By The Big Magazine Staff
The official trailer for Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II has dropped, the sequel to the Russell Crowe-starring, Oscar winning original will arrive in cinemas this November and sees Paul Mescal leading a new story that focuses on his character Lucius, the nephew of Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) who was killed by Crowe’s character Maximus in the original. Lucius is the son of Lucilla (Connie Nielson, who reprises her role in the film) and grandson of Marcus Aurelius.
Returning to cinemas this Thanksgiving, the film promises to deliver on the scale of the original. The cast includes Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Lior Raz, Derek Jacobi, with Connie Nielsen and Denzel Washington. The screenplay was penned by David Scarpa.
Here’s the official synopsis from Paramount Pictures, who are releasing the film on November 22nd:
From legendary director Ridley Scott, 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 (Paul 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.
While Russell Crowe was openly critical of the script for the original Gladiator, saying there were only 26 useful pages in the whole thing, Mescal feels the opposite about the Gladiator II script. He told Vanity Fair the sequel is about, “What human beings will do to survive, but also what human beings will do to win. We see that in the arena, but also in the political struggle that’s going on outside of my character’s storyline, where you see there’s other characters striving and pulling for power. Where’s the space for humanity? Where’s the space for love, familial connection? And ultimately, will those things overcome this kind of greed and power? Those things are oftentimes directly in conflict with each other.“
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