Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, sweepstakes, and more!
What if 300’s Leonidas Took On Russell Crowe’s Gladiator? Zack Snyder Says It’d Be No Contest
What happens when two fan favorite fantasy heroes meet on the battlefield? Zack Snyder has the answer.
Zack Snyder’s 2007 comic book action epic 300 (streaming right now on SYFY) has reached full-on cult status in the years since its release, but what would happen if its star met up with another period-set action hero in Russell Crowe’s Maximum from Gladiator?
Who would in in a fight? According to Snyder — it’s not even a question.
RELATED: Stream 300 Right Now on SYFY
The Justice League and Rebel Moon director fielded the question via Deadline in an interview around the 300’s release. When asked who might win if Gerard Butler’s Leonidas were to run into Russell Crowe’s Gladiator protagonist Maximus, Snyder says Butler’s Leonidas would mop the floor with him. But it’s not just him playing favorites, he has some fairly sound logic behind the prediction. Basically, 300 operates in a different type of reality, which would give Leonidas a major edge.
“He would stomp Maximus into the ground. No two ways about it,” Snyder said. “He doesn’t have the same rules that apply to Maximus, like gravity. Leonidas can do stupid crazy Matrix-y stuff.”
How did Gerard Butler join 300 with Zack Snyder?
Zack Snyder made a relatively hard roll of the dice with 300, adapting a comic book in a radical visual style with a cast of relative unknowns. Snyder opened up to Film School Rejects ahead of the film’s release about how the casting of Butler came about, and said the actor brought the perfect energy to their first meeting to chat about the project.
“You know, when I first met [Butler] we met in this coffee shop and he was immediately insane, in a good way. He stood up and he ranted around the coffee shop,” he said. “He posed, he had the book with him. He had his own copy of it and he was like, ‘Look at this. This is awesome. I want to be like this.’ And when I left I said, ‘Wow, that guy is… he’s the King.’ You know, he’s the guy.’”
How to Watch 300
Zack Snyder's 300 is streaming right now on SYFY. You can check it out on the SYFY app, or check the SYFY schedule to catch the fantasy classic on air.
