Starz has released the first teaser trailer for its Spartacus spin-off, Spartacus: House of Ashur, with Nick Tarabay reprising his role as the conniving and manipulative Ashur in this new and alternate tale in the Spartacus series.
Spartacus: House of Ashur tells of an alternate history where Spartacus and his slave rebellion was defeated much earlier at the battle of Mount Vesuvius, as depicted in the finale of the series’ third season Spartacus: Vengeance. Rather than dying there as seen in the show, Ashur was victorious and rewarded for his role in aiding the Romans by being declared a free man and given ownership of Batiatus’ ludus, set to raise his own batch of gladiators and slaves.
Spartacus first premiered in 2010 with the first season Spartacus: Blood and Sand starring Andy Whitfield as the titular gladiator-turned-rebel leader. However, Whitfield had to exit the role due to contracting non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Prior to his exit, Starz filmed a prequel series Gods of the Arena while Whitfield underwent treatment, but when the disease came back and he could no longer perform Spartacus, ultimately passing away in 2011, and Liam McIntyre took over the role for the remaining seasons. The series ended in 2013 with War of the Damned.
Spartacus: House of Ashur was created by original series creator Steven DeKnight. Starring alongside Tarabay in the series is Graham McTavish (Outlander), Tenika Davis (Jupiter’s Legacy), Jamaica Vaughan (Home and Away), Ivana Baquero (Pan’s Labyrinth), Jordi Webber (Choose Love), Claudia Black (The Nevers), India Shaw-Smith (The Pines Still Whisper) and Leigh Gill (Joker).
Spartacus: House of Ashur is a history-bending, erotic, thrilling, roller-coaster experience that builds on everything that made the original series a colossal hit. The series poses the question: what if Ashur, played by fan favorite Nick Tarabay, hadn’t died on Mount Vesuvius at the end of Spartacus: Vengeance? And what if he had been gifted the gladiator school once owned by Batiatus in return for aiding the Romans in killing Spartacus and putting an end to the slave rebellion?
Spartacus: House of Ashur will premiere in Fall 2025.
Ricky Church – Follow me on Bluesky for more movie news and nerd talk.
