch characters they already know so a show about a younger Leonidas is likely, perhaps showing his early military experience and later his marriage to Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey). Spartan culture and society was quite a bit different than our own and could provide a fascinating setting for a television series, so it will be interesting to see where Snyder and company take things. This isn't Snyder's first attempt to dig back into "300," having written a sequel film that followed Alexander the Great that Warner Bros. decided not to make, so hopefully this time he gets to take his shot.