Zack Snyder’s stylishly violent swords and sandals epic, 300, was a surprise box office smash (taking in $456 million worldwide in the spring of 2007), but no one kids themselves into believing that his cinematic vision was not responsible for that chest-beating comic book adaptation being so enjoyable to watch. This is why the upcoming sequel/prequel, 300: Rise of an Empire, has prompted more wariness than excitement, as Snyder passed on directing to make Man of Steel instead.

Rise of an Empire is based on Frank Miller’s 300 companion graphic novel “Xerxes,” which Snyder and his 300 co-writer Kurt Johnstad adapted into a script. The film centers around the Battle of Artemisium, a naval conflict that pitted the Greek general Themistokles (Sullivan Stapleton) against the vengeful commander of the Persian navy, Artemesia (Eva Green), and the Persian leader Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro), who had developed a major god complex by that point.

As expected, the newly-released Rise of an Empire trailer appeals heavily to everyone’s nostalgia for the first movie, between shots of Xerxes leering over King Leonidas’ (Gerard Butler’s) corpse and the VO narration by Lena Headey – who’s now a bigger star thanks to Game of Thrones – reprising as Queen Gorgo. That’s in spite of the fact that neither 300 lead is expected to make anything more than a glorified cameo in the new installment (a misleading, but smart, marketing angle to take).

Tags: 300: Rise of an Empire, 300: Rise of an Empire Trailer