Released in 2014, 300: Rise of an Empire is not a conventional sequel but a “sidequel” that runs parallel to the events of Zack Snyder’s 2007 hit 300 . Directed by Noam Murro and produced by Snyder himself, the film shifts the battlefield from the narrow pass of Thermopylae to the choppy waters of the Aegean Sea, where the Greek general Themistokles faces the invading Persian navy led by the vengeful Artemisia. While the original 300 celebrated Spartan valor, Rise of an Empire broadens the canvas to explore the idea that Greek unity, not just Spartan sacrifice, saved Western civilization.