Steven DeKnight has taken time out to answer the following questions:
- How much consultation, access, or input do you have from historians? I am curious about what kind of feedback about accuracy you may have gotten.
- What made you boldly push the envelope with more and more full-frontal nudity and strong sexual acts in spite of today's political climate of censor groups and religious watchdogs?
- Would you consider an alternative ending for the Spartacus story line than the historical account?
- Would we see other major historical gladiators/Romans (ex: Leonidas, Alexander, Maximus, etc.) fight or make an appearance with Spartacus?
- How are you planning to have more strong roles for actresses in that next phase of the show?
- Why did you have to kill Varro so soon? Weren't there enough plot twists that could act as a catalyst for Sparty's rebellion and S2 focus on vengeance? More than any "death" to date, this one has turned the fanbase on its head!
- Do any writers read these boards to get a feel of what the community is seeing in each episode and the direction of the characters? If the answer is yes, how much rewriting of the second season is/has taken place? If characters have been rewritten, which ones and why?
- How is the storyline for a season developed? Do you start with the main characters and develop a plot line for them or a basic story outline and add in detail? Have you modified the story during the filming of the season after watching and testing the initial episodes or stick with the plan?
- Will we see the series take a more mythological turn in the future, with monsters and such, like in 300?
- Thank you so much for giving a non-monochromatic / heterogeneous view of the ancient world and its inhabitants. Will we continue to see a diverse cast as the series moves towards other locales and action?
