'Gladiator II' Hopes to Make Sword-and-Sandal Films the Next Big Thing
Paul Mescal as Lucius Verus in 'Gladiator II'
Paramount
It took a good decade, but the fantasy genre craze finally reached a natural endpoint. Much like the precipitous drop in moviegoers seeing superhero films, there's a point when too many streaming services have too many fantasy adaptations of novels, and audiences start gravitating to what they haven't had in a while. (Case in point: CBS' Matlock reboot.) However, as one genre fades, another rises, and there's been a recent spate of old-school "sword-and-sandal" stories trying to rush into the space fantasy titles have left behind. The latest is an attempt to revive the last box office blockbuster to make good on the genre, the 2000's Gladiator, with the quarter-century-later follow-up sequel, Gladiator II.
The original Gladiator made Russell Crowe a household name in his lead role of Maximus. Gladiator II hopes to do the same for Paul Mescal, who now steps into the lead role of Maximus' son, whose fortune has put back in the slave-to-coliseum chum pipeline. Ridley Scott, who directed the first film and returns to the franchise to helm the second one, also hopes to bring about a Gladiator III, at least a little faster than this first 25-year gap, telling reporters he's already started writing it.
Scott has been pushing for a sequel since 2001 after Gladiator's success and has had a script featuring Maximus' son Lucius ready to go since 2003. However, the rights to the franchise were sold to Paramount along with the rest of Dreamworks in 2006, leaving the possibility of a sequel film in limbo for almost two decades. But as he was readying Napoleon for production in 2021, Scott revealed Gladiator II was lined up to be his next project.
Here is the new film's synopsis:
Over two decades after Gladiator's events, Lucius—Lucilla and Maximus's son—lives with his wife and child in Numidia. But when Roman soldiers led by General Marcus Acacius invade, killing his wife, Lucius is forced into slavery. Inspired by Maximus, Lucius resolves to fight as a gladiator under the teaching of Macrinus, a former slave who plots to overthrow the young emperors Caracalla and Geta.
The new film stars Paul Mescal (Normal People) as the former heir to the Roman Empire, Lucius Verus, who was played by Spencer Treat Clark (Manhunt) in the original film. Connie Nielsen (The Good Wife) and Derek Jacobi (Ludwig) reprise their roles from the first film as Lucius' mother, Lucilla (based on the historical figure Lucilla), and Senator Gracchus, respectively.
New additions to the film franchise include Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things) as Emperor Geta and Fred Hechinger (The Underground Railroad) as Emperor Caracalla (based on the historical figures Geta and Caracalla). Also in toplining roles are three international stars: American actor Denzel Washington (The Tragedy of Macbeth), Chilean-American actor Pedro Pascal (Game of Thrones), and Israeli actor Lior Raz (Fauda). Supporting cast includes Rory McCann (The Irregulars), Matt Lucas (Doctor Who), Tim McInnerny (One Day), Alexander Karim (The Wheel of Time), Alec Utgoff (The Lazarus Project), Yuval Gonen (The Missing), Peter Mensah (Spartacus), and May Calamawy (Moon Knight).
Written by David Scarpa from a story he created with Peter Craig and directed by Ridley Scott, Gladiator II is executive produced by Scott, Lucy Fisher, Michael Pruss, Walter Parkes, Laure MacDonald, Raymond Kirk, Aidan Elliott, and original film writer David Franzoni, who originated the characters.
Gladiator II will open in theaters on Friday, November 22, 2024, just before Thanksgiving. Scott is already working on Gladiator III.
