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Gladiator II is an upcoming epic historical action film directed and co-produced by Ridley Scott. Serving as a sequel to Gladiator (2000), the film was written by David Scarpa, from a story he wrote with Peter Craig, and stars Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen, and Denzel Washington. Nielsen and Derek Jacobi reprise their roles from the first film. It was produced by Scott Free Productions in association with Red Wagon Entertainment and Parkes+MacDonald Image Nation for Paramount Pictures. The story follows Lucius, the former heir to the Roman Empire, who becomes a gladiator after his home is invaded by the Roman army, led by General Marcus Acacius, during the reign of the co-emperors Caracalla and Geta.

A sequel to Gladiator was discussed as early as June 2001, with David Franzoni and John Logan set to return as screenwriters. Over the next few years, Scott offered occasional updates, including the possible involvement of the original film's lead actor, Russell Crowe, along with plot ideas about the Roman afterlife and different historical time periods. Development was halted when DreamWorks sold the rights to the property to Paramount in 2006. The film was finally announced in 2018, and Mescal was cast in the lead role in January 2023, with a script by Scarpa. The rest of the cast signed on over the next several months. Filming took place between June 2023 and January 2024, with a five-month hiatus due to the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes.

Gladiator II is scheduled to be released internationally, including the United Kingdom, on November 15, 2024, and later in the United States and Canada on November 22.

Premise[]

Over two decades after the events of Gladiator (2000), Lucius—the grandson of Rome's former emperor Marcus Aurelius and son of Lucilla—lives with his wife and child in Numidia. Roman soldiers led by General Marcus Acacius invade, forcing Lucius into slavery. Inspired by the story of Maximus, as depicted in the 2000 film, Lucius resolves to fight as a gladiator under the tutelage of Macrinus, a power broker who opposes the rule of the young emperors Caracalla and Geta.[3][4]

Cast[]

  • Paul Mescal as Lucius Verus, the former heir to the Empire. He lives with his wife and child in a coastal town in Numidia, and has had no connection with his mother for around 15 years.[5] He is taken prisoner by the Roman army after they invade his home, and is forced to fight as a gladiator.[3]
  • Pedro Pascal as Marcus Acacius, a Roman general who trained under Maximus (the main character in Gladiator). He leads an army to take over North Africa, but does not wish to send more men to war for the emperors.[6] He fights Lucius in the Colosseum. According to Pascal, he is "a very, very good general, which can mean a very good killer", and is a symbol to Lucius of everything he hates.[3]
  • Connie Nielsen as Lucilla, Lucius' mother. She associates with Acacius and watches Lucius fight in the arena, but does not recognize him as her son.[3]
  • Denzel Washington as Macrinus, a power broker and former slave who plots to control Rome.[6] He keeps a stable of gladiators and mentors Lucius. He also works as an arms dealer, while providing food and oil to the armies in Europe. Scott described him as "pretty fucking cruel" to the arena fighters.[3]
  • Joseph Quinn as Emperor Geta, who rules Rome with his brother, Caracalla.[3]
  • Fred Hechinger as Emperor Caracalla, the brother of Geta. The brothers threaten Lucilla's wellbeing to control Acacius. Scott described the pair as "damaged goods from birth" who are "almost a replay of Romulus and Remus".[3]
  • Derek Jacobi as Senator Gracchus, a member of the Roman Senate who opposes the growing corruption of the imperial court.
  • Tim McInnerny as Thraex
  • Alexander Karim as Ravi
  • Rory McCann as Tegula
May Calamawy,[7] Lior Raz, Peter Mensah, and Matt Lucas appear in undisclosed roles.

Music[]

In January 2024, it was reported that Harry Gregson-Williams was composing the score for the film, taking over from Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard who scored the first film.[8] Zimmer decided not to return because he did not want to repeat his work from the first film. In an interview with Curzon, he said that the film was "in really good hands" with Gregson-Williams, who had started his career as Zimmer's assistant.[9]

Release[]

Gladiator II is scheduled to be released internationally, including the United Kingdom, on November 15, 2024, and later in the United States and Canada on November 22, by Paramount Pictures. Universal Pictures declined to co-finance the sequel or distribute it overseas as it had the first film because of the sequel's expensive production budget, leaving only Paramount as the worldwide distributor.[10][11] It was previously scheduled for a global release on November 22.[12]

