14 DAY TRIAL // After a few weeks of intense speculations, producers have decided not to pull the plug on the Starz show “Spartacus” and just recast the role instead, while Andy Whitfield recuperates.
Whitfield announced in September this year that his cancer was back and required aggressive treatment that would prevent him from working on season 2 of the show.
Initially, producers held off making an announcement regarding the fate of the show though it was clear that they couldn’t do another spin-off, having already gone down that road.
Now, Entertainment Weekly informs they have eventually decided to recast the role of Whitfield and go on with the show as if nothing happened.
As expected, the decision managed to ruffle some feathers with fans online, with many saying Andy can’t possibly be replaced.
“That this was inevitable doesn’t make it any less sad: Starz has officially started looking for an actor to replace Andy Whitfield on Spartacus,” EW says.
“According to the just-released casting notice, producers are searching for a Caucasian male in his mid to late 30s to play the ‘smart, intense, passionate’ title role,” says the e-zine.
Moreover, it seems producers are not looking for a temp but for a permanent replacement – which means Andy will never return to the show, not even after he’s done with the cancer treatment.
“Interested parties must have an authentic British accent and be prepared to sign a three-year contract,” EW reports.
As we also informed you at the end of last month, the two options producers had in light of Whitfield’s announcement, was either to “close up shop” or re-cast the part.
As mentioned above, some sort of spin-off while Whitfield recovered was no longer an option since it had been done before: it’s called “Spartacus: Gods of the Arena,” a 6-episode prequel that will air in January.
“Gods of the Arena” was shot without Whitfield, while the actor first sought treatment for cancer.