Spartacus: Vengeance

[quartermainefan]

EW now has promo images of the new Spartacus

there is an imageless teaser trailer

<iframe width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/S6U2qDbkZ20" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

and the guy who plays Asher posted a picture of Andy Whitfield looking healthy

so what do you think of the new guy?

[Juliajms]

I am so excited for this! I think the new guy looks ok. I won't know for sure if I like him until I see him in action. I'm glad AW seems to be doing ok.

[quartermainefan]

Next winter our cup will truly runneth over. A Game Of Spartacus double feature!

Also, Naevia, the one true love of Crixus, is being recast. I think I read it was a contract dispute.

[YRBB]

Well, he's definitely not in the same league as AW. But if he can act it well, it won't matter eventually... I hope.

I'm glad AW is doing well.

[EricaKane70]

Its going to be hard to buy this new guy after Andy.

[Juliajms]

Here's the new trailer.

http://www.tvline.com/2011/07/spartacus-vengeance-trailer-full/

[Juliajms]

promo photos:

http://www.spoilertv...romotional.html

[quartermainefan]

<iframe width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/SORV1PvjeR4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[London]

OMG have you guys heard the horrible news regarding Andy (ex-Spartacus)?

It has been reported that Andy died, at age 39, of non-Hodgkin lymphoa

http://www.tmz.com/2011/09/11/andy-whitfield-dead-dies-spartacus-lymphoma/

It is reported on other sites as well.

[Juliajms]

That's terrible news. I feel so bad for his wife.

[quartermainefan]

wow, how awful. He died so young and it all happened in a year. I hope he wasn't in pain. RIP.

[quartermainefan]

This was a nice essay from the Guardian in the UK:

The death of Welsh actor Andy Whitfield aged 39 is terrifically sad. When cast in the leading role of the Starz drama Spartacus: Blood and Sand, Whitfield was largely unknown to US and UK audiences, and he dies associated most with that character. It's a hell of a role to leave behind as your final calling card.

Handled with terrific flair by showrunner Steven S. DeKnight, Spartacus: Blood and Sand took its cues from modern retellings of antiquity such as 300 and Rome, as much as Stanley Kubrick's 1960s Spartacus, yet still managed to create a storytelling ethic and feel all of its own. It was a show you started out watching just to laugh at and stayed with because you couldn't stop watching.

Whitfield was perfect for this particular Spartacus. You couldn't just drop some chisel-jawed lunk in the role because fundamentally DeKnight's Spartacus is more of a lover than a fighter. He is, of course, every bit the beast in the arena, but nothing motivates him more than being reunited with his wife. Not money, glory of combat, even freedom, come close to that.

Whitfield brought a crucial sensitivity to Spartacus, with a vulnerability around women and a civility around men that seemed to come very easily to him. Spartacus is loyal to his friends, can have his heart broken and there is no trace of savagery in him. He's no barbarian, then, no slave.

Though, when the time came to throw down, he could handle that too. Whitfield was every inch the action hero and the show's slow-motion fight scenes (where you can't use doubles) required him to do many of his own stunts. Kill Them All, the epic first season finale which would turn out to be Whitfield's last episode, combines thrillingly deft storytelling with a series of beautifully choreographed fight scenes, creating one of the best season closers in recent TV history.

And at the heart of it, the storytelling and the action, the emotional high points and the gore, was Andy Whitfield. He'd taken the biggest break of his career and knocked it out of the park. He'd shown he could be action hero or romantic lead and stardom beckoned. Then came the lymphoma. Cancer is never kind, but it seemed particularly cruel in this instance – right as his career was about to go stellar.

Whitfield, central to making Spartacus the success it is today, graciously backed Liam McIntyre, his replacement in the role, saying: "I want this story told." It will be. The second season prequel Spartacus: Gods of the Arena was another critical and commercial smash and the third series Spartacus: Vengeance premieres in January.

He died half a lifetime too soon but, as anyone who watched the breakout performance at the heart of that incendiary first season of Spartacus knows, Andy Whitfield won't be forgotte

[EricMontreal22]

[Juliajms]

Ugh. For some reason this feels personal. Maybe because he was so young and vital. Everytime I see a picture it's like someone I know died.

[Juliajms]

http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/11/03/spartacus-vengence-date-poster/

EW story with the premier date and some promo video.