Gladiator 2 has been in development for 20 years and is finally coming this year. It’ll be quite different from the 2000 original, which earned Russell Crowe an Academy Award for Best Actor. Despite many changes in story ideas, the sequel’s production is now confirmed.
Even Paul Mescal has spoken about the process of making the much-anticipated Gladiator 2, confirming something exciting.
Mescal is starring in the sequel which follows years after the original. He’s playing Lucius, Commodus’s nephew—portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix in Gladiator.
Paul Mescal’s Exciting Update on Gladiator 2
Paul Mescal shared the information while on the red carpet before the BAFTA Film Awards, where he’s nominated for Best Supporting Actor for All Of Us Strangers. Speaking to Alex Zane, the Irish actor discussed his experience of making Gladiator 2:
“It was unbelievable, an absolute honour. Ridley [Scott] is the king, especially in that format and that kind of scale of film. I’m incredibly excited and proud of the work that we did together. Now it’s just waiting on baited breath.”
The interviewer then asked the 28-year-old if it’s true that his character fights baboons in one scene. To this, Mescal replied:
“Well, Ridley said that I fight baboons, so I’m not going to get in trouble for that. So yeah! Unless it’s on the cutting room floor.”
The Maynooth native indirectly reveals that the film is in development and that he will be fighting with baboons in the particular scene.
Paul Mescal talking about Gladiator 2… I REPEAT PAUL MESCAL TALKING ABOUT GLADIATOR 2 #EEBAFTAs pic.twitter.com/iATijGURZi
— BAFTA (@BAFTA) February 18, 2024
Director Ridley Scott announced the sequel of Gladiator in 2021. By January 2023, Mescal was reported to star as Lucius in it.
In January, the actor confirmed finishing shooting, joking on The Graham Norton Show (via Comic Book), “I survived it.” The cast also includes Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington.
Connie Nielsen will return as Lucilla. Joseph Quinn, from Stranger Things, is also in discussions for the role of Emperor Caracalla.
Ridley Scott Revealed How he Discovered Paul Mescal for Gladiator 2
Ridley Scott previously discussed his choice to cast Mescal, noting he came across him in Normal People. He told in the latest issue of Total Film magazine (via Games Radar) watching four episodes in a row, despite it not being his usual type of show. The director continued, “I was thinking, ‘Who the hell is this Paul Mescal?,” adding:
“watched the whole series. And then, suddenly, Gladiator 2 came up, because the script was working pretty well. And I kept thinking about Paul. And that was it.”
In the same interview with Alex Zane, even Mescal shared about the casting process, saying he was doing A Streetcar Named Desire when he received the call from the 86-year-old director who asked him, “do you wanna do this?.” To this, the actor replied, “is the Pope Catholic? Yeah!”
Gladiator 2 will come out in the US on November 22, 2024, by Paramount Pictures, and internationally by Universal Pictures.
