We're about to think about the Roman Empire a whole lot more, now that Ridley Scott is bringing us back to ancient Rome with “Gladiator 2."
The trailer for the Paramount Pictures “Gladiator” sequel dropped this July and audiences are gearing up for the drama and action the historical epic is promising.
“Gladiator 2” has been a long time coming. After the 2000 release of “Gladiator,” writer and producer David Franzoni began early negotiations for either or prequel or sequel.
By 2003, director Ridley Scott announced that a script had been completed about the "next generation" of characters, focusing on Lucilla's son Lucius.
After setbacks caused by some script reworks and financial difficulties, the project was officially greenlit in 2018.
Here’s everything we know about the upcoming sequel
Who stars in ‘Gladiator 2’?
Paul Mescal was cast in the sequel thanks, in part, to his performance in "Normal People."
In a July interview with Vanity Fair, Scott said he discovered Mescal after watching him in the Sally Rooney novel adaptation. He was cast after a single Zoom call.
“I met with him and he said, ‘Of course, I’d love to do it.’ And that was it,” Scott told Vanity Fair.
Mescal confirmed the swiftness of the meeting, saying, “We spoke for about 20 to 30 minutes. I wanted to get a flavor from him about what the story was going to be about, so we spent about 15 minutes talking about that, and then we spent another 10 minutes talking about the sport that I played growing up — Gaelic football.”
Mescal is set to star as Lucius Verus, former heir to the empire and nephew of the domineering Emperor Commodus, who was played in the first “Gladiator” by Joaquin Phoenix.
The cast has grown to include “The Last of Us” star Pedro Pascal, Danish actress Connie Nielsen, who is reprising her role as Lucilla, mother to Lucius, “Stranger Things” and “A Quiet Place: Day One” star Joseph Quinn and veteran actor Denzel Washington.
What is ‘Gladiator 2’ about?
“Gladiator 2” picks up about 25 years after the final events of “Gladiator."
The first trailer begins with Lucius, played by Mescal, recalling the duel between Commodus and Maximus that ended the first film.
Lucius, who has no memory of his upbringing or his mother Lucilla, has been taken prisoner by the Roman army and is forced to fight in the Colosseum by brothers who are also Roman emperors, Geta and Caracalla, played by Quinn and Fred Hechinger respectively.
Similar to Russell Crowe’s Maximus, Lucius wants to be free and end the practice of slavery in Rome. He finds solace in Macrinus, played by Denzel Washington, a suave power broker who keeps a stable of gladiators.
When asked in the Vanity Fair interview whether or not Macrinus is good or cruel to his fighters, director Scott said, “To the guys who fight in the arena I guess he’s pretty f------ cruel, right?”
The trailer depicts duels of epic proportions. Staged in the vastness of the Colosseum, brawls feature swords, bows and arrows and rhinos.
When does 'Gladiator 2' come out?
“Gladiator 2” is set to release November 22, about 24 years after the first movie came out.
