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" Spartacus creator Steven S DeKnight has described the show&amp;#039;s final season as &amp;quot;brutal&amp;quot;. The gory historical drama - starring Liam McIntyre in the title role - will end its run following upcoming third season War of the Damned.  &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s a brutal, brutal season,&amp;quot; DeKnight told TV Guide. &amp;quot;One of the things we wanted to explore is that grey area of morality. What do the Romans really do to bring Spartacus down? &amp;quot;On the other side of it, what are the rebels willing to do? The rebels... historically... basically raped and pillaged their way through the Republic. It was not a pretty sight. They do some pretty f**ked up things this season.&amp;quot;  It was previously rumoured that a Spartacus spinoff - focusing on Julius Caesar - could launch once the original series has concluded, though actor Todd Lasance (Caesar) later claimed that he was &amp;quot;in the dark&amp;quot; about the project. &amp;quot;[Caesar] had to have a presence... like he would be a threat to the other gladiators,&amp;quot; DeKnight said of Lasance&amp;#039;s casting. &amp;quot;He had to have this shrewd intelligence in his eyes - really like a shark that was constantly thinking and looking for his next move.&amp;quot; Spartacus: War of the Damned debuts tonight (January 25) at 9/8c on Starz. The final season will air on Sky1 in the UK from March. &amp;amp;gt; Spartacus axe defended by Starz boss: &amp;#039;We risk repeating ourselves&amp;#039; Watch a clip from the first episode of War of the Damned below:      "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/news/a453753/spartacus-exec-on-final-season-it-is-brutal/>