The final season of Spartacus: War of the Damned begins January 25^th on Starz.  That’s tonight! We left off last season with Spartacus and his merry band of rebels facing the full might of the Roman legion, which are not against pulling shenanigans.

I was more than happy to sit down with Manu Bennett, who plays the undefeated Gaul and Spartacus BFF, Crixus.  Manu was passionate, assured, and especially candid as he spoke about his former co-star Andy Whitfield and what awaits Crixus in the new season. Generous to a fault, he also shared some spoils of war. (Note: This interview contains spoilers.)

The Flickcast: “Be Here Now” is emblazoned on your shirt.  Can you talk about why the phrase “Be Here Now” is important to you?

Manu Bennett: “Be Here Now” was a tattoo Andy [Whitfield] had on his forearm when he was going through his cancer treatment.  There’s a documentary that’s going to be coming out soon.

Rather than not being in the know about what happened to Andy, this documentary is for people who are really interested in the show and really fell in love with Andy and I know there’s so many people out there who did. I’m sure Andy would have liked everyone to go and watch this documentary to see what cancer can destroy in this life.

If we must have a female version of The Expendables, there’s no better female action star to topline such a film than Gina Carano. As she so capably proved in Haywaire, she kicks ass, takes names and looks great doing both.

So, knowing this, it should come as no surprise that Carano will indeed star in the upcoming Adi Shankar production, which Dutch Southern is currently writing. In fact, Shankar can’t imagine doing a female version of The Expendables without Carano.

Said the producer: “I don’t know how I’m supposed to make a movie that is supposed to be the female version of ‘The Expendables’ without Gina Carano in it. It would be like making Twix without caramel or Jamba Juice without jamba.”

Obviously, we feel Carano is an excellent choice too. Let’s hope Shankar’s other casting is as inspired. There’s a lot of 80s and 90s (and current) female action stars who are still alive and, well, kicking. We would be happy to put together a list Adi, just ask and it’s yours.

Ok, we won’t wait for you to ask. Here’s some names to consider: Linda Hamilton, Sigourney Weaver, Uma Thurman, Michele Rodriguez, Carrie Anne Moss, Zoe Bell, Lucy Lawless, Cynthia Rothrock, Michelle Yeoh.

What do you think of those names? Anyone we missed? Sound off in the comments.

If you’ve been a fan of Starz’ massive Spartacus series from the beginning, one thing you may be is confused as to the order of events that took place during the various incarnations of the series. Or, you just may want to see everything in the order it was intended and follow along as the characters and situations develop.

Whatever your wishes, Starz seems to have them covered with its just announced plan to run every episode of Spartacus, in chronological order, as one epic viewing event.

Here’s more from the official Starz press release:

For the first time, Starz will air all 29 episodes of Spartacus in chronological order, beginning with “Gods of the Arena,” then “Blood and Sand,” and concluding with “Vengeance,” Friday nights from 9pm – 11pm ET/PT, beginning June 8th.

With things firmly in turmoil after the end of season two, Starz original series Spartacus has already started production on season three. With that usually comes news of cast additions and that’s exactly what we have for you today.

According to Starz, Anna Hutchison, Jenna Lind and Gwendoline Taylor have been added to the cast of series, now filming season three in New Zealand. Hutchison will play Laeta, the privileged wife of a Roman dignitary who becomes entangled in the struggle against Spartacus. Her life and those of the ones she loves are forever changed by the conflict.

Lind will play Kore, a loyal slave to Marcus Crassus (Simon Merrells), the Roman tasked to bring an end to Spartacus and his rebellion. Her deep feelings for her master will be sorely tested by spiraling events.

Taylor will play Sibyl, a beautiful young slave rescued from Roman cruelty. Now free, she will embark on a journey that will touch the lives of key leaders in the rebellion.

They all look line fine additions to the cast, which up until now has had no shortage of beautiful women. Season three, which debuts on Starz later this year, looks like it will carry on that tradition.

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.