Studio executives are already incredibly impressed with Ridley Scott’s Gladiator 2, according to a recent report.
According to Deadline, Paramount executives have seen an advanced look at some scenes shot from Gladiator 2, which wrapped production in January 2024. “According to sources, early footage has blown execs away,” the article states.
What do we know about Gladiator 2?
The upcoming Gladiator sequel is once again directed by Scott, who also helmed the original Russell Crowe-starring movie released in 2000. The script was written by David Scarpa, who previously collaborated with Scott on 2017’s All the Money in the World and 2023’s Napoleon.
Paul Mescal is playing Lucius Verus, the son of Connie Nielsen’s character (portrayed by Spencer Treat Clark in the original movie), in Gladiator 2. Nielsen is also reprising her role as Lucilla.
“[Lucius] has been in the wilderness for, let’s see — we last saw him when he was 12,” Scott previously told Rotten Tomatoes about Mescal’s character. “Now it’s about 12 or 15 years later. He’s been out in the wilderness, having lost touch with his mother. His mother lost touch with him, she doesn’t know where he is. She thinks he might be dead.”
The movie also stars Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, May Calamawy, Derek Jacobi, Lior Raz, Peter Mensah, Matt Lucas, and Tim McInnerny.
Production on Gladiator 2 began in June 2023; however, it was suspended about a month later because of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strike. It resumed filming in December 2024 before production officially wrapped on January 17, 2024.
Scott produces Gladiator 2 alongside Michael Pruss, Douglas Wick, Lucy Fisher, and David Franzoni.
Gladiator 2 hits United States theaters on November 22, 2024, from Paramount Pictures. Gladiator, meanwhile, is currently streaming on Paramount+.
