It’s been 24 years since the release of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator, and after years of rumors, the sequel is finally pushing forward with stars Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal.
Just in, Vanity Fair has revealed our first look at the movie, and not only does it include Mescal and Pascal, but Denzel Washington, Connie Nielsen, and Joseph Quinn as well. Check these out:
In the film, Mescal plays the part of Lucius, the son of Lucilla (Nielsen from the first movie). The character appeared as a child in Gladiator, but in this movie, he was apparently sent to North Africa away from the Roman Empire. Now that there are conquerors coming to take his homeland, Lucius is now met with an impossible decision.
On the other hand, there is Pedro Pascal’s Marcus Acacius. As it turns out, Acacius had served under the Maximus (Russell Crowe’s character) when he was still a Roman general. Pascal describes his character as someone who “learned from the best, so of course this code of honor is ingrained into his training and into his existence. But at the end of the day, he’s a different person. And that can’t change who he is. Maximus is Maximus, and that can’t be replicated. That just makes Acacius capable of different things.”
By the looks of it, Gladiator II seems to be embracing the reboot/sequel route. It may be on the same continuity as the first film, but this time Lucius is the one who is experiencing the transition from free man to slave.
After the divisive reception of Napoleon, I hope that Ridley Scott manages to knock this one out of the part after so many years in development.
Catch Gladiator II when it releases in theatres on Nov. 22.
