Lucy Lawless will return as Lucretia in Spartacus spinoff House of Ashur

Spartacus is one of the shows that kicked off our current craze of high-budget historical and fantastical dramas on premium networks. Running from 2010 to 2013 on Starz, the series took viewers back in time to the Roman Empire, where the show's titular gladiator-turned-revolutionary led a slave uprising to free his fellow slaves from the yoke of the Romans. It was a bloody, shocking show that is right in the same sort of wheelhouse as Game of Thrones, minus the dragons and zombies.

Unlike Thrones, Spartacus wrapped up with a well-received final episode that laid its hero to rest. It seemed unlikely that we would ever see a revival of the series, since it tied things up so neatly for all of its main characters.

But the unlikely is happening: Starz is currently working on a new spinoff. Titled Spartacus: House of Ashur, the new series is a "what if" style story which sees one of the other liberated slaves from Spartacus' rebellion, a scheming villain named Ashur, become the leader of House Batiatus and its gladiator business, or ludus. Nick Tarabay played Ashur in the original Spartacus and he's returning for the new series. And now, we know another actor from Spartacus will be coming back the spinoff: Lucy Lawless, who will be reprising her showstopping role as Lucretia. Cue fanfare!

Lucy Lawless will guest star in Spartacus: House of Ashur

Lucretia was a key character in Spartacus, and obviously Lucy Lawless needs no introduction. She's best known as the main character of Xena: Warrior Princess, but Spartacus gave Lawless the opportunity to branch out into a very adult, very gruesome series with plenty of shocking material. Her character, Lucretia, is the wife of Batiatus, the Roman noble played by John Hannah who purchases Sparatcus and sets him on the brutal path to becoming a gladiator. Lucretia appeared in all but the final season of Spartacus. As for how she might show up in House of Ashur, SPOILER for Spartacus season 2 coming in 3...2...1...

So, in the second season of Spartacus, subtitled Spartacus: Vengeance, Lucretia meets her demise after going through a horrifying ordeal with Ashur. At the start of the show, Lucretia was a pampered noblewoman who enjoyed having her way with gladiators who piqued her interest. In Vengeance, the loathsome Ashur turned that around by taking Lucretia captive and repeatedly sexually assaulting her, which drove her to madness. Near the end of the season, Ashur strikes a deal with the Roman general Gaius Claudius Glaber (Craig Parker): he will help put down Spartacus' rebellion, and in return he will be granted Lucretia as a wife and control over the House Batiatus' lucrative gladiator business, much to Lucretia's horror.

It doesn't work out so well for Ashur, who is summarily killed by Spartacus' ally and former slave Naevia (Cynthia Addai-Robinson). Following his death, Lucretia makes her way back to her ruined house, where she also dies in one of the single most chillingly gruesome death scenes I've ever seen on television.

What is Spartacus: House of Ashur be about?

The new spinoff imagines a different future for Ashur and Lucretia. Instead of dying at the hands of Spartacus and his rebels, it sounds like Ashur succeeds in his mission and is granted control over House Batiatus. Deadline reports that Lawless will appear in a guest-starring role that will be key to “elevating” the inciting moments of the series. According to the new outlet, Lucretia's return will be "instrumental in setting up" the alternate timeline of House of Ashur.

That sounds to me like we shouldn't expect to see Lawless much in the new series. Maybe Lucretia shows up right at the start and meets her demise in some other way which helps propel Ashur into becoming the ruler of House Batiatus? It'll be interesting to see how House of Ashur handles this, but one thing is for sure: Lawless was superb in that role on Spartacus, and having her back even for an episode would be a huge boon to the spinoff.

Spartacus: House of Ashur has a pretty stacked cast aside from Lawless and Taraby. In addition to those two returning actors, the series will feature franchise newcomers Graham McTavish, Tenika Davis, Jamaica Vaughan, Ivana Baquero, Jordi Webber, Claudia Black, India Shaw-Smith and Leigh Gill. The series is being helmed by Spartacus creator and writer Steven DeKnight, who will serve as showrunner.

DeKnight compared the new show to Spartacus: Gods of the Arena on Twitter/X, which is the prequel season of Spartacus that focused on the gladiator Gannicus (Dustin Clare). Gods of the Arena was a tighter, more focused story than the main series; even though it fed into the larger Spartacus tale by the end, it still felt like something that stood well on its own. I'm of the opinion Gods of the Arena was one of the best seasons of Spartacus, so it's exciting to think the new spinoff might strike some similar chords.

No release date has yet been announced for Spartacus: House of Ashur, which has yet to start filming. I imagine we'll be watching it sometime in 2025 or possibly even 2026.

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