300: Rise of an Empire Delayed Until 2014

The theatrical release of 300: Rise of an Empire has been delayed until March 7, 2014, vacating its August, 2013 slot. The March slot opened up earlier today when All You Need is Kill was pushed back until June 2014, leaving the Tom Cruise/Emily Blunt sci-fi film to go up against Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, assuming neither of them move. With Sin City: A Dame to Kill For and 2 Guns headed to theaters this summer, it seemed like there was a glut of R-rated comic book movies, even if you didn't consider that there hasn't been a lot of buzz around the 300 sequel. The original, directed by Man of Steel's Zack Snyder from a Frank Miller comic, was a huge hit and really kicked Snyder's career into high gear but the filmmaker was too busy with his Superman reboot to take the reins of the second film. Since the first movie was based (loosely) on true events and the principal cast all died, Rise of an Empire is a sequel in which the director and cast were all replaced. There was also no graphic novel to base it on, although Miller is reportedly working on a graphic novel that tells the same story as the movie.