It’s been over two decades since Gladiator, widely regarded as one of the best historical epics of all time, hit theaters, and soon Ridley Scott will continue the legacy of the Roman-set storyline with a sequel starring recent first-time Oscar nominee, Paul Mescal. Following the announcement that Mescal would be starring in Gladiator 2, the 27-year-old actor has offered an update about when he’ll start filming the movie.
When Paul Mescal attended the BATFAs over the weekend, the Normal People and Aftersun actor was asked about when he’ll be getting started on Gladiator 2. Here’s what he said:
In the summer. I'm not sure exactly what the start date is, but soon.
Mescal shared that the Gladiator sequel is going to begin production this summer to Deadline while walking the red carpet of the British award show. The interviewer followed up the question by asking if he’d be bulking up for the role, to which Mescal said he was in the “process” of doing. The actor was up for Best Actor on Sunday night, but Austin Butler took home the award for his portrayal of Elvis Presley in Elvis.
Paul Mescal broke out as an actor in 2020 for the adaptation of the bestselling novel, Normal People, and he has since kept busy with a couple of notable independent and critically-acclaimed movies like The Lost Daughter and Aftersun. Gladiator 2 will be his most high-profile role yet.
Release Date: November 22, 2024 (Theaters)
Directed By: Ridley Scott
Written By: David Scarpa
Starring: Paul Mescal
He is set to star in Gladiator 2 as Lucius Verus, over 20 years after the events of the original film. Lucius appeared in Gladiator as the young son of Connie Nielson’s Lucilla and the nephew of Joaquin Phoenix’s Commodus. Lucius was saved by Russell Crowe’s Maximus whilst on his quest for vengeance for his family after being betrayed by Commodus. Lucius was initially played by Spencer Treat Clark, but will officially be replaced by Mescal.
Considering Russell Crowe’s leading character died in the 2000 movie, it’s long been believed Gladiator could not have a sequel. However, it sounds like the upcoming movie will cover the repercussions of the epic one generation later. For the time being, no other actors have been officially announced just yet. Scott will direct the movie from a script by David Scarpa, who also just worked with Scott on the movie he’s finishing up first, a biopic on Napoleon Bonaparte’s climb to becoming an infamous emperor.
As Scott updated last year, he’ll be getting to work on Gladiator 2 once he has wrapped up Napoleon, which ironically stars Gladiator’s Joaquin Phoenix. Scott’s second Gladiator movie has been in development at Paramount since 2018, but the legendary filmmaker has been rather busy as of late, recently directing movies like The Last Duel and House of Gucci along with his HBO Max series, Raised By Wolves.
Gladiator 2 may be going into production this year, but it’s not part of 2023 new movie releases. The exciting sequel’s release date is set for November 22, 2024.
