For a man approaching his 90s, Ridley Scott can’t be accused of resting on his laurels. 24 years after his Oscar-winning masterpiece Gladiator was released, Scott is heading back to Rome again for Gladiator II, with Paul Mescal front and centre in a movie that is set to shoot him into superstardom. However, Scott’s already got big plans to continue the story beyond this installment, as he’s been sharing with Premiere in France. The quotes have been translated from French, in which they were originally published.
“With that, I’m already playing with the idea of
Gladiator 3.
No, seriously! I lit the wick… The end of Gladiator II evokes that of the Godfather
, with Michael Corleone who finds himself with a job he did not want, and who wonders, ‘and now, Father, what am I doing?’
The next [film] will therefore be about a man who does not want to be where he is.”
Mescal, speaking to the publication a week later in support of the film, was asked for his thoughts on Scott’s plans. Unsurprisingly, he expressed interest in coming back for more, but cautiously warned that the story had to make sense.
“Yes, Ridley told me about it, but only yesterday,” he said. “So I’m waiting to see what happens, but I’m interested, of course. But we can’t rush anything: the story has to hold together.”
What’s ‘Gladiator II’ About?
The film will see at least two familiar faces who appeared in the original film: Connie Nielsen and Derek Jacobi. The cast is primarily made up of rising stars like Mescal and Joseph Quinn, as well as Fred Hechinger, with Quinn and Hechinger playing the two young and impetuous Emperors of Rome. The film will also see Pedro Pascal reunite with Denzel Washington, after they previously went head to head with each other in The Equalizer 2. Pascal, who has been one of the busiest men in Hollywood over the past five years, prioritized Gladiator II once filming resumed following the two parallel strikes last summer, returning to Scott’s set swiftly last November when filming was wrapping up.
The epic trailer released earlier this year featured Washington’s Macrinus, a former slave turned merchant and arms dealer, offering to mentor Lucius (Mescal, playing the nephew of Joaquin Phoenix‘s Commodus from the original) and playing kingmaker in Rome, offering Lucius the chance to gain his own brand of vengeance.
The good news is, for fans of Gladiator, we may not need to wait another 24 years to see the glory and brutality of the Roman Empire. Gladiator II will release in cinemas on November 22, 2024.