Garance Dore/Ben Cope/Sally Flegg/Ruben Suarez/Courtesy/Lisa Smith/Faye Thomas/Oh So Small

Starz has set the main cast for the latest installment of the “Spartacus” Universe: Spartacus: House of Ashur, led by franchise star Nick Tarabay reprising the role of the titular Ashur. Production on the Steven S. DeKnight-led, 10-episode series is underway in New Zealand.

“And who will fight Ashur? Choose carefully, for I long for blood”—Ashur

The main cast includes Graham McTavish (The Witcher), Tenika Davis (Jupiter’s Legacy), Jamaica Vaughan (Home and Away), Ivana Baquero (Pan’s Labyrinth), Jordi Webber (Choose Love), Claudia Black (The Nevers), India Shaw-Smith (The Pines Still Whisper) and Leigh Gill (Joker).

Spartacus: House of Ashur is described by the network as a “history-bending, erotic, thrilling, roller-coaster experience that builds on everything that made the original series a colossal hit. The series poses the question: what if Ashur, played by fan favorite Nick Tarabay, hadn’t died on Mount Vesuvius at the end of Spartacus: Vengeance? And what if he had been gifted the gladiator school once owned by Batiatus in return for aiding the Romans in killing Spartacus and putting an end to the slave rebellion?”

McTavish plays “Korris,” a former gladiator who won his freedom in the arena and is now Ashur’s Doctore, training the gladiators in Ashur’s Ludus. Davis plays “Achillia,” a female gladiator driven to surpass her male counterparts. Vaughan plays “Hilara,” a young, elevated house slave, deeply in love with Ashur. Baquero plays “Messia,” a house slave in love with Hilara.

Webber plays “Tarchon,” a brash and headstrong gladiator. Black plays “Cossutia,” a politician determined to keep Ashur in his place and is constantly plotting his downfall. Shaw-Smith plays “Viridia,” Cossutia’s daughter. Gill plays “Satyrus,” the leader of the Brothers Ferox, gladiators from a rival Ludus.

The question now is, could any other OG cast member return? If you were banking on Manu Bennett as Crixus or Katrina Law as Mira, it’s safe to say they seem to be the least likely. Deadline caught up with the two on the red carpet of a CBS event earlier this year and shared they are booked and busy on their own projects. Bennett hosts the reality competition show The Summit and Law portrays Special Agent Jessica Knight on NCIS, both for CBS. But that doesn’t mean the timing won’t be right in the future so keep hope alive. And hey, we’re not even sure Jessica survived the NCIS Season 21 finale…

Spartacus creator, writer and executive producer Steven S. DeKnight returns to the franchise he helped create as showrunner and executive producer of Spartacus: House of Asher. The latest series follows Spartacus: Blood and Sand which debuted on Starz in 2010 and was followed by the prequel series chapter Spartacus: Gods of the Arena in 2011 and two additional series Spartacus: Vengeance in 2012 and Spartacus: War of the Damned in 2013. Spartacus: House of Ashur is produced by Lionsgate Television for Starz.

McTavish is repped by Cheri Barner Management and Artists & Representatives; Davis is repped by Buchwald, Zero Gravity and Element Artist Management; Vaughan is repped by Helen Pandos Management and Yorn Levine; Baquero is repped by Bedelka Talent and Zero Gravity Management; Webber is repped by Lion Rock Management in NZ and IMC in Australia; Black is repped by CPG; Shaw-Smith is repped by Keddie Scott Associates, London and Red Management, Vancouver; Gill is repped by Oh So Small Productions (UK), The Dragonfly Agency (US) and managed by Robert Corbin (US).