– Teaser Trailer – Dwayne Johnson
The film begins with a blood-red sky over the smoking ruins of Thermopylae. King Leonidas and his brave 300 Spartans have fallen, but their sacrifice has ignited a spark of rebellion across Greece. The opening narration by Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey) recounts the aftermath of the Battle of Thermopylae and the growing resistance against the Persian Empire.
Cut to Athens, where Themistocles (Sullivan Stapleton), the Athenian general who fought in 300: Rise of an Empire, is rallying the fragmented Greek city-states. They must unite against the overwhelming Persian forces now led by the new villain, General Artemon, a ruthless warrior-king from Persia who was a close confidant of Xerxes. Artemon, portrayed by a new actor, is fiercely loyal to the God-King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) and is determined to crush the Greek rebellion to avenge the death of his queen, Artemisia.
The trailer showcases spectacular scenes of naval warfare and brutal ground battles, with Themistocles leading his forces in daring raids against Persian encampments. We see quick flashes of epic fights, with Greek soldiers clashing against the elite Immortals and massive Persian war elephants storming through the Greek phalanx. Themistocles, ever the strategist, uses cunning tactics and guerrilla warfare to keep the Persian forces at bay, but it’s clear they are outnumbered and outmatched.
In a desperate move, Themistocles travels to Sparta to convince the new Spartan King, Leonidas’ son Pleistarchus, to join the fight. Pleistarchus, still mourning his father’s death, is torn between honoring his father’s legacy and protecting what remains of Sparta. Queen Gorgo, as fierce and determined as ever, persuades him to rally the Spartan warriors for one final, decisive battle.
The climax of the film is the Battle of Plataea, where the combined Greek forces make a heroic stand against Artemon’s massive Persian army. The battle scenes are intense and visually stunning, with Snyder’s signature slow-motion sequences highlighting the brutal and bloody combat. Themistocles and Artemon engage in a fierce duel, and after a brutal fight, Themistocles manages to kill Artemon, striking a major blow to the Persian morale.
The final scenes show the Greeks victorious but weary, knowing that the war is far from over. As the surviving warriors stand atop a hill overlooking the battlefield, Themistocles declares, “This is not just the end of a battle. This is the rise of a new empire—one that will not bow to tyranny.”
The screen fades to black as the title card appears: Zack Snyder’s 300 II: The Rise of a New Empire – Coming 2025.
