‘Gladiator’ sequel reportedly starring Paul Mescal gets release date

Ridley Scott’s follow-up to Gladiator has been given a release date by Paramount.

It marks the latest development in the much-anticipated Gladiator follow-up, which has been rumoured since as early as 2001. In 2021, Scott confirmed that a script for the sequel had been written, with the final draft reportedly being submitted in November of last year. “We have a good footprint,” Scott said of the sequel’s script in a 2021 interview with Deadline.

The director continued: “You can’t just do another Gladiator type movie. You’ve got to follow…there’s enough components from the first one to pick up the ball and continue it”.

Normal People and Aftersun actor Paul Mescal has reportedly been cast in the film, with him rumoured to be taking on the lead role of Lucius, the son of Gladiator character Lucilla. Lucius also was the nephew of Commodus (played by Joaquin Phoenix), the son of Roman leader Marcus Aurelius, who murdered his father to gain the throne.

Now, per Deadline, it’s been revealed that the film will get a November 2024 release date, to coincide with Thanksgiving in the US. The outlet report that Paramount has dated the follow-up to arrive on November 22 2024.

The story will focus on Commodus’ nephew Lucius

The original Gladiator film was nominated for 12 Oscars and earned five of these, including Best Picture.

It will follow Scott’s upcoming film Kitbag, which is set to premiere on AppleTV+ later this year. That film will star Joaquin Phoenix in the role of Napoleon Bonaparte, marking the actor’s first appearance in a Scott movie since starring opposite Russell Crowe in the original Gladiator.

In 2020, Crowe detailed his own ideas for Gladiator 2, telling Screen Rant that his idea of resurrecting his character Maximus for a new instalment was ultimately scrapped because “I don’t think we have the rights to that story.” Reports of a sequel emerged prior to that in 2018.

Last year, Mescal starred in the film Aftersun, which NME described as “the best British movie this year” in a four-star review. “Liable to increase the cult around Mescal, following his BAFTA-winning turn in Normal People, Aftersun may be small in scale, but it leaves a distinct and lasting impression”, NME wrote.

Mescal has also recently starred in a West End production of A Streetcar Named Desire.

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