As first reported at Entertainment Weekly earlier today, Starz has given a green light to a second season of Spartacus: Blood and Sand despite lead actor Andy Whitfield bowing out of the series after a recurrence of cancer.
By moving forward, the lead role of Spartacus will obviously need to be re-cast. Starz has been working on this effort for several weeks and presumably is getting close to selecting their new leading man by locking in the show’s continuation. Producer Rob Tapert told EW that whomever is chosen will be encompassing a slightly different portrayal of Spartacus as the season is no longer set in the ludus as the entirety of season one was.
Starz is expected to make a formal Spartacus Season 2 announcement at the TCA press tour with a spring shoot and early 2012 premiere.
The Spartacus universe will continue on January 21 with the spin-off prequel, Gods of the Arena, debuting exclusively on Starz. Whitfield is expected to appear in the show in a cameo role.
