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George Clooney has earned the pleasure of gracing his audiences with his intense performances in some of the best big-screen projects of all time. Yet, out of all the genres his career has spanned across, proper“historical epic action drama”was never one where his presence was seen. And a major reason behind this was none other than Zack Snyder.
As it turns out,Gates of Firewould have been the renownedERalum’s first-ever proper historical action drama, which had the potential of not only setting the box office ablaze but even eclipsing the fan-favoriteGladiator. However, because of Michael Mann and Snyder, fans’ dream of seeing Clooney in the epic historical film never came to be.
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Zack Snyder Indirectly Derailed George Clooney’sGates of Fire
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Following the exceptional success of the historical fiction novelGates of Firein 1998,George Clooney‘s production company Maysville Pictures pulled the trigger and gained the rights to the story for a potential adaptation.
Then, filmmakerMichael Mannwas brought on board to direct a screenplay by screenwriter David Self. However, before the movie could even jump into production, the director pulled back and left, citing“creative differences”as the reason why.
But, what was worse, was the fact that finding someone else to replace Mann was more than just a difficult task because not everyone was as enthusiastic about the source material as was the director who left.
Furthermore, by that time, the industry was observing a critical decline in the audience’s craze for historical epics. Then cameZack Snyderinto the picture with his 2006 historical action,300.
Since300andGates of Fire‘s storylines coincided greatly with identical premises as they both talked about the Battle of Thermopylae. Because of this, it would have been harder for the latter to properly distinguish itself in the eyes of the audiences, thus, raising its chances of failure.
Thus, due to all of these reasons and the production company’s fears, George Clooney’s epic historical masterpiece, which could have pretty easily eclipsed evenGladiatorin setting the box offices ablaze, was scrapped and never looked back at.
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Everything You Need To Know AboutGates of Fire
As mentioned before,Gates of Firewas being adapted from an original historical fiction novel of the same name from 1998, by Steven Pressfield. It encircled around the Battle of Thermopylae where the Persians ended up gaining a decisive victory following the death of the Spartan military leader, Leonidas I.
What distinguished this fictional storyline from every other historical fiction was the fact that this story was shared in a flashback style from the perspective of an old version of the Greek warrior Xeones, who was a‘free’non-citizen who fought for the Spartan Army, to a younger generation audience.
If anything,Gates of Firehad the complete potential of becoming one of the most legendary historical war films of all time. Had the movie not rotten in the production hell stage, George Clooney’s remarkable act as Leonidas I in the epic historical movie could have undoubtedly surpassed even the exceptional performance thatGladiatorgave.
Mahin Sultan
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2478
Mahin Sultan is a Senior Writer at FandomWire, where she brings a fresh perspective to entertainment news. Having been in the field for over 3 years now, she has already written more than 2,000 articles across a variety of niches, from entertainment to health and fashion. This diverse experience has allowed her to quickly build a solid foundation and a deep understanding of the industry.
