With Gladiator II hitting cinemas on November 22, Connie Nielsen is sharing her emotional return to the Colosseum over 20 years after the original Gladiator film arrived in theaters in 2000.
Nielsen starred as Lucilla in the 2000 Ridley Scott-directed historical epic feature opposite Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, and more. With new faces gracing the arena, Nielsen said that returning for Gladiator II “was a very emotional experience” for her.
What did Connie Nielsen say about returning for Gladiator II?
Scott also returned to once again helm the second Gladiator movie. On working with the director again, Nielsen told Entertainment Weekly:
“Ridley has access to technologies that, back at the time of Gladiator [in 2000], were still somewhat in their infancy. This time, you will see what I saw with my own eyes, which is that everything has been enhanced through the latest technology. You can just imagine that thing that Ridley does so well, which is the mixture of the actual real, old-fashioned film craft — real sets, real people, real everything, and quite extraordinary technology just even in creating those real things — and then add to that the new tools that he has at his fingertips.”
She continued, “Ridley really wants people to have visceral experiences that they then express when they’re on camera, and you get that experience to walk onto this Colosseum, which was as astounding as it was back when I walked onto the Colosseum floor 25 years ago. It’s the same. And it was a very emotional experience for me. I had so many wonderful memories from the time of doing it and it was kind of marvelous to look back and then all of a sudden be there again. It was frankly quite mind-boggling to have that experience.”
Scott directed the sequel from a screenplay written by David Scarpa. It will pick up 16 years after the events of the first Gladiator movie, this time with Paul Mescal at the forefront of the historical epic. In addition to Mescal and Nielsen, Gladiator II also stars Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Denzel Washington, Fred Hechinger, and more.
“Gladiator II continues the epic saga of power, intrigue, and vengeance set in Ancient Rome. Years after witnessing the death of the revered hero Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius (Mescal) is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors who now lead Rome with an iron fist. With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, Lucius must look to his past to find strength and honor to return the glory of Rome to its people,” the synopsis reads.
Gladiator II hits theaters on November 22.