Charley And Vlas Parlapanides Introduce Gladiatrix, To Be Produced By Asia Minor Pictures

Charley and Vlas Parlapanides, the dynamic duo of writer/producers behind Immortals and hit Netflix animated series Blood of Zeus, have tapped Oscar-nominated screenwriter Dan Gordon (The Hurricane) and New York Times bestselling writer and artist John Stanisci (Batman Beyond) to develop a new property based on the bloody gladiator battles of first century Rome with Gladiatrix, in simultaneous development as an original graphic novel and television series.

Charley Parlapanides says “Dan and John have been masterful storytellers for decades in a wide variety of mediums, be it film, tv, the theater or the panels of a comic book. We are thrilled to be working with them and absolutely love the story they’ve crafted. And truthfully, we feel the world needs a story like this, a story about heroism and bravery in the face of almost insurmountable odds.”

Vlas Parlapanides adds “Charley and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with Dan and John on Gladiatrix. They have managed to create something truly special, a story based on actual events that is unique and has never been told before. It’s rare to find a project that is this epic, dramatic, action packed, romantic and inspirational.”

Set in Rome, 78 A.D., Gladiatrix follows Judith, the bastard daughter of a queen raised as a Sicaria assassin, and the last survivor of a massacred people. Shackled and taken to Rome as a slave, she is thrown into the Gladiator arena for sport, but she has come to the city on a mission of vengeance. Before she exacts revenge for her slain people, she will give the Roman crowd a bloodsport the likes of which they have never known…and rise to power like no woman of her time ever had.  

Writer Dan Gordon adds “Gladiatrix is both a passion project and dream come true. The passion was born working on an underwater archaeological dig at the site of the Roman city of Caesaria in Israel. The dream was of working on a project with not just dear friends, but artists at the top of their game like John Stanisci (Batman, Superman) and Producer/ writers Charley and Vlas Parapanides (Blood of Zeus, Immortals).”

Dan Gordon and John Stanisci have written a pilot, adding this project to Gordon’s impressive slate of current projects in development, including Heart of A Lion: The George Foreman Story with David Zelon producing and George Tillman Jr. directing, starring Khris Davis, Irena’s Vow, based on Gordon’s play of the same name, and Warrior Strong, both produced by Jeff Sackman and Nicholas Tobarrok. Additionally the two have recently teamed up to develop John Stanisci’s creator-owned science fiction comic series LIFEDEATH for television.

John Stanisci concludes “Gladiatrix has been a thrill ride to work on and we are just getting started. Part of the fun has been setting this character into actual historical events and playing out the story. We have picked a very specific period of time in Ancient Rome that is filled with all kinds of intrigue and violence, making it the perfect backdrop to place Gladiatrix into! I always dreamt of working on a character like this and I’m so proud to be part of this and work with Dan, Charley and Vlas to bring this amazing epic story to life. I feel like I’m on the creative dream team!”