A Spartacus sequel!? But Kirk Douglas and Stanley Kubrick are dead how are they going to… oh… *checks notes* The Starz TV show is getting a sequel. Well, that’s cool too.
OK, Spartacus the TV show was pretty awesome as well and no slouch in the popularity department as it was one of Starz’s first original series to gain any traction, pushing boundaries for blood, gore, and sex when it premiered back in 2010 and ran for four seasons. That’s why it isn’t that surprising that Starz has been working on a Spartacus sequel series with original series creator, writer, and executive producer Steven S. DeKnight, who will return as showrunner and executive producer for this new show — or new season of the same show. With how Spartacus was set up as each season being its own separate story, one could consider this just a much delayed fifth season acting as an epilogue to the series.
The show is said to drastically expand the scope and story of the original series, which focused on the titular character and his rise to power from gladiator to a blood-soaked warrior with a dramatic backdrop of politics in Rome at the time. This new series will most likely focus on a new hero after Spartacus‘ death at the end of the fourth season of the original run, but just who that is isn’t clear. The show is set in the aftermath of his defeat and death by the Roman army and will explore the underbelly of the city, revisiting the characters of the original series but in a supposedly new light.
“It has been over a decade since Spartacus delighted international audiences and we are thrilled to reimagine and expand this gripping, action-packed drama for our viewers today,” said Starz President of Original Programming Kathryn Busby. “Spartacus has deeply invested fans who are eager for its return, and we look forward to working with Steven on this exciting next chapter.”
Just what else will be returning aside from DeKnight is obviously up in the air. While they’re teasing a return of characters, everyone in the series has aged a lot, so will they simply be casting new actors in the roles or will we be jumping ahead nearly a decade in time for this new show?
Also, are we entering another gladiator heyday like the ’00s brought us? Not only is Spartacus returning, but there’s a sequel to Gladiator coming as well.
