Zacknyder
Once considered for a Will Smith blockbuster almost guiding a different career path, Zack Snyder, the director of films like 300, Watchmen, and Man of Steel, was His choice not to oversee the post-apocalyptic action thriller I Am Legend opened the path for him to take on 300, which turned into a career turning point and affected his next projects.
I am legends.
Inspired by Richard Matheson's same-titled book, I Am Legend is a post-apocalyptic action thriller featuring Robert Neville (Will Smith), the last human survivor in a planet overrun by mutant vampire known as Darkseekers. Neville is searching for a treatment for the virus that changed mankind. I Am Legend would have fit Snyder, who is renowned for his visually spectacular and action-packed movies.
Warner Studios.
The studio behind I Am Legend, Warner Bros., chose a different path than one Snyder had in mind. Rather than the post-apocalyptic thriller, they gave him the chance to oversee the Frank Miller comic book adaptation, 300.
301
For Snyder, 300 turned out to be a seminal movie, confirming his filmmaking technique and adding his trademark elements—slow-motion action scenes, saturated colors, and mythic storytelling—into play. This success helped him to establish his name as an action movie director and spread out into more comic book adaptations. On a $60 million budget,300 grossed an amazing $456 million, proving to be a box office smash and so confirming Snyder's place in the Hollywood scene.
Batman and Superman.
Though it wasn't Snyder's movie, I Am Legend connected to his later endeavors. A long-held dream project for Warner Bros., Batman & Superman has a poster in the movie. Included as an Easter egg, the poster suggested the studio's goal to establish a shared universe for these legendary heroes. Fascinatingly, one of I Am Legend's screenwriters, Akiva Goldsman, was assigned to create a Batman and Superman film, thus the poster pays a subdued tribute to his unused screenplay.
Batman v Superman: Start of Justice
Under Snyder's direction, the fantasy of seeing Batman and Superman together on film at last came to pass with Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice. Building the DC universe to include several legendary superheroes, the movie carried on the tale he began with Man of Steel. Although Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice turned out to be Snyder's highest-grossing movie, it also sparked plenty of debate. The mixed reaction of the movie confirmed Snyder's reputation as a director who pushes limits and produces visually amazing but sometimes controversial movies.
