24 years after Gladiator starring Russell Crowe hit cinemas, we finally have our first look at the sequel, complete with images of Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Connie Nielsen, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, and more.
Vanity Fair published a number of first-look images from Ridley Scott’s long-awaited Gladiator 2, including Paul Mescal’s Lucius battling Pedro Pascal’s Roman general Marcus Acacius. Denzel Washington, meanwhile, plays an arms dealer called Macrinus. Connie Nielsen returns as Lucilla, the mother of Lucius.
Prepare to be entertained. Your first look at ‘Gladiator II,’ starring Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Connie Nielsen, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, and more, has arrived.
— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) July 1, 2024
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Pedro Pascal is Marcus Acacius in ‘Gladiator II,’ a Roman general said to have trained under Russell Crowe’s Maximus.
— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) July 1, 2024
Acacius “learned from the best,” says Pascal, ”so of course this code of honor is ingrained into his training.”
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First Look: Paul Mescal is Lucius in 'Gladiator II.'
— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) July 1, 2024
See more images from Ridley Scott's upcoming film: https://t.co/WWYVKnybYX pic.twitter.com/Y1WFNN0rWJ
Gladiator 2, due out November 22, picks up decades after the events of the first movie and Maximus’ demise. Lucius ends up a prisoner of Rome, despite once being the grandson of the emperor. Game of Thrones, Star Wars, and The Last of Us star Pedro Pascal plays Marcus Acacius, a Roman general said to have trained as a junior officer under Crowe’s character, although he wasn’t seen in the first movie, Vanity Fair revealed.
"This movie has an identity that is shaped by his legacy. It wouldn’t make sense for it not to,” Pascal commented. Acacius as a fighter who “learned from the best, so of course this code of honor is ingrained into his training and into his existence. But at the end of the day, he’s a different person. And that can’t change who he is. Maximus is Maximus, and that can’t be replicated. That just makes Acacius capable of different things."
Paramount Pictures revealed five minutes of footage of Gladiator 2 behind closed doors at CinemaCon in April. Check out IGN’s coverage to find out what was shown.
IGN’s Gladiator review gave it 7/10 and said: “Gladiator has much to offer. Oliver Reed is charismatic as Proximo. Richard Harris is utterly compelling as Marcus Aurelius, the dying Roman Emperor who guilts Maximus into doing the right thing. Russell Crowe as Maximus is, well, Russell Crowe -- always carrying with him a funky combination of weight, intensity, and quiet dignity which makes him one of cinema's most engaging on-screen presences.”
Photo by Amanda Edwards/Getty Images
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
