Peacock lets the games begin as gladiators clash and politicians fall in Roland Emmerich’s Those About to Die trailer

Are you not entertained? You will be when you watch Peacock’s Those About to Die trailer. The new series revolves around gladiatorial combat, political upheaval, and deception lurking around every piss-soaked corner of an evolving empire. Peacock‘s Those About to Die series hails from director/executive producer Roland Emmerich, who details his passion for the project in today’s press release and shares its origin.

“I have always been fascinated by the history of the Roman Empire. So much still seems relevant for our society today – from the entanglement of politics and sports to the disciplines of the competitions, which haven’t changed much either over the last 2000 years. The most electrifying spectacles for the masses still involve two men in an arena, beating each other up, and the chariots of today are called race cars whose drivers still crash and often pay with their lives,” Emmerich writes.

“When my partners Gianni Nunnari and Harald Kloser put Daniel Mannix’s Those About to Die on my reading list, I was immediately hooked. My goal was to create a show that explores a side of Rome never told before – the dirty business of entertaining the masses, giving the mob what they want most…blood and sport. Let the games begin.”

According to Peacock’s official description, Those About to Die is “an epic drama set in the corrupt world of the spectacle-driven gladiatorial competition, exploring a side of ancient Rome never before told — the dirty business of entertaining the masses, giving the mob what they want most…blood and sport. The series introduces an ensemble of characters from all corners of the Roman Empire who collide at the explosive intersection of sports, politics, and dynasties.”

If you watch Peacock’s Those About to Die trailer closely; you’ll catch sight of an ensemble cast to reckon with, including Anthony Hopkins, Iwan Rheon, Sara Martins, Tom Hughes, Jojo Macari, Moe Hashim, Johannes Haukur Johannesson, Rupert Penry-Jones, Gabriella Pession, Dimitri Leonidas, Emilio Sakraya, David Wurawa, Pepe Barroso, Gonçalo Almeida, Eneko Sagardoy, and Romana Maggiora Vergano.

All Those About to Die episodes launch on July 18, just in time to watch the 2024 Paris Olympics (July 26-August 11, 2024).

Are you prepared to enter the arena for Those About to Die? Let us know in the comments section below.

About the Author

Born and raised in New York, then immigrated to Canada, Steve Seigh has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. He started with Ink & Pixel, a column celebrating the magic and evolution of animation, before launching the companion YouTube series Animation Movies Revisited. He’s also the host of the Talking Comics Podcast, a personality-driven audio show focusing on comic books, film, music, and more. You’ll rarely catch him without headphones on his head and pancakes on his breath.