{"id":285629,"date":"2026-02-07T12:03:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T12:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/285629\/"},"modified":"2026-02-07T12:03:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T12:03:12","slug":"spartacus-house-of-ashur-finale-caesar-killed-by-ashur","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/285629\/","title":{"rendered":"Spartacus House of Ashur Finale: Caesar Killed by Ashur"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tSPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers from the Season 1 finale of \u201cSpartacus: House of Ashur<\/a>,\u201d now available on Starz.<\/p>\n

\n\tSteven S. DeKnight<\/a> has helped create several cinematic universes over the years. He wrote on \u201cBuffy the Vampire Slayer\u201d and the spinoff \u201cAngel\u201d in the early aughts, lent his talents to Superman on \u201cSmallville,\u201d ran a \u201cTransformers\u201d writers\u2019 room in 2015, directed \u201cPacific Rim: Uprising\u201d in 2018 and served as showrunner for Marvel\u2019s \u201cDaredevil\u201d on Netflix.<\/p>\n

\n\tBeginning in 2010, however, DeKnight has been expanding a universe of his own with \u201cSpartacus.\u201d Though the series shares a title and general timeline with Stanley Kubrick\u2019s 1960 feature, the Starz and Lionsgate television series takes the historical epic into new territory, matching the conventions of sword and sandals with sex and slaughter for a visceral dramatization of history.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThe series began with \u201cSpartacus: Blood and Sand\u201d in 2010. A prequel series, \u201cSpartacus: Gods of the Arena,\u201d later premiered in 2011, and the timeline continued with \u201cSpartacus: Vengeance\u201d in 2012 and \u201cSpartacus: War of the Damned\u201d in 2013, which saw the title gladiator\u2019s death in the final episode.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Matt Klitscher\/Starz<\/p>\n

\n\tLate last year, \u201cSpartacus\u201d returned to television after more than a decade, but the show did not reemerge with new tales of the eponymous Thracian. Instead, the new series, titled \u201cSpartacus: House of Ashur\u201d focuses on the subtitular character: the Assyrian Ashur (Nick E. Tarabay) who stood enemy to Spartacus in the original series and met a gristly demise at the end of \u201cVengeance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tNevertheless, the new series opens with Ashur in the underworld, where he is given the opportunity to reexperience life in a different timeline, one in which he evaded death, killed Spartacus and now stands Dominus in his own House. Ashur awakes in this alternative timeline, but not all is blissful. Throughout the series, he still must navigate the politics of the Roman Empire, contending with the crass authority of Julius Caesar (Jackson Gallagher) and his wife Cornelia (Jaime Slater), aiming to elevate his House\u2019s notoriety in the arena by introducing the ferocious gladiatrix, Achillia (Tenika Davis), and all the while, trying to maintain peace within and without in his new chance at rewriting history.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd rewrite history he does! The \u201cHouse of Ashur\u201d season finale, which premiered on Starz on Feb. 6, concludes with Ashur murdering Caesar, thus subverting the Ides of March and revising one of the most infamous deaths in human history. After Achillia gains victory in the arena and brings triumph to the House of Ashur, Caesar dismisses the agreement that would see Ashur gain favor among the Roman Empire. The two then engage in an intense and intimate battle of fists and blades, culminating in Ashur delivering a fatal blow to the mighty Caesar. In the penultimate shot, Ashur stands over the Emperor\u2019s dead body in a pool of blood and utters the episode\u2019s now-ironic title: \u201cHail Caesar.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAhead of the finale, Variety caught up with DeKnight to discuss his return to \u201cSpartacus,\u201d the uncoupling of history in \u201cHouse of Ashur\u201d \u2014 and the future of all the franchises he\u2019s touched over the years.<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd the other main thing that I wanted to do was work with Nick Tarabay again. I loved working with Nick; I worked with him on a couple of projects. He\u2019s a complete pro, and I thought he really deserved to be front and center, because he\u2019s such a fantastic actor.<\/p>\n

\t\tLet\u2019s start by stating the obvious: Ashur was decapitated in \u201cSpartacus: Vengeance.\u201d What made you want to resurrect the character and make a season in an alternative timeline, focusing on him as the hero?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tTwo main things: first and foremost, I just thought it was an incredibly juicy character and that there was more to explore. When we see Asher in \u201cSpartacus: Gods of the Arena,\u201d we see a guy who\u2019s eager to be part of the Brotherhood. He wants those relationships, but through a series of circumstances, he\u2019s ridiculed, humiliated and injured \u2014 and that makes him really bitter. So I always thought it would be interesting to explore whether he can rediscover his humanity. Can he find his heart again?<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Matt Klitscher\/Starz<\/p>\n

