Starz's Spartacus: Vengeance was in a precarious position. After having blown the doors off in the role of slave-turned-gladiator Spartacus, actor Andy Whitfield was forced to leave the show to battle cancer…a battle that he eventually, and tragically, lost. Creator Steven S. DeKnight was in the unenviable position of trying to recast his lead role, but he eventually settled on Liam McIntyre. And while no one could ever top Andy Whitfield's performance in the role, McIntyre did a good job of making the role his own, and that's really all he could do.
Thankfully McIntyre was given good material to work with, as Spartacus: Vengeance explored the brewing slave rebellion with Spartacus at its head, and the Roman powerbrokers who wanted it crushed as quickly and violently as possible. Vengeance has everything we've come to expect from Spartacus: duplicity, betrayal, bloody vengeance, and a heaping helping of sex. If you were a fan of Andy Whitfield in the role and haven't given Vengeance a chance, you can – and should – check out the latest Spartacus season when it hits Blu-ray and DVD on September 11th (appropriately enough, the one-year anniversary of Andy's death).
In addition to 10 episodes spread across three discs, the Spartacus: Vengeance set will include featurettes, bloopers, audio commentaries, and extended cuts of the episodes. To get a taste of the bonus features, the folks over at Anchor Bay Entertainment have shared this clip entitled "Spartacus: Vengeance -- Directing the Rebellion."
