It’s been a long road from the first season of the Starz original series, Spartacus: Blood and Sand, to its second season, Spartacus: Vengeance. A road that saw its very popular star, Andy Whitfield, diagnosed with cancer, his eventual replacement with Liam McIntyre, and, ultimately, his heartbreaking death this past September.

A short prequel season, Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, was produced while these devastating events put the show’s production on hold, but come January 27th Season 2 will finally arrive.

It’s been a long, long road for the hit Starz original series, Spartacus: Blood and Sand, after its star, Andy Whitfield, was diagnosed with non–Hodgkin’s lymphoma, forcing the unfortunate–yet–necessary decision to replace him with a new actor.

After a significant amount of time off (the first season’s finale aired on April 16, 2010)””helped along by the 6–episode prequel series, Spartacus: Gods of the Arena“”the actor chosen to replace Mr. Whitfield was revealed to be Liam McIntyre.

That was just the first step toward a second season of the show finally making its way to us, but production is now underway on season 2, which will be called Spartacus: Vengeance, and all signs are that it will arrive in early 2012. To hold us over, Entertainment Weekly has the first official images of McIntyre as Spartacus. You can see them below now, and share your thoughts on how the replacement looks!

After the long and difficult process of trying to figure out who should replace Andy Whitfield on the hit Starz original series, Spartacus: Blood and Sand, the actor who will step into the title role has officially been chosen, and his name is Liam McIntyre.

Whitfield was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma after the resoundingly popular first season, and their sophomore run was put on hold. At a time it seemed Whitfield was about to make a full recovery, but sadly he had a setback and the show was delayed again, forcing Starz to consider either recasting Whitfield’s role or possibly even canceling the show all together.

Many of you commented on the looming decision and ultimately confirmed choice to recast, and most, while not at all that comfortable with replacing Whitfield, seemed to want the show to go on one way or another.

The first trailer for the mini-series prequel to Starz’s hit show, Spartacus: Blood and Sand, has been released online.

The six-episode prequel, titled Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, was announced after series star Andy Whitfield was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, delaying production on season 2 of the show. Sadly, Whitfield has faced setbacks in his fight, and recently it was announced that the lead role would be re-cast. Starz has now narrowed their search down to just a few names, and we should get an announcement on who will be stepping into the role and when production on season 2 will begin in the near future.

Now you can see a trailer for Gods of the Arena by clicking over to the other side, which is accompanied by a lengthy synopsis. The prequel debuts on January 21 at 10pm EST on Starz.