Two casting notices tonight:

• Spartacus: War of the Damned star Liam McIntyre will cross the bridge from Roman to Greek mythology to co-star in Hercules 3D, directed by Renny Harlin (12 Rounds).  Kellan Lutz (Twilight) stars as the titular demigod.
• Naomi Watts is in talks to star alongside Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy, and Chris O’Dowd in St. Vincent De Van Nuys, the feature directorial debut of Ted Melfi.

More on both projects after the break.

One of TV’s most popular franchises goes into battle for a final epic season when Spartacus: War of the Damned returns to Starz on January 25^th.  Taking place following the defeat of Roman commander Gaius Claudius Glaber, Spartacus and his men have amassed major victories against the Romans after the Battle of Vesuvius, and Rome is beginning to tremble at the threat this warrior now represents.

During this recent interview to promote the premiere of the final season, actors Liam McIntyre (who plays Spartacus) and Todd Lasance (who plays Julius Caesar), along with show creator Steven S. DeKnight, talked about what went into the decision to end the show, how Spartacus has changed this season, preparing for the inevitable historical ending, just how big of a threat Caesar will be, the possibility of a Caesar spin-off, what they hope to achieve with the final season, the epic battles, what the last day of shooting was like, and how the experience affect their lives.  Check out what they had to say after the jump.

Sarz has announced that its gladiatorial series Spartacus will come to its conclusion with its third season, Spartacus: War of the Damned, which will premiere on Friday, January 25th 2013 at 9pm.  Spartacus fashioned itself initially as a kind of response to HBO’s great but gone-too-soon series Rome, also piggybacking on the popularity of 300, but distinguished itself for being particularly violent, with lots of explicit sexual content.

Aside from having to establish itself among a bevy of currently running period dramas, the series faced difficulties during its first season when its star Andy Whitfield was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which lead Starz to produce a prequel mini-series Spartacus: Gods of the Arena.  Liam McIntyre then replaced Whitfield for the following season, Spartacus: Vengeance, and will finish out the series’ run.  Hit the jump for more on Spartacus, including a sneak peek video of War of the Damned.

I’ve been watching Spartacus since day two.  I somehow missed day one.  Spartacus is much more than sex and gore, it’s about heart.  It’s about the growth of these characters from slaves to freedom fighters.  So getting a chance to sit down with Steven S. DeKnight (executive producer), Liam McIntyre (Spartacus), Manu Bennett (Crixus) and Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Naevia) was a big treat.  They’d flown straight from set in New Zealand to talk about the series.  For what they had to say about the final season Spartacus: War of the Damned, airing on STARZ in January 2013, read on after the break.

In an effort of full disclosure, I am a fan of the Spartacus series.  It’s not the blood and guts, though there’s plenty of both.  It’s not the hyper sexuality/sensuality, though that’s also available in spades.  It’s the character performances that make this series stand out for me.  I couldn’t pass up the chance to get a glimpse at what’s to come in the the final season Spartacus: War of the Damned, airing on STARZ in January 2013.  This panel really brought out the dead.  Find out what I mean after the break.

There’s been three whole seasons of swords, sandals, sex and bloodshed in the Spartacus series (remember there’s a marathon coming later this summer), each jumping around in different time periods, but now it sounds like Starz is bringing it to an end. Today to cable network announced a new season of the series called Spartacus: War of the Damned which will be the final season of the series.

In fact, the new season is already in production in New Zealand with Liam McIntyre reprising the title role and Manu Bennett (Crixus), Dustin Clare (Gannicus), Dan Feuerriegel (Agron), Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Naevia) and Ellen Hollman (Saxa) all returning as well. The final chapter of the series takes place following the defeat of Roman commander Gaius Claudius Glaber. Spartacus and his men have amassed major victories against the Romans after the Battle of Vesuvius.  These victories have not only forged the legend of Spartacus, but have greatly increased the ranks of the rebellion slaves to more than 30,000. Rome is indeed beginning to tremble at the threat Spartacus now represents.  Hit the jump for more.

Australian actor Dustin Clare starred as Gannicus, the former champion of Capua, in the series prequel Spartacus: Gods of the Arena. Now, his character is returning to the current season, Spartacus: Vengeance, in Episode 5, entitled “Libertus,” airing on Starz on February 24^th.

