By: Eric Eisenberg

When we published the first official stills from 300: Rise of An Empire earlier this week, we learned a lot about the character being played by Eva Green – Artemesia, the commander of the Persian navy. We discovered that she has a personal vendetta against the Greeks, who killed her family when she was a child, and that she carries out most of Xerxes’ dirty work while seeking revenge. What we didn’t have, however, was an official image of her in costume. That changed today, thanks to the new issue of Entertainment Weekly (via Popculturology).

Green’s presence in the film is interesting, largely because Zack Snyder’s film didn’t really feature any women in battle. Sure, Lena Headey’s Queen Gorgo did play a significant part in the plot, however, she was all the way back in Sparta while King Leonidas and his army were fighting off the invading Persian forces. In the sequel it appears that Artemesia will be right at the center of all the action, and that’s prominently displayed in this new image.

Directed by Noam Murro, who made his feature directorial debut in 2008 with the Dennis Quaid/Ellen Page dramedy Smart People, 300: Rise of an Empire a story parallel to the Battle of Thermopylae, when the Greeks fought off the Persians in the sea during the Battle of Artemisium. In addition to Green, the film also sees the return of Rodrigo Santoro as Xerxes and also stars Sullivan Stapleton, Hans Matheson, David Wenham, Igal Naor, Callan Mulvey, Jack O’Connell, and Andrew Tiernan. Look for it in theaters on August 2nd.

Source: Cinema Blend