\t\tHow did you and the writers decide on the story?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tAbout three years ago, I pitched this crazy idea to Lionsgate and Starz. They said that they wanted more \u201cSpartacus,\u201d so I went through the usual permutations: What if we focused on Caesar? What if we focused on the triumvirate? What if we did Antony and Cleopatra? But none of them felt like \u201cSpartacus\u201d in the true sense of the series. I really love the confined upstairs-downstairs storytelling with the political intrigue. In the original show, Ashur says, \u201cThis is the rise of the house of Ashur.\u201d The writers and I mused about, what if we actually did that show, and eventually we said, \u201cWhy the hell not? Why not do a \u2018What If\u2026\u2019 where we can uncouple from history so the audience doesn\u2019t know what\u2019s coming and explore this great character?\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tDid you always know that you wanted to reintroduce Caesar into the universe of
\u201cSpartacus\u201d?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tWell, we had Caesar in the original show, played by Todd Lasance, and he was unfortunately not available because he\u2019s starring in his own show and we\u2019re very happy for him. But when I first talked to Nick, I called him up after Lionsgate and Starz said yes to the show. He was in France at the time, and I pitched him the story and he was immediately on board, and part of that pitch was I told him, \u201cAt the end of Season 1, you kill Caesar and the last line is \u2018Hail Caesar.\u2019\u201d He loved it and now, here we are.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Matt Klitsche\/Starz<\/p>\n

\t\tSo you knew from the beginning that the season would end with the battle between Ashur and Caesar, and the further rewriting of history?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tYeah. A lot of people watching the show keep asking, \u201cWhen are we going to see Caesar, Crassus and Pompey take over the Republic?\u201d Obviously, I couldn\u2019t tell them, but we had a different plan. The interesting thing about the show is that now that Ashur is alive again, he knocks over the historical dominoes, and starts changing history. The first change is that he introduces the female gladiator about 70 years earlier than it actually happened. And the next big one is that he murders Julius Caesar, which obviously completely upsets history and the triumvirate. And what happens from there is really interesting to me. So, yes, I had this idea from the very beginning. I thought it would be a super cool, different approach to history, and really show the audience that we are now truly uncoupled from history.<\/p>\n

\t\tDespite the ending, though, Caesar\u2019s wife, Cornelia, really has more of a presence throughout the season. Why did you decide to make her the more prominent and consequential character in the story?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tWell, I talked to my historical consultants and they explained that Julius Caesar is the most famous Roman in history, but at this point in time, his wife, Cornelia, was actually more powerful, richer and better known, and she was helping Caesar rise up through the ranks because she truly loved him. It was a love relationship. I think there\u2019s a story when Caesar was banished \u2014 or on the run and had to live in a cave \u2014 and she joined him because she loved him so much. So really this came from the historical consultants saying that she was actually the one that everyone wanted to suck up to at this point in history. She was the daughter of Cinna, who was the previous dictator of the Roman Republic, and she had a lot of notoriety and power and public presence. I thought it would be very interesting to subvert those expectations of Caesar being front and center, and instead have it be his wife who\u2019s working on his behalf.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Matt Klitsche\/Starz<\/p>\n

\t\tAnother interesting character that you introduce in this season is Achillia. How did you and your fellow writers develop her and decide to introduce the concept of gladiatrixes to \u201cSpartacus\u201d?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tOn the original show, Rob Tapper and I always wanted to introduce the female gladiator, because we just thought it was really cool, but we were sticking much closer to history and we ultimately decided that it was a bit too far since it was like 70 or 80 years out of the time period. But we really wanted to do it, so this time around, with the uncoupling of history, we went for it. It introduced a cool, different visual element for the show, and from there, we started building a character with a mysterious past that\u2019s fighting her own demons. We found a way for her to be thrown into this brutal world where no one, including Ashur, expects her to survive. She\u2019s a gimmick. Ashur just uses her to get his foot in the door, but then, against all odds, she survives, barely. And then he\u2019s really got a hot property \u2014 and a hot property like that, of course, in classic entertainment fashion, is mimicked. All the other promoters want to copy it, so that\u2019s where the Scythian came in. She\u2019s the next one as it\u2019s catching on. People in the show want to see more gladiatrixes. So that story will continue, and we\u2019ll see more female gladiators.<\/p>\n

\t\tDoes that mean that you have more \u201cSpartacus\u201d in the pipeline? Will there be a Season 2 of \u201cHouse of Ashur\u201d?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tYeah, we\u2019ve actually already written Season 2. It all depends on the audience and the viewership, but we\u2019re very happy with the response so far, and we\u2019re ready to go.<\/p>\n

