Spartacus creator Steven S. DeKnight hypes up the forthcoming series revival, titled House of Ashur. The original Spartacus series aired on Starz from 2010 to 2013 and followed the titular character, a Thracian gladiator who led a famed rebellion against the Roman Republic. Andy Whitfield originally played Spartacus in the first season of the show. However, following his untimely death, Liam McIntyre took over and played the titular character until the show ended. Years after its conclusion, Starz announced a revival, and DeKnight was brought in to head the show once again.
Now, months after Starz announced a Spartacus revival, DeKnight has taken to X/Twitter to confirm that he has submitted the script for the penultimate episode, suggesting that the production of the new show is finally moving along.
Aside from the confirmation of Spartacus: House of Ashur‘s progress, the longtime showrunner also hypes up the forthcoming show, stating that fans “are so not ready for this…”
The confirmation of the Spartacus revival first came in early 2023, about 10 years after the conclusion of Spartacus: War of the Damned, the third and final season of the initial series. However, following its confirmation by Starz, little to no news regarding the series’ progress was reported or shared in the months that succeeded the confirmation. This was largely due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes that derailed and brought many ongoing productions to a halt.
Following the resolution of the drawn-out strikes, Starz revealed the premise for the forthcoming revival while also announcing that they placed a ten-episode order for the show. According to the show’s logline, House of Ashur is expected to be a “history-bending, erotic, thrilling, roller-coaster experience that builds on everything that made the original series a colossal hit.” In doing so, though, the series will go in a vastly different direction than the original show. This will ensure a brand new experience, while also somehow offering much of what viewers remember from Spartacus.
It was confirmed that this Spartacus revival is set to revolve around a “what if” premise which would reimagine a pivotal scenario from the previous series and reintroduce Ashur, a villainous character from the past. Nick Tarabay, who played Ashur on the original show, was first introduced as a mischievous Assyrian who went on to scheme and lie to rise in Batiatus’ household before he was eventually slain on Mount Vesuvius. The forthcoming revival will explore a world where Ashur was not killed, but was instead gifted Batiatus’ gladiator school in return for aiding the Romans.
Source: Steven S. DeKnight/X/Twitter