Gerard Butler assumed Zack Snyder’s 300 was ‘going to suck’

Actor also said he ‘ruined his body’ while working on the film

Gerard Butler has revealed that he assumed Zack Snyder’s 300 was “going to suck”.

The release of Snyder’s director’s cut of Justice League has sparked a reappraisal of 300, his 2006 adaptation of Frank Miller’s swords-and-sandals graphic novel. 300 also marked Snyder’s first comic book adaptation, seven years before he directed 2013’s Superman reboot Man of Steel.

Butler, who played King Leonidas in the film, has recalled not always having confidence that the film would be a success.

“There were times you would walk around in your red cape and little leather underpants and someone would point at nothing and say, ‘Look! A burning village!’” he remembered in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter. “I remember going, ‘Oh my God. This movie’s going to suck’.”

Butler worked out six hours a day for months in preparation for the role, which required him to dress in little but a speedo and a red cape.

“That was the best shape I have ever been in in my life,” Butler boasted. “In some ways, I was ruining my body, but I was looking amazing doing it.”

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300 was a surprise box office hit in 2006, and spawned a sequel, 300: Rise of an Empire, in 2014.

Snyder’s Justice League director’s cut, which was released last week following years of demands from fans, has drawn mixed reviews.

The filmmaker has also revealed his aborted plans for the future of the franchise, which included several elaborate plot twists involving Batman (Ben Affleck).