'300' Screenwriter And Zack Snyder Collaborator Says It Is Essential To Recognize The Divine That Plays A Role In Our Lives
Kurt Johnstad, the screenwriter for 300, Act of Valor, Atomic Blonde, and both Rebel Moon films shared that it is essential to recognize the divine that plays a role in our lives.
During an appearance on the I Minutemen podcast, Johnstad was asked to discuss what it means to be a hero and the idea of brotherhood and how he’s incorporated it into his film.
Johnstad shared, “I’m a huge fan of Joseph Campbell, of the hero archetype, The Hero of a Thousand Faces. So that kind of Campbellian idea of the hero and the hero archetype is very important to me. I think everybody has the capacity to be a hero in their own lives. You don’t have to go save somebody from a burning building or fight in a war, you can just go to work, take care of your family, and raise your children, and do things like that. Those are all heroic acts.”
“I think it’s essential for, I think, humans to identify with just these ideas of right and wrong, and good and evil, and picking a side, and also the morality of what that is,” he said. “And maybe sometimes the kind of the divine that plays a role in all of that.”
“I love heroic stories, I love heroes that are flawed and have faults that are maybe complex and maybe more human,” he continued. “So it’s not just the villain is kind of like twisting their mustache and saying, ‘Okay, like I’m the bad guy,’ but you can see a little bit of yourself in both the villain and the hero. I think that gives us a more human experience.”
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Johnstad is currently collaborating on a number of projects with Snyder including a continuation of the Rebel Moon series albeit he indicated it would take “some luck and an act of God” to continue with that franchise. Nevertheless, he did reveal that he and Snyder had mapped out detailed outlines for a third, fourth, fifth, and even sixth film.
Next, he revealed he had completed a script for Brawler and that the hope is to start shooting it “at the end of this year or maybe the beginning [of next year] like in January. Zack is starting to talk to actors and really just finding the right people that can pull off kind of being professional fighters and athletes.”
Johnstad then revealed that he and Zack are working on a LAPD film as well, “Just going through, finishing our work. We’re pretty close. We’re in the third act of that film. So, we probably have maybe another month of writing and then that’ll be done.”
As for which film between Brawler and LAPD would go into production first, Johnstad shared he did not know.
The Brawler film was announced at the end of March with Snyder partnering with the UFC on the film. The movie is expected to tell the story of a young fighter coming from the streets of Los Angeles to fight for a UFC championship while having to face his own inner demons.
Snyder said of the film at the time, “Behind every great fighter is the story of how they got there. UFC is the world leader in combat sports, and I’m honored to be partnering with them to tell this incredible story.”
As for the LAPD film, it was announced back in November 2024 and is set at Netflix. The official logline reads, “In the high-stakes world of life and death, an elite LAPD unit are relentlessly confronted with the unforgiving collision of law and morality.”
Commenting on the film, Snyder revealed, “Years ago, Dan Lin and I had a conversation about our shared interest in telling a compelling and visceral character-driven story set within the intense, complex and captivating landscape of the LAPD.”
He added, “It’s a conversation that has stuck with me. So, as you would expect, I’m very excited to now have the opportunity to partner with Dan, along with the rest of my amazing partners at Netflix, in developing this story.”
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Johnstad also noted that he and Snyder also have their 300: Blood and Ashes script. While the film was originally intended to be a sequel, he noted that it evolved into a film about Alexander the Great and his general Hephaestion. However, he noted it evolved again into “another kind of movie altogether.”
He went on to describe it as “one of Zack and my best works that we’ve done together.”
What do you make of Johnstad’s comments?