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"300: Rise of an Empire will feature some crossover with the original film. Actor Rodrigo Santoro - who plays Persian king Xerxes in both films - has said that Zack Snyder&amp;#039;s influence can be felt throughout the upcoming sequel.   Snyder was replaced by Noam Murro as director for the follow-up to the Frank Miller adaptation. &amp;quot;I think it will match, because the idea is matching - characters and style and all that,&amp;quot; Santoro told Comic Book Resources. &amp;quot;Especially because they&amp;#039;re calling it like a spinoff, you get bits of the first movie. There&amp;#039;s a place where they meet, the first movie and the second movie, but it&amp;#039;s a different director. &amp;quot;I didn&amp;#039;t see the movie yet, the final result, but the experience - I mean, Zack was pretty much involved because he wrote it and he&amp;#039;s producing it. His hands are there, but Noam will have his own take on directing it. I think it&amp;#039;s going to be pretty awesome, and the fans are going to be pleased.&amp;quot;  Santoro will share the focus of the film with Sullivan Stapleton and Eva Green&amp;#039;s characters. The actor will next be seen in The Last Stand with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Johnny Knoxville. 300: Rise of an Empire will debut on August 2, 2013. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/news/a448836/300-zack-snyders-influence-will-be-felt/>