Is Peacock's 'Those About to Die' a Remake of the Classic 'Gladiator' Film?

History tells us that gladiators would go before the Roman emperor and say, "Those about to die salute you." Now Peacock is telling their stories in the upcoming series, also titled, Those About to Die.

Wait, didn't Russell Crowe star in a film about this already?

Is Those About to Die a television remake of the 2000 film classic Gladiator? When does Those About to Die premiere? Who's in the cast? Here's what we know.

The subject material features the same gladiators from history, but no, Those About to Die isn't a straight up remake of Gladiator. However, it does draw from the same source material.

Like Gladiator the film, Those About to Die is actually based on a nonfiction book of the same name by author Daniel Mannix. Per Deadline, the legendary Anthony Hopkins has actually signed on to play Emperor Vespasian in the upcoming historical drama.

No release date has been set yet for Those About to Die yet because well, the series hasn't even started filming. The Deadline report notes that Those About to Die is scheduled to start filming at Cinecitta Studios in Rome sometime during March 2023.

Mannix's book tells the story of life in Rome during the era of gladiators. It was actually published back in 1974, but is still considered the gold standard when researching the life of gladiators and what their lives were like back in the (Roman) day.

The episode count for Those About to Die is unknown as of Jan. 19, 2023. However, the official synopsis for the series, per IMDb reads, "The series explores a side of Rome never before told - the dirty business of entertaining the masses, giving the mob what they want most — blood and sport."

So, do we know of any other cast members joining the series yet?

Casting details beyond the one and only Anthony Hopkins are still being kept tightly under wraps. However, we do know the man who has been helmed to direct Those About to Die — Roland Emmerich.

Peacock must have a lot of faith in Those About to Die (and not just because of Anthony, although the Oscar winner is definitely a huge plus) given that the streaming platform gave Those About to Die a straight to series order in the summer of 2022.

We'll be sure to keep you posted on more details about Those About to Die. Given that the series isn't filming until March 2023, it's highly unlikely that we'll see the series premiere this year. More than likely Those About to Die will drop sometime in 2024.

And no, there's no word on whether or not Russell will appear in Those About to Die. Who knows? Maybe he'll put a helmet on once again and surprise us all.