On July 1, 2024, it was announced that the film's release date would be shared with the first film of the two-part film adaptation of the musical Wicked (from Universal), whose date was moved from November 27 to avoid competition with Moana 2. This sparked speculation whether pitting the two films together could result in a scenario similar to the Barbenheimer phenomenon resulting from the films Barbie and Oppenheimer being released together on July 21, 2023.[13] On July 10, 2024, Mescal dubbed the pair-up as "Glicked" and voiced his support for the two films as a double feature, saying "It would be amazing 'cause I think the films couldn't be more polar opposites and it worked in that context previously. So fingers crossed people come out and see both films on opening weekend."[14]

Marketing[]

Footage of the film screened at the CinemaCon 2024 in Las Vegas included scenes of Quinn as Caracalla dressed in a white toga and laurel-leaf crown dramatically plunging his thumb downward to note the fate of defeated gladiators, with Nielsen in the background.[15] In June of that year, Scott showcased an extended clip of the film featuring Denzel Washington, Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen, and Joseph Quinn.[16] A poster for the film was released on July 8, 2024, with a trailer released the following day.[17] The trailer will also reportedly be attached to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), slated for release on July 26, 2024.[18] Jennifer Ouellette of Ars Technica said the trailer indicated the film "promises to be just as much of a visual feast, as a new crop of power players (plus a couple of familiar faces) clash over the future of Rome".[19] Rather than using an orchestral score, the first trailer used "No Church in the Wild" by Jay-Z and Kanye West which caused a backlash among film fans. Some attempts to justify this choice of music cited the trailer for the first Gladiator which had used "Bawitdaba" by Kid Rock.[20]

Video[]

Trailer[]

External links[]

References[]

  1. Template:Cite AV media
  2. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named THR-Budget
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Breznican, Anthony (July 1, 2024). Paul Mescal vs. Pedro Pascal: A First Look at the Epic Gladiator II.
  4. ‘Gladiator II’ Cast and Character Guide: Who’s Who in the Epic Action Sequel? (July 9, 2024). Retrieved on July 28, 2024.
  5. 6.0 6.1 The First ‘Gladiator 2’ Trailer Is Epic And Absolutely Stunning (July 9, 2024). Retrieved on July 28, 2024.
  6. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Kroll20230518
  7. Ridley Scott's 'Gladiator 2' Taps Hans Zimmer Protégé Harry Gregson-Williams as Composer (EXCLUSIVE) (January 5, 2024).
  8. HANS ZIMMER: 'I HAD TO CHANGE STYLE BECAUSE EVERYONE ELSE WAS DOING MINE' (6 March 2024). Retrieved on 15 June 2024.
  9. McPherson, Chris (June 19, 2024). 'Gladiator 2' Just Won the Battle for an Earlier Release Date Internationally.
  10. Tartaglione, Nancy (June 19, 2024). Paramount Goes Epic At CineEurope With 'Gladiator II' Footage; Highlights 'A Quiet Place: Day One' & 'Transformers One' (in en-US).
  11. D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 3, 2023). 'Gladiator 2′ Gets Pre-Thanksgiving 2024 Release.
  12. Blistein, Jon (2 July 2024). "If 'Wicked' and 'Gladiator 2' Is the Next 'Barbenheimer,' It Needs a Better Portmanteau Than 'Wickiator'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on July 3, 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  13. Paul Mescal Anoints the Next 'Barbenheimer' with 'Gladiator 2' and 'Wicked' Opening Same Day: 'Glicked' (10 July 2024).
  14. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named QuinnEW
  15. Tartaglione, Nancy (June 19, 2024). Paramount Goes Epic At CineEurope With 'Gladiator II' Footage; Highlights 'A Quiet Place: Day One' & 'Transformers One'.
  16. First Gladiator 2 Poster Released Ahead of Trailer Debut (in en) (8 July 2024).
  17. McPherson, Chris (June 24, 2024). Here's When the 'Gladiator 2' Trailer Will Drop [Exclusive].
  18. Ouellette, Jennifer (2024-07-09). It's another bloody power struggle for Rome's future in Gladiator II trailer (in en-us).
  19. Stolworthy, Jacob. "Gladiator 2 trailer causes ridiculous debate among film fans", July 10, 2024. 
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