During a recent interview to promote his character’s return, Dustin Clare talked about making the transition from series lead in the prequel to part of the ensemble in Season 2, what Gannicus has been through in the last five years, the challenges he faces as a free man, how Gannicus will be received by the other characters, how he initially got involved with Spartacus, and what it takes to train and prep for the show. Check out what he had to say after the jump.

In the Starz original drama, Spartacus: Vengeance (premiering on January 27, 2012), the gladiator rebellion continues, on the heels of the bloody escape from the House of Batiatus, and begins to strike fear into the heart of the Roman Republic. With all of the blood-soaked action, sexuality, villainy and heroism that has come to distinguish the series, Spartacus (Liam McIntyre) is now presented with the choice of satisfying his personal need for vengeance against the man that condemned his wife to slavery and eventual death, or making the larger sacrifices necessary to keep his budding army from breaking apart.

During this exclusive interview with Collider, Aussie actor Liam McIntyre talked about the challenges of taking over the iconic character for the much-beloved Andy Whitfield, getting in shape for the intensively physical role, saying the “I am Spartacus!” line for the first time, being torn between personal vengeance and responsibility, and how much bigger the scale and scope of Season 2 is. Check out what he had to say after the jump.

As a fan of Spartacus: Blood and Sand (Season One) and Spartacus: Gods of the Arena (the prequel series), I was excited to see what Season Two (named Vengeance) had in store for us.  While the cast and creator Steven S. DeKnight were generally tight-lipped about plot points, a couple of interesting tidbits slipped through.

Vengeance starts within a month or two after the end of Season One. Plans since the beginning was to have the women fight, since that is historically accurate.  There will be a female warrior towards the middle of the season.  Another addition will be Gaius Claudius Glaber (Craig Parker) who will be sent in by Rome to quell the slave uprising.  Ashur (Nick E. Tarabay) will return and Lucretia returns in Episode One, though how she survived the stabbing won’t be explained straight off, but DeKnight said it will be explained.  Continued after the jump.

With Comic-Con 2011 fast approaching, we can expect a multitude of panel announcements in the coming weeks. Today, Starz has informed us that the cast of both Torchwood: Miracle Day and Spartacus: Vengeance will be appearing at the Con on Friday, July 22^nd. For Torchwood, John Barrowman, Eve Myles, and new headliners Bill Pullman, Mekhi Phifer, Alexa Havins, Lauren Ambrose, and writer Jane Espenson will all be present. For Spartacus, Liam McIntyre, Lucy Lawless, Dustin Clare, Manu Bennett, Katrina Law, and Executive Producer and Head Writer Steven S. DeKnight will appear.

Hit the jump to read the full press release. Torchwood debuts on Starz Friday July 8^th, while Spartacus will air on the cable channel in 2012.

On the Starz original drama series Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, the prequel for the popular Spartacus: Blood and Sand, actress Lucy Lawless plays Lucretia, a woman who is always supportive of her husband Batiatus’ (John Hannah) dreams, however wild the direction they threaten to grow. Though conscious of the role she’s expected to play as a proper Roman woman, she will discover that when the moment most needs it, she can do what is necessary to gain power.

During a recent interview to promote the prequel, Lucy Lawless talked about returning to a character that she thought was dead at the end of the show’s first season, the pleasure of seeing the early life of Lucretia, how much she hates doing action scenes, and the fact that she will be returning for Season 2, which is being called Spartacus: Vengeance, and will now feature Liam McIntyre in the title role. Check out what she had to say after the jump:

Last October we heard lead actor Andy Whitfield has dropped out of the Starz epic series Spartacus: Blood and Sand in order to receive more treatment for his Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and Prison Break star Wentworth Miller might step in to replace him. But today Starz announced Australian actor Liam McIntyre (The Pacific) will be stepping into Whitfield’s titular role for the series’ second season which finds Spartacus and his fellow gladiators now out of Capua and engaged in the massive slave rebellion against Roman society that has echoed through time.

Starz CEO Chris Albrecht commented on the recasting, “Since no one can really replace Andy, we realized that we should instead find an actor who can truly lead ‘Spartacus’ forward. It was important to us to have Andy endorse the idea of recasting this part, which he did in the same heroic manner that he’s dealt with his whole ordeal. And that, coupled with our fortune in finding a young actor with the gladiator credentials and the acting ability of Liam, makes it easier for us to keep this hit franchise going.”