![](https://www.929thebeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/getty_ridley_Scott_04162024.jpg)
Vanity Fair just published an extensive first look at the anticipated sequel to Ridley Scott‘s Oscar-winning epic Gladiator II, complete with a dramatic photo of leads Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal going mano a mano in the Colosseum.
Mescal plays Lucius, the now-grown son of Connie Nielsen‘s character, Lucilla, from the first film. The actress reprises in the November release. According to the magazine, in the years since Russell Crowe‘s Maximus gave his life to try to save the Roman republic, Lucilla sent Lucius to the northern coast of Africa, out of the reach of the Roman Empire.
He grows up resenting his mother for it.
Years later, the Romans decimate that region, Numidia, and he is enslaved. “The wrinkle is, when he gets to Rome … and has a first round in the arena, he sees his mother … in the royal box looking pretty good after 20 years. And she’s with the general who he came face-to-face with … in Numidia.”
That general is Pascal’s Marcus Acacius, a brutal general who trained under Crowe’s Maximus.
The arena face-off was intimidating for Pascal in real life. “He got so strong,” Pascal says of Mescal. “I would rather be thrown from a building than have to fight him again.”
The movie also features two-time Oscar winner Denzel Washington as a wealthy arms dealer called Macrinus. “[H]e has a stable of gladiators,” Scott says. “He’s beautiful. He drives a golden Ferrari. I got him a gold-plated chariot.”
Scott mined “familiar” ground with today’s politics for his film, thanks to Rome’s sadistic sibling rulers: Joseph Quinn‘s Emperor Geta and Fred Hechinger‘s Emperor Caracalla.
“The people who are in charge are out of their minds, and everyone is too afraid to contradict,” Scott says. “That’s familiar ground right now.”
Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
Related Posts
Clive Owen says David Bowie inspired him to become an actor
July 5, 2024
Armando Gallo/Getty ImagesActor Clive Owen has revealed that David Bowie was a huge inspiration for…
Music notes: Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran and more
July 5, 2024
Taylor Swift brought a fan-favorite song back to The Eras Tour setlist. Well, for one show in…
Brad Pitt to race into theaters next June in Apple Original ‘F1’
July 5, 2024
Apple Original FilmsBrad Pitt's upcoming Formula 1 racing movie has been dubbed F1, and the Apple…
New Music Friday: Kesha, OneRepublic and more
July 5, 2024
Kesha celebrated her professional freedom on the Fourth of July by releasing "Joyride," her first…
Sabrina Carpenter sets chart records on both sides of the Atlantic
July 5, 2024
Disney/Randy HolmesThe Summer of Sabrina continues to sizzle — both in the U.S. and the U.K.In the…
Did Netflix tease ‘Happy Gilmore 2’ in ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ fourquel?
July 5, 2024
Netflix/Melinda Sue GordonIn its latest straight-to-streaming big budget sequel, Netflix may just…
All About that Boat: Meghan Trainor invites 52 fans to join her onboard Utopia of the Seas
July 5, 2024
Lauren DunnMeghan Trainor as been named the godmother of Royal Caribbean's new Utopia of the Seas…
Reality Roundup: ‘Bachelorette’ diversity, ‘Love Island USA’ drama and more
July 5, 2024
Have no fear, your reality roundup is here! Here's a look at what happened in the world of reality…