'Spartacus: Blood and Sand' San Diego Comic-Con panel

Want to know what came out of the San Diego Comic-Con related to the upcoming Spartacus: Blood and Sand?

Panel attendees included Erin Cummings (Dollhouse) who plays Spartacus’ wife Sura, Peter Mensah (300, Avatar) who plays Doctore, executive producer Steven S. DeKnight, executive producer Rob Tapert, and Lucy Lawless (Xena: Warrior Princess / Battlestar Galactica) who plays Lucretia.

Lead Australian actor Andy Whitfield (Gabriel / McLeods Daughters), who plays Spartacus, couldn’t attend the panel due to his filming schedule keeping him in New Zealand.  Instead he greeted the audience via video and introduced the premiere of the trailer.

You can watch the entire panel below (trailer included), but first here’s a summary of what we learn:

• the show was conceived of by Legend of the Seeker producers Sam Raimi and Rob Tabert
• the series was shopped around for a while before Starz picked it up
• the show is bloody, filled with sex and violence
• though bloody, the show is graphically violent but not horror movie violent – more operatic in its violence
• the show has full nudity, both men and women
• the show will have a death toll like you’ve never seen on television before
• the actors did a month of Gladiator boot camp which involved 4 hours of physical training, specialized diet (which the actors are still on) and weapons training with swords, whips and spears
• Lucy Lawless said she was lucky to avoid having to participate in the boot camp but still works out as “being naked on screen is no fun”
• DeKnight says you’ve seen nothing like this on TV before
• Starz have been instrumental in allowing the creators of the show to do their thing without constraint
• Lucy Lawless didn’t have to audition and nearly didn’t take the role
• the casting of Andy Whitfield was determined by the casting director less than an hour after seeing his tape audition
• (so far) Erin Cummings’ character is the only female character to do fight scenes
• season one will consist of 13 episodes
• DeKnight says details on each episode are poured over as they “want every single episode to be spectacular”
• all of Spartacus’ motivations come from his love for his wife and desire to escape slavery to be with her
• Lucy Lawless says Spartacus is the most exciting series she’s ever worked on
• DeKnight refers to the original Gladiator fights as the “original UFC”
• Devil’s Due are releasing a Spartacus comic in October which will expand upon individual character’s stories
• a Watchmen style motion version of the comic will also be released (titled Spartacus: Upon The Sands Of Vengeance)
• the series definitely draws from elements of Frank Miller’s/Zack Snyder’s 300
• Tapert says there’s no room in Spartacus for humor like other shows he’s worked on

Watch the panel and trailer:

Talked about but not shown at Comic-Con was the boot camp. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at it:

Visit the Spartacus: Blood and Sand official website.

Spartacus: Blood and Sand premieres on Starz January 21, 2010 at 10PM ET/PT.

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