(Updated 04/22/2024)
After more than 20 years, filmmaker Ridley Scott is going back to ancient Rome. The director has toyed with a sequel to his mega-hit GLADIATOR for many years. In 2022 a story finally came together, and Scott began to assemble the movie in rapid fashion even as he worked on NAPOLEON.
GLADIATOR II has finished filming, and is set for a Thanksgiving release this year. Here's everything you need to know about Ridley Scott's long-awaited GLADIATOR sequel.
When Does Gladiator II Come Out?
Paramount Pictures has set November 22, 2024 as the release date for GLADIATOR II. It'll be out in time for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Is There a Trailer for Gladiator II?
There is no GLADIATOR II trailer yet, nor any official footage or photos. Anything you see that claims to be otherwise is fan-made.
Paramount did show off some footage at CinemaCon 2024 in Las Vegas, but that footage has not been released to the public. It featured a glimpse of new star Paul Mescal as a gladiator who has to fight, among other things, an opponent riding a rhinoceros.
Is Russell Crowe in Gladiator II?
Let's get this question out of the way: Russell Crowe, who won the Best Actor Oscar for the first movie, is not in GLADIATOR II. That is, at least based on current reports. We might see old footage fashioned into a flashback, but we do not expect to see new scenes featuring Crowe as Maximus.
What Is Gladiator II About?
GLADIATOR II is about Lucius Verus, the son of Connie Nielsen's character, Lucilla from GLADIATOR. As a young man, Verus looked at Maximus like a hero, but accidentally let slip details of a plan to return Maximus to power. Ultimately, Maximus saves Lucius from Commodus, and the boy flees Rome.
Scott has said that Lucius has spent the 15 years following GLADIATOR living on his own "in the wilderness," and is presumed dead by his mother. We presume he will return to Rome, but what happens next is anyone's guess at this point. That is unless you're Ridley Scott or his screenwriter, David Scarpa, who also wrote Scott's film ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD.
Who's in the Cast of Gladiator II?
Rising star Paul Mescal (AFTERSUN, ALL OF US STRANGERS) plays Lucius Verus. Opposite Mescal is Denzel Washington, as a former slave who has made a new life as a war-minded merchant. He has no love for the Emperors, Caracalla (Joseph Quinn) and Geta (Fred Hechinger).
Connie Nielsen returns as Lucilla, the mother of Lucius, and Derek Jacobi is back to reprise his GLADIATOR role of Roman Senator Gracchus.
The cast also features Pedro Pascal, May Calamawy, Lior Raz, Peter Mensah, and Matt Lucas. At this point we do not know anything about their roles, but reports say that Pascal plays a military general who rebels against the Emperors, leading him to be condemned to fight as a gladiator.
GLADIATOR II opens in November.
All images courtesy of Hulu.