'Spartacus' returns: 'House of Ashur' trailer teases blood, power, betrayal

Starz is reigniting the Spartacus saga with Spartacus: House of Ashur, and its new red band trailer promises all the blood, intensity, and sensuality that made the franchise a fan favourite.

The series premieres December 5 on Starz, arriving more than a decade after the last installment and reintroducing Nick E. Tarabay as Ashur — now resurrected and ruling as master of his own house.

The trailer reveals a host of new and familiar faces in Ashur’s world, including gladiator trainer Korris (Graham McTavish), gladiatrix Achillia (Tenika Davis), Tarchon (Jordi Webber), Julius Caesar (Jackson Gallagher), and Caesar’s wife Cornelia (Jaime Slater).

While the green band trailer is available publicly, Starz is keeping the red band version restricted to YouTube due to its explicit nature.

The series is helmed by franchise creator Steven S. DeKnight, who returns as showrunner and executive producer alongside Rick Jacobson and Aaron Helbing. 

Spartacus: House of Ashur unfolds in an alternate timeline in which Ashur survived instead of meeting his end in 2012’s Spartacus: Vengeance.

The Spartacus universe began with Spartacus: Blood and Sand in 2010 and expanded with Gods of the Arena (2011), Vengeance (2012), and War of the Damned (2013).

Starz describes the new series as a tale of power, betrayal, and reinvention: “What if he lived, and the Romans rewarded his treachery with the gladiator school where he once bled? Welcome to the House of Ashur.

No longer a slave, Ashur has clawed his way to power, owning the same ludus that once owned him. But ruling a band of merciless gladiators is child’s play compared to surviving the savage world of Roman politics — a cutthroat game in which betrayal isn’t a sin, it’s currency.”

Spartacus: House of Ashur premieres December 5 on Starz.