Breaking! "Spartacus"'s Gay Gladiator Will Have a Love Interest in "Gods of the Arena" Prequel

***Warning*** This article discusses plot points for Spartacus: Gods of the Arena.

While the deaths of Barca and Pietros on the first season of Spartacus: Blood and Sand didn't spark quite the same level of outrage as did the death of Ianto Jones on Torchwood, their demise did lead to a fair bit of controversy.

Pietros and Barca

Even though many fans may not have loved what happened to the two slaves, most saw it as simply part of the story. Others, however, saw their deaths as yet another example of queer characters being killed off indiscriminately — even if Spartacus killed off plenty of straight characters as well.

Still others suspected the show had never been that interested in actually showing a pair of gay lovers, despite how well Barca and Pietros' relationship had been depicted up until then.

And despite assurances from Rob Tapert and Steven S. DeKnight, the men who created Spartacus, that that the second season would again include gay characters and gay relationships, some remained skeptical it would actually happen.

When Andy Whitfield, the man who plays Spartacus, was stricken with cancer, leading the show to do Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, a six episode prequel to the first season, while Whitfield underwent treatment, many wondered if Barca would appear in the show. They also wondered about his lover Pietros. Might we learn more about their story and how their relationship came to be?

AfterElton.com recently had the chance to ask DeKnight these questions and more as the show's creator prepared to head to Comic-Con. 

Before our interview, it had already been announced that Antonio Te Maioho would return as Barca for Gods of the Arena. As for Barca's love, Pietros (Eka Darville), DeKnight says unfortunately the actor won't be returning.

We couldn't get Eka back to play Pietros. Since it's a couple of years earlier in the storyline, and since Eka is already a little young, we were like ... ehhh. We didn't want to get into that. We didn't want to recast somebody who was like 16, so we adjusted the story. We tell a different kind of tale with Barca. 

What kind of story exactly? And will it involve romance?

Says DeKnight, "Before Pietros got [to the ludus], Barca has a different lover, very different in all aspects. He's an actual gladiator at the ludus. We explore that relationship and what happened, and it'll inform why, in Season One, he's with Pietros and not another gladiator. There's a good reason for it."

The new gladiator's name is Auctus and DeKnight says he is very much the gladiator. 

What I loved about the Barca/Pietros relationship was that it was a very tender relationship. Barca would flare up every now and then, but obviously really loved Pietros, and Pietros brought out his tender side.

Auctus and Barca have a very different relationship. They have a mutual respect, but Auctus is Barca's physical equal. He's just as good a gladiator as Barca is and just as deadly. They obviously love each other, and they have some great moments together, but they also have a very jocular love affair. They don't mind smacking each other around.

Gladiator foreplay?