Two-time Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins has joined sci-fi disaster epic maestro Roland Emmerich (“The Day After Tomorrow,” “2012,” “Independence Day””) on the epic period drama series “Those About To Die” on Peacock.
Emmerich will direct the large-scale drama series inspired by Daniel Mannix’s nonfiction book and unfolding within the spectacular, complex and corrupt world of gladiatorial sports in Ancient Rome.
The series follows an ensemble of diverse characters across various layers of Roman society as sports, politics and business collide. Hopkins marks the first officially announced casting for the show and marks a return to a regular TV role for Hopkins following his first season sting on HBO’s “Westworld”.
Hopkins will play Emperor Vespasian – an aging, battle-tested, rural upstart who claimed his throne after victory in a bloody ten-year civil war. He is also despised by the Patricians jockeying for position in the Empire who hope to supplant his heirs to the throne the first chance they get.
Oscar-nominated “The Patriot” and “Saving Private Ryan” scribe Robert Rodat is penning the series, which hails from AGC Television and High End Productions.
Emmerich, Rodat, Gianni Nunnarim, Harold Kloser, Herbert G. Kloiber, Martin Moszkowicz, Oliver Berben, Jonas Bauer, Lourdes Diaz and Stuart Ford executive produce and filming will begin at Cinecitta Studios in Rome in March. No word as yet on an episode count, but a 2024 airing seems certain.
Source: THR
