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Take a look at these first photos from Those About to Die and answer this question: Are you not entertained?!
In April, Peacock released a new teaser for the ancient Roman epic starring Anthony Hopkins (but which is not related to Ridley Scott’s 2000 film). The streamer also announced a release date as well: The historical drama will premiere Thursday, July 18, with all 10 episodes hitting the streamer at once.
Now we have first look photos from the drama, which you can see below.
In the teaser — which you can watch above — Hopkins’ character gravely narrates, “The telling of history is but a history of war,” as we see various soldiers and combatants brandishing swords, knives and bows and arrows. “Citizens of Rome, place your bets well,” Hopkins’ character warns, “for there are those about to rise… and those about to die.”
Hopkins leads a cast that includes Iwan Rheon (Game of Thrones), Sara Martins (Death in Paradise) and Tom Hughes (A Discovery of Witches). Roland Emmerich (Independence Day) will direct five episodes and serve as an executive producer; Robert Rodat (Falling Skies) will write the first three episodes, based on the Daniel P. Mannix nonfiction book.
Those About to Die is “an epic drama set in the corrupt world of the spectacle-driven gladiatorial competition, exploring a side of ancient Rome never before told — the dirty business of entertaining the masses, giving the mob what they want most…blood and sport,” per the official description. “The series introduces an ensemble of characters from all corners of the Roman Empire who collide at the explosive intersection of sports, politics, and dynasties.”
Press PLAY above for a sneak peek at Those About to Die, and then hit the comments to share your first impressions.
I will watch pretty much anything Anthony Hopkins is in. That guy can make eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich Oscar material.
I came here to say this just with different words lol
I will never understand why almost all ‘modern’ depictions of Rome have actors with British accents in the lead roles.
It’s a fair question but I don’t think there’s deep reasoning. They tend to be English-speaking productions, and William Shakespeare wrote a number of plays set in ancient Rome such as Julius Caesar and Coriolanus. As such the practice actually has centuries of tradition, and those plays are still regularly performed in England both in the West End and as part of classical drama training. Hope that helps!
check ‘the eagle’ with channing tatum, which has the romans played by US actors.
That was years ago and people were super mad about the American accents even though it’s literally the exact same level of “historical accuracy”
After all the pain I have to suffer when Americans play Nazis and utter something that resembles German remotely only, you will surely bear Romans with a British accent ^^
I know it’s just a marketing line, but it’s actually well-trod territory, especially the classic and modern versions of Spartacus. 🤣
Really? Spartacus the tv show did talk a bit about the management/sports side of gladiators but moved fairly quickly in to war and rebellion.
I don’t think there’s any production that accurately (as much as anything can be accurate) portrayed the day to day and how similar the culture was to our own sports culture. And this probably won’t, either. “Those about to die” were usually convicts executed in the middle of the day (usually by wild animals) and it was when the audience went on a bathroom break. Whomp whomp. Actual gladiators were worth way too much to whoever managed them (and often weren’t slaves) to be killed deliberately. But we’ll see! So long as it’s mor accurate than the movie Gladiator, I’ll be pleased 😅
Sounds interesting but I don’t have streaming.
Waitwaitwait…the TV show that shares literally *nothing* with Ridley Scott’s 2000 film – not a title, any actors, writers, producers, or directors – has NITHING to do with Ridley Scott’s 2000 film?? I don’t buy it…
I’m crackin up, lol! I could get saying it has nothing to do with the SEQUEL to Gladiator, since that is in dev now and we have so many “connected universes” out there–with Dune stuff in theaters and a prequel tv show coming on MAX, the mess that is all the Godzilla stuff out there in various movies and tv shows (only some of which have anything to do with each other), etc….but really. It’s not like Ancient Rome itself is an IP, let alone one Scott invented for his admittedly popular (but not actually that good) 24 year old movie
If Anthoney Hopkins is in it, it will be something special. Reminds me of HBO’s “Rome.”