The 86-year-old actor does not slow down and becomes a face series, for which Roland Emmerich is largely responsible, director of such films as: “Independence Day”, “Independence Day: Resurgence”, “The Day After Tomorrow” and “World on Fire”. Looking at these titles, we can be sure that ancient Rome through the eyes of Roland Emmerich will certainly be a spectacular place. This time he had to direct five episodes, and the next five were directed by Marco Kreuzpaintner, which gives us a season that will consist of ten episodes. Anthony Hopkins will also be joined in the cast by: Iwan Rheon, Sara Martins, Tom Hughes, Jojo Macari, Moe Hashim, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson and many others.
The story we will see is an adaptation of Daniel P. Mannix's novel of the same title, and for adapting it into a screenplay, Robert Rodat, nominated for an Oscar for writing “Saving Private Ryan”, responds. The plot will take viewers to the times of ancient Rome, telling the story of a distorted and corrupt society that is fascinated by gladiator fights. The creators will show us a previously unknown version of that period – the dark side of the entertainment business that gives the masses what they want most: blood and sport. The series will not focus only on a specific group, but will present a whole cross-section heroes who belong to different layers of this world. The plots will converge on several levels, presenting the empire from different points of view.
As reported by Deadline, Lisa Katz, content representative at NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, spoke about the production in 2022 as follows: “The series will offer not only gladiator fights and chariot races, but also ambiguous characters who sneak among the palaces. intrigues and appear in the criminal underworld. We decided to cooperate with irreplaceable creators (…) to create this bold, action-packed production.
These are certainly not just empty words, because the first 10 episodes were budgeted at approximately $140 million. This amount can be seen in the announcement itself, and although we can expect numerous comparisons to “Game of Thrones”, the Peacock platform cannot deny that it aims high.
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