With a release date of August 2, the following two pictures offer the first look at the followup to Zack Synder‘s 300. Titled 300: Rise of an Empire, this sequel-that-was-a-prequel is now more of a simul, as it takes place within roughly the same time frame as the original but on a different battleground with different characters.

Whereas the events of 300 led to the battle of Thermopylae between King Leonidas, his 300 warriors and king-god Xerxes, this film will depict the events of Battle of Artemisium. Even though these battles actually took place, the whole 300 universe is unbound by the annals of history, a fact clearly evident by the fantastical elements penned in Mark Miller’s source material.

300: Rise of an Empire will follow the exploits of Greek general Themistokles played by Sullivan Stapleton (pictured below) and his much-less-trained militia as they battle the seemingly limitless Persian army at sea under the command of Artemesia (Eva Green).

Although the slo-mo heavy visual effects of 300 have been largely influential over the past decade, I found the fast-and-loose plotting and character development more than underwhelming. In the end, the film seemed like a really long trailer- eye popping visuals and quotable little soundbites with nothing to tie it together. While I don’t have much faith in this follow-up thingamajig, there are sure to be faithful legions of fans anxiously awaiting it’s release.

With Synder busy on other projects like Man of Steel, the directing reins were passed down to Noam Murro whose only other directing credit is 2008’s pretty much panned, Smart People. Synder remains on-board the project as a producer and also is credited as screenplay writer. With a late summer release, the marketing engine is sure to be whirling up soon so expect a teaser trailer sometime in the next month.

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