When it was announced thatSpartacuswas returning with a new sequel series, fans were surprised by some things about the announcement. The biggest one was that thenew series would follow Ashur(Nick E. Tarabay), a character who met a pretty much irreversible end inSpartacus: Vengeance. However, showrunnerSteven S. DeKnightexplained thatSpartacus: House of Ashurtakes place in an alternate reality. During a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, the series creator revealed what other characters are going to return for the new series.
During the interview, DeKnight revealed thatStarzwanted to do aSpartacusfollow-up for years, but a number of events got in the way. He mentioned thepremature death ofAndy Whitfield, who was the title character in the debut season — he was replaced byLiam McIntyre(Bring Him To Me). The showrunner revealed that Whitfield’s death “took the wind out of everybody’s sails,” and it took him at least a decade to want to revisit the world ofSpartacus.House of Ashurtakes place roughly six monthsafter the events ofSpartacus: War of the Damned, and, from what DeKnight indicates, the story will keep going as if it were Season 4 of the flagship series. He stated:
“The only difference is Ashur didn’t die. Everybody else who died, I hate to tell the fans, they’re still dead. I don’t want anybody to think that we’re digging up Liam McIntyre, as much as I would love to. But the war is over. The rebellion has been crushed.”
A Slate of New Characters Is Coming to ‘Spartacus: House of Ashur’
So, as much as we might miss characters like Crixus (Manu Bennett) and Agron (Daniel Feuerriegel), none of them are making a miraculous comeback — at least from what DeKnight let on in the interview, which contradicts some information unveiled by Deadline regarding thereturn ofLucy Lawlessas Lucretia. Instead, the new cast will featureGraham McTavish(House of the Dragon),Jordi Webber(Home and Away),Dan Hamill(Love Child),Jamaica Vaughn(800 Words),Ivana Baquero(A Widow’s Game),Evander Brown(Shortland Street),India Shaw-Smith(The Magicians),Claudia Black(Ahsoka),Andrew McFarlane(The Newsreader), andTenika Davis(Beacon 23).
Spartacus: House of Ashurwill keep the 10-episode structure from previous installments of the franchise, and fans can expect thesame doses of sex and violencethat the original series became famous for. In this new version, Ashur gets what he always wanted: as a reward for helping tank the slave rebellion and causing the death of Spartacus, he inherits the Ludus from Batiatus (John Hannah) and gets totrain his own gladiators and run his house.
Spartacus: House of Ashurpremieres on Starz this fall.
Spartacus: House of Ashur
Source:Entertainment Weekly