\t\tAcross all of the seasons of \u201cSpartacus\u201d do you ever get notes from the studio regarding the amount of sex and violence? Do they ever ask you to tone it down, or, contrarily, do they ever insist that you amp it up, given that it\u2019s part of what makes the show unique?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tThankfully no. Starz and Lionsgate were both very supportive from early on, and they were clear that they wanted more of the same show. They didn\u2019t want us to tone it down for the times. Their opinion from the start was, \u201cLook, we know this show isn\u2019t for everybody \u2014we\u2019re not trying to make it for everybody. We want to make another \u2018Spartacus.\u2019\u201d So that was fantastic to hear in this day and age, that they didn\u2019t put restrictions on us. They were very happy with what we were delivering and they felt it was very much in the spirit of the original show.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\tWhere does the unique dialogue of \u201cSpartacus\u201d come from? How did you create this unique Shakespearean dialect riddled with profanity?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tA lot of people think that the syntax is Latin, but it actually has nothing to do with Latin. It was a pure creative invention from the beginning of the original series, just because I wanted to convey to the audience the sense of a different time. I have a background in playwriting; that\u2019s what I studied in college and I was deeply steeped in Shakespeare, but I didn\u2019t want to go full Shakespeare because with a modern audience, it\u2019d be incredibly difficult to understand. The show\u2019s already challenging as it is, so I just mashed two of my favorite things together: Shakespeare and \u201cConan the Barbarian.\u201d I just wanted to put those together and then run it through the lens of growing up in South Jersey, which means I curse a lot. I wanted that kind of juxtaposition of the highfalutin language with a lot of cursing, which just felt right for the world.<\/p>\n

\t\tNow that you\u2019ve created this alternative timeline, are there other \u201cSpartacus\u201d characters that you\u2019d be interested in revisiting or resurrecting?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tDefinitely. I always wanted to do a Gannicus spin off from the original series, played by the fantastic Dustin Clare. At the end of \u201cGods of the Arena,\u201d he gains his freedom from the arena and goes off wandering. He disappears in the time period of the show for five, six or seven years, and then reappears in \u201cSpartacus: Vengeance.\u201d And I always thought it would be great to do like a Spaghetti Western kind of version, you know, a \u201cHave Sword, Will Travel,\u201d with Gannicus wandering the lands, looking for redemption for his own past deeds as he gets involved with helping people. Like, a Man with No Name Spaghetti Western, but with a sword- and-sandal bent.<\/p>\n

\t\tLastly, beyond \u201cSpartacus,\u201d you\u2019ve been involved in so many franchises over the years from Marvel, DC, \u201cTransformers\u201d and \u201cBuffy the Vampire Slayer.\u201d Some of these series, notably \u201cBuffy\u201d and \u201cDaredevil\u201d are getting new life right now in the form of reboots. Would you be interested in returning to any of those universes as a writer, director or producer, as you\u2019ve served in the past?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019m always open, but I also love to see what the next generation of creatives are going to bring to the table. It\u2019s like, I\u2019ve had my go and it was a great time. I loved working on \u201cBuffy\u201d and \u201cDaredevil,\u201d but I\u2019m really excited about the \u201cBuffy\u2019 reboot. I cannot wait to see what they do. I was especially excited when I heard Sarah Michelle Gellar was going to be part of it, which, to me, makes it even more exciting. So, would I answer the call if I was available? Of course. I love those worlds, but I think they\u2019ll do just fine without me, and I\u2019m just excited to see what these creatives do with the properties.<\/p>\n

\t\tAny advice for the folks rebooting \u201cDaredevil\u201d on Disney+ right now?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI think they got a handle on it. Quite frankly, my advice is always the same for all creatives: swing for the fences. Just absolutely go for it and people will show up. Particularly with
\u201cDaredevil,\u201d they\u2019rebenefiting from having Charlie Cox, Vincent D\u2019Onofrio, Jon Bernthal, and, of course, the incredible Deborah Ann Woll. You absolutely cannot go wrong with that talent. They are just amazing. I\u2019d watch those guys read the phone book, so I\u2019m sure that they\u2019re going to do great.<\/p>\n

\n\tThis interview has been edited and condensed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers from the Season 1 finale of \u201cSpartacus: House of Ashur,\u201d now available…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":285630,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[93,61,60,68267,137341,137342,282],"class_list":["post-285629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-spartacus-house-of-ashur","tag-steven-deknight","tag-steven-s-deknight","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=285629"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285629\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/285630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=285629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=285629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=285629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}