About Gladiator II
Gladiator II is a new movie that continues the story from the film Gladiator, which came out in 2000. It’s directed by Ridley Scott and produced by his company, Scott Free Productions, along with Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures.
The sequel was talked about as early as 2001, with plans for the original writers to return. Ridley Scott gave updates over the years, including ideas about the story taking place in the Roman afterlife and different historical periods. But the project was put on hold when Paramount got the rights in 2006.
In 2018, they finally announced Gladiator II. Paul Mescal was chosen for the main role in January 2023, with a script by David Scarpa. Other actors like Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal joined the cast later on. Filming happened from June 2023 to January 2024, with a break because of issues in Hollywood.
Gladiator II is set to come out in the US and Canada on November 22, 2024, and internationally on November 15, 2024.
Cast of Gladiator II
- Paul Mescal as Lucius Verus, the former heir to the Empire. Director Ridley Scott mentions that since he was last seen approximately 15 years ago, Lucius has been living “in the wilderness” with no connection with his mother, who now thinks he might be dead.[2] He was previously portrayed by Spencer Treat Clark in Gladiator (2000).
- Denzel Washington as a former slave-turned-wealthy merchant with a grudge against the emperors
- Pedro Pascal as a former military commander forced to fight as a gladiator in punishment for his insubordination
- Connie Nielsen as Lucilla, the mother of Lucius
- Derek Jacobi as Senator Gracchus, a member of the Roman Senate who opposes the growing corruption of the Imperial court
- Joseph Quinn as co-emperor Caracalla. Despite comparisons with Joaquin Phoenix’s Commodus from the first film, Quinn did not feel he channeled Phoenix’s performance, crediting Scott for wishing him to “play the chords louder and turn it up and go for the more brave or bold form” of communication. He also credited Nielsen for helping him and the rest of the cast to not be nervous about the first film’s legacy.[3]
- Fred Hechinger as co-emperor Geta
- Lior Raz
- Peter Mensah
- Matt Lucas
- May Calamawy
- Tim McInnerny
- Alexander Karim
Production of Gladiator II
Development of Gladiator II
In June 2001, they started planning a follow-up to the movie Gladiator. They weren’t sure if it would be a story before or after the events of the first movie. David Franzoni was negotiating to write the screenplay again. A year later, they decided to make a sequel. The new story would be set fifteen years later and would focus on Lucius, who was now grown up and searching for his real father. They also planned to bring back Maximus somehow. Ridley Scott confirmed the script was done in September 2003, emphasizing Lucius as the main character.
After a long gap, Ridley Scott returned to direct Gladiator II. In May 2006, Scott said they were still figuring out the exact story. Some wanted a fantasy twist to bring Maximus back, but Scott preferred a historical approach. They planned to reveal that Lucius was Maximus’s son. They also wanted a more complex script showing how corrupt Rome had become.
During this time, Nick Cave wrote a draft of the script called “Christ Killer”. It had a fantastical plot where Maximus is resurrected by Roman gods and sent to stop Christianity’s rise. However, this script was rejected.
The sequel faced financial issues, and after a sale to Paramount Pictures in 2006, it was put on hold. In March 2017, Ridley Scott said they had solved how to bring Maximus back and were optimistic about the sequel. Discussions with Russell Crowe to return were ongoing.
In November 2018, Paramount officially approved the sequel’s development. Ridley Scott was set to direct again, with a new script by Peter Craig. The story would take place decades after the first film and focus on Lucius.
By April 2021, Chris Hemsworth joined the project as a producer, and they continued to refine the script. Ridley Scott aimed to direct after finishing his current film.
In September 2021, David Scarpa was rewriting the script, focusing on Lucius as the protagonist. The film’s budget grew to over $300 million, partly funded by incentives from Malta.
Pre-production of Gladiator II
In January 2023, Paul Mescal was chosen to be in the new movie. They also said that Arthur Max and Janty Yates, who designed the look of the first movie, would come back to work on the next one. Scott, the director, didn’t know how famous Mescal was until he saw him in a TV show called Normal People. After watching it, Scott thought Mescal would be great for the new movie, even thinking he could be as good as Russell Crowe. They had considered other actors like Austin Butler, Richard Madden, and Miles Teller for the main role, but they picked Mescal after seeing him perform in a play called A Streetcar Named Desire.
In March, Barry Keoghan and Denzel Washington were in talks to join the cast. The cinematographer from the first movie, John Mathieson, was also coming back. In April, Connie Nielsen and Djimon Hounsou were confirmed to reprise their roles, and Joseph Quinn was added to the cast. In May, Pedro Pascal, May Calamawy, Lior Raz, Derek Jacobi, Peter Mensah, and Matt Lucas joined the cast too. Fred Hechinger was supposed to play a role, but he had to negotiate later because of scheduling problems. In June, he was confirmed. In December, Hounsou said he couldn’t come back for the new movie because he was too busy.
Filming of Gladiator II
Production was supposed to start making a movie in May 2023 in Ouarzazate, Morocco. They started building the movie sets in April in the city. Filming began in June 2023. They also planned to film in Malta and the United Kingdom over the next four months. Unfortunately, there was a fire accident on June 7 that hurt six crew members. Filming had to stop in July because of problems between Hollywood workers. They started filming again on December 4 in Malta. They finished filming on January 17, 2024. They also filmed in Devil’s Dyke, Sussex in June 2024.
Music of Gladiator II
In January 2024, it was said that Harry Gregson-Williams was making the music for the movie. He took over from Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard, who did the music for the first movie. Zimmer chose not to come back because he didn’t want to do the same thing again. In an interview, he said that he trusted Gregson-Williams to do a great job. Gregson-Williams had started his career as Zimmer’s helper.
Release of Gladiator II
Gladiator II will come out in the United States and Canada on November 22, 2024, and internationally on November 15, 2024.
Marketing
Scenes from the movie were shown at CinemaCon 2024 in Las Vegas. They showed Quinn acting as Caracalla, wearing a white robe and a crown made of leaves. He dramatically lowered his thumb to decide the fate of the gladiators who had lost, with Nielsen in the background.
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