Summary
-
Spartacus: House of Ashur
is a new spin-off series exploring an alternate timeline of the original show. - The new series assumes Ashur didn’t die in season two of the original series, leading to an all-new storyline.
- Nick Tarabay reprises the role of Ashur, and new cast members include Graham McTavish and Ivana Baquero.
The Starz series Spartacus is getting a new life, but not the way fans might expect. Spartacus: House of Ashur, now in production in New Zealand, is not a revival or a reboot. Original series creator Steven S. DeKnight is taking an “alternate universe” approach, applying Marvel’s “What If?” formula to an original character to create a whole new series, and Starz has now announced the cast that will bring it to life.
According to a report by Deadline, Nick Tarabay will reprise the role of Ashur, who died in the second season finale. The new series will explore what would have happened had Ashur survived, creating an alternate timeline story that isn’t constrained by the events of the original series. He will be joined by an all-new cast of actors in the ten-episode limited series, which will be the fifth in the Spartacus franchise.
Starz says the new series will be a “history-bending, erotic, thrilling, roller-coaster experience.” DeKnight solves the problem of bringing back Ashur, a dead character, under the premise that the character didn’t die on Mount Vesivius in the finale of Spartacus season two. In the new timeline that this establishes, Ashur helps the Romans kill Spartacus and end the slave rebellion. As a reward, he is given the gladiator school owned by Batiatus (John Hannah), which will be the setting for the new series. While teasing the new chapter in the Spartacus franchise, DeKnight promises fans “are not ready for this.”
Related
Spartacus: Every Season in the Series, Ranked
With a new sequel series in the works, now is the perfect to look back at the original Spartacus and its three seasons.
The New Cast of Spartacus: House of Asher
Tarabay is currently the only original Spartacus cast member appearing in the new series. His other roles include playing Captain Boomerang in the CW series Arrow, as well as roles in Pacific Rim: Uprising and Person of Interest.
Starz also announced the following actors are joining the cast of the new series.
- Graham McTavish will play Korris, a former gladiator who now serves as a Doctore, or lead trainer, at Ashur’s gladiator school. He is best known for his roles in The Hobbit trilogy, The Witcher, and Rambo.
- Tenika Davis will play Achillia, a driven, determined female gladiator. Davis has appeared in Jupiter’s Legacy and Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities.
- Jamaica Vaughan will play Hilara, a slave who will be Ashur’s love interest. Vaughan has appeared in the Austalian TV series Home and Away and 800 Words.
- Ivana Baquero will play Messia, a slave who is in love with Vaughan’s character Hilara. Baquero has appeared in Pan’s Labyrinth and The Shannara Chronicles.
- Jordi Webber will play Tarchon, a brash gladiator. Webber has appeared in Power Rangers Ninja Steel and Choose Love.
- Claudia Black will play Cossutia, a Roman politician out to destroy Ashur. Black is best known for her role in Farscape, as well as The Nevers and Ahsoka.
- India Shaw-Smith will play Viridia, the daughter of Cossutia. Shaw-Smith has appeared in Supernatural and The Pines Still Whisper.
- Leigh Gill will play Satyrus, the leader of a rival group of gladiators called the Brothers Ferox. He has appeared in Joker and Game of Thrones.
The original Spartacus series premiered in 2010 and ran for three seasons. The prequel series Spartacus: Gods of the Arena premiered in 2011, followed by Spartacus: Vengeance (2012) and Spartacus: War of the Damned (2013).
All four seasons of the original
Spartacus
series are streaming on Starz and Plex.