Posted above is the first image from Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures’ 300: Rise of an Empire, a companion film to the Zack Snyder-directed blockbuster 300. The shot provides a peek at an at-sea battle sequence, one of six fight scenes featured in the fantasy-actioner directed by Noam Murro (Smart People).

Murro tells USA Today:

[Rise of an Empire] happens over time in many different locations. The opportunities for the six distinct battles are even greater with different locations and tactics.

The few against the many is still here. It’s hundreds vs. hundreds of thousands. It’s about taking on the mightiest power of all with wisdom and tactics.

Rise of an Empire follows Athenian general Themistokles (Sullivan Stapleton) as he battles Persian king Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) and his vengeful navy commander Artemesia (Eva Green). The events occur at the same time that King Leonidas is leading his 300 Spartans into the Battle of Thermopylae.

Murro adds:

Themistokles is battle-scarred and a warrior, but at the same time he’s a politician. He’s not the king. He has to rule in a democracy. It’s a different complexity of character.

These people don’t want to fight, they even say that they are not Spartans. They are common people who have to do this to not be in under the rule of a dictator.

This is not a duplicate movie or a cookie-cutter. It’s a very different story to tell in keeping with the original flavor of 300.

Rise of an Empire is based on Frank Miller’s graphic novel and is adapted for the screen by Kurt Johnstad (300, Act of Valor) and Snyder, who also serves as producer. It arrives in theaters on Aug. 2.