Ridley Scott’s Gladiator follow-up film will step into the box office arena at the end of 2024 with a stacked and strong-looking cast.
The recent reset of Wicked’s release date has put Universal’s movie musical up against Gladiator II in a showdown, not unlike that of Barbievs. Oppenheimer. Wicked was previously set to compete with Moana 2 the weekend after Thanksgiving.
Both Mescal and Pedro Pascal have made comments about their preparation for the upcoming film, in which their characters fight each other.
Read on for everything we know about Gladiator II:
When will Gladiator II come out?
The sequel film will arrive in theaters on November 22, 2024.
Who is in Gladiator II?
Paul Mescal will star as the main character Lucius, son of Lucilla Connie Nielsen). Nielsen returns to reprise her role from the first film. Pedro Pascal, whose casting was exclusively broken by Deadline, will play General Marcus Acacius. Joseph Quinn appears as Emperor Geta and Fred Hechinger plays Emperor Caracalla. Denzel Washington plays a powerbroker named Macrinus, according to Vanity Fair. Lior Raz and Derek Jacobi will also star.
Denzel Washington plays Macrinus in Gladiator II from Paramount Pictures.
Paramount Pictures
What is Gladiator II about?
Grown-up Lucius (Paul Mescal) resides peacefully with his family in Numidia, but General Marcus Acacius’ (Pedro Pascal) invasion of the city forces Lucius into slavery. Inspired by Russel Crowe’s Maximus, Lucius decides to become a gladiator and challenge the rule of Emperors Caracalla (Fred Hechinger) and Geta (Joseph Quinn).
After Lucius’ first encounter with Acacius in Numidia, the warrior returns to Rome as a gladiator to see that his mother is in love with Acacius, as revealed in Vanity Fair.
Pascal also told VF that he nicknamed Mescal “Brick Wall Paul” in light of their fight scenes.
How does Gladiator II connect to Gladiator?
Mescal’s Lucius, son of Connie Nielsen’s Lucilla, appeared as a child in Gladiator (2000). Lucius is the nephew of the late Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), who murdered his father Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) to take the throne in the first Gladiator(2000). Lucius is also Marcus Aurelius’ (Richard Harris) grandson.
Maximus (Russell Crowe) faced Commodus in the gladiator ring in the first film, and though Commodus fatally wounded Maximus, he managed to skewer the emperor before he died, fading into the great beyond to reunite with his slain wife and son. Maximus saved the boy and his mother while avenging his own family, and left a strong impression on the young Lucius, who was co-emperor of Rome alongside Commodus. Lucilla sent her son away to Numidia in between the first and second films, but he doesn’t understand why, and thus there is a rift between the two 20 years later when the second film takes place.
Who is behind Gladiator II?
In addition to directing, Scott Scott produces with Michael Pruss, Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher off David Scarpa’s screenplay. Paramount will distribute the film.