Next week sees the return of Spartacus, the Starz original series chronicling the life of the titular slave who rebelled against his Roman oppressors. The show’s official second season, called Spartacus: Vengeance, has been long in coming, and brings with it many questions in the wake of the tragic death of the first seasons’ star, Andy Whitfield.

The Flickcast recently partook in a discussion with series creator/exec. producer Steven S. DeKnight where, among other things, he talked about the transition from his original star to new Spartacus Liam McIntyre (check out our interview with the actor here), where the show is going from here and working with Joss Whedon.

On Liam capturing the essence of Andy Whitfield’s Spartacus -

…that’s really what drew us to Liam is that we didn’t want to try to duplicate (Andy). I mean, that will never happen. He was such a singular, amazing talent. But we wanted to find somebody that had the same base qualities of compassion. And I told all the actors when they auditioned that even though Spartacus may fly into a rage now and then, he never comes from a place of anger, it’s always from a place of a wounded heart. And we really felt like Liam captured that essence.

On no character being safe on the show - 

…on this show characters literally get the ax. I think really ultimately for me it’s always – it comes from the story is how is the story best served by a character death. I don’t ever want somebody to just die. It needs to have ramifications either emotionally or towards the plot. So that’s always the number one driving force of – on who do I kill.

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Spartacus: Blood and Sand was one of the most interesting and fun to watch shows to appear on TV in a long time. It’s combo ob blood, gore, sex, action and swordplay made it a big hit for Starz and a star of Andy Whitfield.

Sadly, Andy Whitfield was not able to continue with the series and passed away due to his illness. However, as they say in Hollywood: “The show must go on.” And it is with new Spactacus Liam McIntyre who, at first glance, slightly resembles Whitfield and also looks to be a worthy successor to him.

The upcoming second (we don’t count the prequel) season, titled Spartacus: Vengeance, takes place right after the events of the first season of Spartacus and tells the continuing story of the slave revolt and its ramifications throughout Rome. To get you ready for the new season, we’ve got a preview of the first minutes of the premiere episode with an introduction by Spartacus himself. Looks good. We’ll be watching.

Check out the video after the break. Spartacus: Vengeance premieres on Starz on Friday, January 27.

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Some of the biggest controversy in TV over the past few years also happens to be tied to one of the best shows we’ve seen on American TV in a while. That controversy surrounds the STARZ original series Spartacus. The first season, titled Blood and Sand, was one of the cable networks highest rated series of all time, so it was natural that it would get a second season.

Due to the main star, Andy Whitfield, getting diagnosed with cancer, the show went on hiatus, and then continued on with a prequel season without Whitfield. Sadly, the star passed away earlier this year, leaving the showrunner, Steven S. DeKnight, without a star, and a network looking to continue the franchise.

Reluctantly, they recast their Spartacus, and the team planned out Spartacus: Vengeance, which will continue in the Spartacus universe. It looks like the network is now ready for the show’s January premiere. From Deadline:

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Those who saw French director Louis Leterrier’s remake of the classic film Clash of the Titans were split straight down the middle on those who absolutely loved the film, and those who thought it was total schlock.

Not unlike the response to the original film, this has left a bad taste in the mouths of fans, to the point where talk of a sequel would only anger them. That’s where this bit of news should change some folks’ minds. It seems that the Brothers Warner will be planning two sequels to the film. The good news? Good writers are on the way. From THR.

Dan Mazeau and David Leslie Johnson, who co-wrote Wrath’s screenplay with Steven Knight and also share story credit with Greg Berlanti, have been enlisted to develop and write a treatment for the threequel, which would continue the adventures of Perseus, played by Sam Worthington.

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Writer Steven S. DeKnight has got more than enough geek cred to bring any doubtful idea to a new level of excellence even when most other writers would choke under the pressure.

The man has worked with Joss Whedon in the Buffyverse and Angelverse, taken on young Superman in Smallville, and now he’s getting his blood and iron on with Spartacus.

Season 2 is starting up soon and Steven gives us some insight on how exactly they can pick up after the epic season 1 finale, and how difficult it was switching from Andy Whitfield to new star Liam McIntyre.

Another thing DeKnight touched on was a franchise he has yet to work with The Flash. He once proposed a series to WB in which we follow a young Flash in high school, and now Steven thinks this is a perfect time to get the project off the ground.

See what he had to say and more after the jump.

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While still remaining to be an excellent show, Starz’ Spartacus: Blood and Sand has gone through some pretty rough times. They originally lost their star Andy Whitfield due to illness, which prompted creator Steven S. DeKnight to write a prequel season in which Whitfield was not needed. Then Whitfield bounced back and forth about being able to return, but ultimately had to decline due to uncertainty.

Normally, a major recasting is not something a studio nor producers would want to go through, as an actor like Whitfield carried the show, but the fans demanded more of the show, so they went forward with the recasting. That brought Australian actor Liam McIntyre to the top of the pile.

While having no major roles in the past, McIntyre had the look of Spartacus down, and it didn’t hurt that he looked a bit like Whitfield, either.

We got the chance to speak with McIntyre about filling these pretty big sandals, what it was like working with an already-established crew, and getting into shape using the famed “celeb boot camp” that just about every action star have had to use in order to whip into shape for a role.

Check out our interview, and if you haven’t seen any of the upcoming season of Spartacus, check out the full trailer here.

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It’s no secret that some of us here at The Flickcast are huge Spartacus: Blood and Sand fans, having written about the Starz show during it’s premiere season, covering Andy Whitfield’s battle with a treatable form of non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, as well as Starz’ decision to film a 6- episode prequel to buy some time for Andy to recover.

So when Starz announced there would be a SDCC 2010 panel featuring Andy Whitfield and the cast and producers, we knew we’d be there to cover all of the Comic-Con exclusive news and trailers.

The panel opened with a trailer, mostly highlight from Season 1, however it was great fun to re-watch some of the best moments from the show’s first dozen or so episodes. As the lights went up, Andy Whitfield, Spartacus himself, walked onto stage to thunderous applause from the enthusiastic audience.

Andy looked great, rested and perhaps a few pounds below normal, but considering what he’s been through, medically-speaking over the past 9 months, he’s definitely recovered nicely. The rest of the panel attendees were introduced and included: Lucy Lawless (Lucretia), John Hannah (Batiatus), Viva Bianca (Ilithyia) and Steven S. DeKnight (Writer/Executive Producer)

Whitfield talked a bit about being grateful for the prequel, which bought him some time for him to undergo treatment and how thankful he was that the show stuck it out with him. He talked briefly about his illness, and joked that he can’t wait to get back to the gym to try and bulk up a bit for Season 2. Andy clarified that the doctors have cleared him to work, he’s feeling really great and has had plenty of time to really rest and reboot. “Bring it on!” He shouted as the lights started to dim for yet another video.

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