Anthony Hopkins to play Vespasian in Roland Emmerich’s ‘Those About to Die’ shooting at Cinecittà

The gladiator series, Those About to Die, will start shooting in March in Rome’s legendary Cinecittà Studios, according to Variety. Directed by Roland Emmerich, the cast includes the Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins, who will play Vespasian, the Roman Emperor who rose to the throne after decades of bloody civil war.

The series, produced by AGC Television for the streaming platform Peacock (Nbc Universal), was written by Robert Rodat, Oscar-nominated for Saving Private Ryan. It is set in the corrupt and complex world of the gladiators with the arena a meeting point for characters from every stratum of Roman society.

The series will be distributed in Europe by co-financer High End Productions.

Emmerich will executive produce alongside Rodat; Hollywood Gang’s Gianni Nunnari; Street Entertainment’s Harald Kloser; High End’s Herbert G. Kloiber, Martin Moszkowicz, Oliver Berben and Jonas Bauer; and AGC CEO Stuart Ford and chief content officer Lourdes Diaz.