300: Rise of an Empire - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of 300: Rise of an Empire or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to 300: Rise of an Empire

[cameron]

The original script featured King Leonidas from 300 (2006), but he was ultimately cut out. This was due to Gerard Butler, who turned down to reprise his role as Leonidas, since it "wasn't really [his] thing".

[elmer]

Peter Mensah: Artemisia's mentor who trains young Artemisia in combat.

[wallace]

The lead role was offered to Joel Edgerton but he declined.

[caroline]

The film is prequel, midquel and sequel to 300 (2006).

[riley]

Jamie Blackley was originally cast in the role of Calisto, but before filming began, he was replaced by Jack O'Connell.

[bessie]

This film fulfilled Eva Green's long held acting dream of playing an action hero in a movie.

[kenneth]

Director Noam Murro said that the instant Sullivan Stapleton came in to the room to audition for the lead role, he knew he was "the only choice for the part". He told the producers that he would hire no one but Stapleton.

[duane]

In an interview, Zack Snyder stated that possible sequels to 300 (2006) could go beyond Greece, to the American Revolutionary War and to a battle in China.

[bernard]

Returning series star Lena Headey shot for just 10 days for this film.

[duane]

Sullivan Stapleton was filming the television series Strike Back (2010) while preparing for the film. So along with filming every day, he had spend 3 hours training - 1.5 hours in the gym lifting weights and 1.5 hours sword training to get the stunts right. He was extremely exhausted at the end of the day.

[duane]

In reality Sparta was a land power and the Spartan Navy at the time of the Persian Wars was feeble. Sparta only contributed 16 ships to the combined fleet at the Battle of Salamis. The closest naval rivals to Athens at this time would have been Corinth, Megara and Chalcis.

[bryan]

Matt Smith was approached for the role of Aesyklos, but declined. The role went to Hans Matheson.

[terry]

Rodrigo Santoro spent 6 hours in the make-up chair every single day to morph into his character. Even after the make-up was done, he couldn't move much because all of the jewelry and piercing that he was wearing was very delicate and would break if he moved a lot.

[wesley]

(at around 1 hour 19 minutes) The line "Better we show them, we choose to die on our feet, rather than live on our knees!" is a paraphrase of a rallying cry of the beloved Mexican General Emiliano Zapata, during the Mexican Revolution of the 1910s.

[melinda]

Sullivan Stapleton signed on not just for this film but for a potential sequel as well. Director Noam Murro has also expressed that this film leaves the door open for a third part.

[marc]

The film was previously called "Xerxes", the title of the Frank Miller graphic novel on which the film is based, and later "300: The Battle of Artemisia", the title used during filming. Ultimately, the present title "300: Rise of an Empire" was used because the other two were deemed too exotic.

[jesus]

The character of Aeskylos is an alternative spelling of Aeschylus, the famous Greek tragedian who served at Salamis and later wrote "The Persians", a play that was actually sympathetic to the Persians and attributed their defeat to the Hubris of Xerxes. In the play, Darius' ghost appears and reprimands his son's decision to build a bridge over the Hellespont, which angered the Gods. This parallels Darius' warning in the film that "only the Gods can defeat the Greeks" and to leave them alone.

[lena]

Sullivan Stapleton revealed that this was a role which absolutely required him "to get a six pack for the first time in my life" and he reportedly adopted a diet of almost 100% yogurt for the duration of the shoot to maintain it.

[albert]

One Greek ship would fit in a single sound stage but the Persian ships were so big that they were cut in thirds and each third occupied a different sound stage.