Spartacus: Blood and Sand is back with a vengeance, with more blood and you guessed it – more sand. In addition to shooting what will be a glorious Season 2, Starz is also shooting a six-part prequel that will be covering The House of Batiatus’ rise to arena awesomeness and air in January 2011.

In anticipation of the new episodes, The Flickcast was there to catch up with Andy Whitfield who plays none other than Spartacus himself. He achieved the greatest victory of all by defeating cancer, and we’re glad to hear he’s going to be back and better than ever with a small part in the prequel and a starring role once again in Season 2.

As buff gladiators strutted the Comic-Con convention floor towards the Anchor Bay Entertainment booth, I happily took a seat in a cozy room alongside the protein-packed actor. Starz certainly knows how to keep a woman’s interest.

Sitting down with Andy Whitfield was a delight. Besides being easy on the eyes, Andy was humble and charmingly insightful. But, don’t take my word for it. Following the jump, take a seat as the bringer of rain answers questions about fighting alongside his brethren and filming on location under the hot sun of New Zealand.

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The cable movie channel Starz isn’t best known for their original programming. They’ve had mild success with the episodic spinoff of the Oscar winning Crash, starring Dennis Hopper, but outside of that, things have been pretty quiet. That’s all expected to change tonight, as Spartacus: Blood and Sand premieres on the channel, bringing in fans of all creed to enjoy this epic tale of Roman gore. Luckily, that’s exactly what the show is.

Obviously, the main focus of the show is Spartacus (played by Andy Whitfield), while there are plenty of other fan favorites to help us along the way, such as Lucy Lawless, John Hannah of the Mummy movies, and Legend Of The Seeker‘s Craig Parker. These familiar faces help us along the way, making it feel a bit more like a Raimi/Tapert production, which always helps.

Now onto the grit, which is certainly in affluence here. Of course, the show creators wanted this series to stand out above the rest, and with a name like Blood and Sand, they also wanted to deliver on the former. With that comes, in my opinion, way too much CG blood. The slow-motion fight sequences are one thing, but when you’re using buckets of computer animated blood to transition between scenes, a la a gory episode of Home Improvement, you may have gone too far.

Not many know this but Ridley Scott’s Gladiator is actually based on the story of Spatacus, among others. With that in mind, you may find yourself developing a bit of déjá vu. Luckily the overabundance of blood and nudity, and complete lack of Russell Crowe, will snap you back into the moment.

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The list of new shows debuting at Comic-Con in San Diego just grew by one more. Starz Entertainment plans to showcase its new show featuring Xena and Battlestar Galactica alumi Lucy Lawless at the Con. The new show Spartacus: Blood and Sand, which is Exec. Produced by Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert and Steven S. DeKnight, will run for 13 episodes on the network and in addition, will have a tie-in comic book to be published by Devil’s Due.

According to the network, the show “follows the world of gladiators comes to life as the Roman Republic’s most brutal fighters clash in the ultimate arena.” In addition, it “is an entirely new vision of the ancient legend and will utilize virtual environments giving it a unique graphic novel look and style, along with a fresh narrative approach.”

As for the show’s storyline, it “was inspired by the actual slave of the Roman Republic who in 73 BC led a slave revolt that grew to more than 120,000 fighters. Defying the Roman Republic’s legions of soldiers, they campaigned for two years through much of what is now Italy before succumbing to a much larger army. The new series will tell a new set of stories rich in character, action, sex and combat.”

Sounds cool. And really, who doesn’t like Lucy Lawless? Spartacus: Blood and Sand debuts on Starz in January 2010. And, if you happen to be at Comic-C0n on July 24th, be sure to check out the show’s panel featuring Lucy Lawless, Rob Tapert and Steven S. DeKnight. We’ll see you there.