‘300: Rise Of An Empire’ Debut Trailer Hits [Video]

300: Rise of an Empire just landed its debut trailer today.

We all know about 300, the film that made Sparta famous with its blood-soaked cinematography, slow-motion battles, and the famous scene of King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) kicking an offender into a large pit after uttering, “Madness? This is Sparta!”

The first film was about how Sparta was really up against the odds as it faced a massive army, and could only raise its own army to an unimpressive 300, hence the title. The movie itself wasn’t heavy on story, depending a lot on special effects to sell the idea of a battle of ridiculous odds, and sell it did.

300: Rise of an Empire, if the poster released last night is any indication, will retain the brutality of its predecessor and probably turn it up a notch, as the man seems to be standing before a tidal wave of blood. The film follows up where the first left off.

The trailer below for 300: Rise of an Empire starts with a female voice saying, “It begins as a whisper, a promise. The lightest of breezes dances above the death cries of 300 men.” We see a bald man in chain armor holding an axe over the dead King Leonidas before the logos flash by.

Next we see the bloodied arms of rowers pulling a large oar, and waves of dark ocean lapping at a shore or a boat hull decorated in odd sculptures like sphinxes. A handful of horsemen race over a desolate land toward what looks like a castle wall. The same man we saw from before walks into a massive room being opened by teams of men pushing on equally massive doors.

The woman continues speaking, “The breeze became wind. The wind, my brothers, of sacrifice.”

The woman appears to be bitterly speaking to an army of her own, bristling with spears and shields. Then we see a man’s beard through the bottom of a helmet, dripping with sweat. “A wind of freedom. A wind of justice. A wind of vengeance.”

300: Rise of an Empire is slated to hit theaters March 7, 2014.

Are you excited to see 300: Rise of an Empire? What do you think of the debut trailer?