First Look At Gladiator 2: Paul Mescal vs Pedro Pascal

We get a first look at Ridley Scott’s Gladiator 2 which pits Paul Mescal vs Pedro Pascal in the sequel to the 2000 film that starred Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix.

Gladiator 2 gets released on November 22, 2024 directed by Ridley Scott and written by David Scarpa who directed Scott’s Napoleon.

The images come via Vanity Fair who has a featured article and interview on the movie. The official poster has also been released.

The story is set years after Russell Crowe’s Maximus sacrificed his life, disrupting the corrupt and decadent leadership.

Paul Mescal stars as Lucius, who was last seen as the young son of Lucilla, played by Connie Nielsen in the original film.

Nielsen returns in the sequel, portraying the historical figure Lucilla, the daughter of Emperor Marcus Aurelius.

In Gladiator 2, decades have passed, and Lucius has grown up far from his mother. As a child, Lucilla sent him to Numidia, on Africa’s northern coast, just beyond Rome’s reach at that time. Lucius never fully understood her decision, and his resentment grew as he matured, despite her good intentions.

Ridley Scott explains the opening of the film where Lucius lives a peaceful life with his wife and child in a coastal town in Numidia but their life is disrupted when conquerors from his homeland start to invade.

“He has settled in a seacoast town in Numidia,” explains Scott. “He’s a blue-eyed, fair-skinned man with red hair, standing out among the local inhabitants. It’s one of the last surviving civilizations as the Romans begin their conquest of North Africa.”

Pedro Pascal’s Marcus Acacius is a Roman general who trained under Crowe’s character from the first movie who leads the invasion (the character didn’t appear in the first movie but is used to connect to Crowe’s Maximus).

“This movie has an identity that is shaped by his legacy. It wouldn’t make sense for it not to,” says Pascal. He describes 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.”

Ridley Scott adds, “The film begins with the raiding party of the Roman fleet, which comes in from the sea and decimates Numidia. It’s pretty gnarly.”

Check out more images below. Hit the link above to read the entire interview.