We're only a few weeks out from the return of a legend. Spartacus premiered on Starz in 2010 just ahead of Game of Thrones on HBO, and quickly carved out a passionate fanbase for itself thanks to its pulpy, blood-soaked vision of ancient Rome. It told the story of a slave-turned-gladiator who led a rebellion against the mightiest empire in the world. The show ran for three main seasons and a prequel miniseries which slots into the overall story, and holds up well to this day.
Next month, Starz will return to the world of this storied series with the spinoff Spartacus: House of Ashur. The approach for this spinoff is a little unusual. Rather than serving as a true sequel, it acts more as a "what if" scenario, presenting viewers with a reality where the scheming Ashur (Nick E. Tarabay) didn't die in the main series, and instead rose to prominence as the head of his own gladiator compound, or ludus.
That's an interesting set up, and it sounds like the sort of thing which might work well for a limited miniseries the way that Gods of the Arena did. But in a recent interview with Deadline, creator Steven S. DeKnight revealed he's actually hoping Ashur's story will run for multiple seasons.
"I can tell you we’ve already written Season 2. We are ready to go if it’s a success," he said.
Lucy Lawless' Lucretia returns in Spartacus: House of Ashur sneak peek
The question of how exactly Ashur's story will unfold has been a question pretty much since this series was announced. Would House of Ashur just totally sidestep the character's death in the original Spartacus? Would it reference it at all as it set up this alternate reality where he survived?
Now, we have the answer, thanks to a sneak peek Starz shared with Deadline. We've known for a while now that Lucy Lawless, who played Lucretia in Spartacus, was returning for a brief appearance in House of Ashur. It turns out that appearance sets up the entire show, as Lucretia meets with Ashur in the underworld and offers him the chance to see how a different version of his life might have played out. You can watch the clip above.
If you've seen the original Spartacus, this might strike you as a little curious. Lucretia was the wife of Batiatus (John Hannah), the owner of the ludus where Spartacus, Ashur, and others were trained. She survived the bloody assault at the end of season 1 which launched the gladiator slave rebellion, but later fell in with Ashur. He abused her and took advantage of her former station, the mental whiplash of which eventually led Lucretia to take a dive off a cliff in the finale of Spartacus: Vengeance. Her death was one of the most memorable in the entire show. Suffice to say, she and Ashur were not on good terms.
"The question here is whether this second chance is a gift or a curse?" DeKnight mused. "Is she giving him something to benefit him or something that will torture him? You’ve got to watch the series to see how that plays out."
Ashur was one of the most detestable characters in Spartacus, but that may shift somewhat now that he's at the head of his own series. "That's the question: can he change, or is he locked into his fate? I know the answer to that, because I know how the series ends," DeKnight said with a laugh. "I’m not going to say, but for me, that’s the really interesting part. That’s what I loved about watching The Sopranos and Breaking Bad. Can they overcome what’s inside them and be a better person? To me, that’s fertile ground. Fans have asked me why I’m doing a series on the character they hate the most, and whether I’m expecting them to root for Ashur. I always ask, 'Did you root for Batiatus? He was a horrible man who murdered Spartacus’ wife. He ordered the murders of men, women, and children, yet people still cheered for him.'"
Lucretia was "the way in" for Spartacus: House of Ashur's alternate reality
DeKnight also talked about working with Lawless again, who was one of the standouts from the original show. "She’s a pro, you know? She’s Lucy Lawless. I still pinch myself that I got to work with her the first time around. I’m such a big fan," DeKnight said. "And, yeah, she just stepped right back into it. She was fantastic. She and Nick always had a great working relationship. I feel that anybody else except Lucy Lawless as Lucretia would just not have felt right. It was just a perfect way to start a new series and tip our hat to the original."
Lawless' return isn't just a fun cameo, but the way the kick the entire series needs to get started. DeKnight had wanted to do a Spartacus spinoff focusing on historical figures like Caesar and Pompey, but wanted to root it in the same sort of "upstairs-downstairs" drama at the ludus that was so successful in the first season of the original show and Gods of the Arena.
"[The way in was through Lucy as Lucretia, who went over that cliff with the baby that she stole from Ilithyia," he revealed. "We can start in the Underworld when Ashur has just died, and Lucretia is there and says, 'You know, there are many paths. Your death on Vesuvius was one of them, and would you like to see another? Would you like to live another life and see what would have happened and what kind of man you would have become?' That was really the impetus for the series."
Spartacus: House of Ashur's two-episode premiere lands December 5 on Starz. After that, new episodes will follow weekly for the rest of the season's 10-episode run.