The thrilling new trailer for Gladiator II starring Paul Mescal, Pedro Pescal and Denzel Washington has been shared today (July 9) – check it out below.
Ridley’s Scott’s sequel to the Russell Crowe-starring, Oscar winning original will arrive in cinemas this November and sees Mescal leading a new story that focuses on his character Lucius, the nephew of Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) who was killed by Crowe’s character Maximus in the original. Lucius is the son of Lucilla (Connie Nielson, who reprises her role in the film) and grandson of Marcus Aurelius.
The events in the new film are set 20 years after the original and Pascal, Washington and Stranger Things actor Joseph Quinn also co-star.
The official synopsis reads: “From legendary director Ridley Scott, Gladiator II continues the epic saga of power, intrigue, and vengeance set in Ancient Rome. Years after witnessing the death of the revered hero Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius (Mescal) is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors who now lead Rome with an iron fist.
“With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, Lucius must look to his past to find strength and honour to return the glory of Rome to its people.”
At the start of the trailer we see a flashback to the original Gladiator film, with Mescal sounding eerily similar to Crowe in his first scene. Washington appears soon after and he appears to be Lucius’ trainer in the film. “You have something, I knew it from the start…rage is your gift,” Washington says to Mescal.
The new trailer shows several epic battles, including one where Mescal’s character fights a rhinoceros with a group of other gladiators as well as a battle in the sea and later one with co-star Pascal.
Check it out here along with some other newly released images from the film.
The trailer also previews the stirring soundtrack which has once again been composed by Hans Zimmer. It also includes a re-mix of ‘No Church In The Wild’ by Kanye West and Jay Z. The lyrics: “Tears on the mausoleum floor / Blood stains the Colosseum doors” are heard during the trailer.
In a new interview with Vanity Fair, Pascal opened up about what it was like for his character to fight Mescal, joking that he would rather be “thrown from a building” than do a fight scene with him again.
“He got so strong. I would rather be thrown from a building than have to fight him again,” Pascal said. “To go up against somebody that fit and that talented and that much younger….It’s brutal, man. I call him Brick Wall Paul.”
He also went to credit Mescal with helping him to get through the film’s brutal fight scenes.
“Outside of Ridley being a total genius, Paul is a big reason as to why I would put my poor body through that experience,” he explained.
Mescal also opened up to the publication about his transformation for the role.
“I just wanted to be big and strong and look like somebody who can cause a bit of damage when shit hits the fan,” Mescal said. “I think also, sometimes, one could, in striving for that perfect look, end up looking more like an underwear model than a warrior.”
He continued: “Muscles start to grow, and that can be deemed aesthetic in certain capacities, but there is something about feeling strong in your body that elicits just a different feeling. You carry yourself differently. It has an impact on you psychologically in a way that is useful for the film.”
Recently, Russell Crowe opened up about Gladiator II, saying that he was “slightly uncomfortable” that a sequel was being made.
Speaking to Kyle Meredith, Crowe said: “I’m slightly uncomfortable with the fact they’re making another one — because, of course, I’m dead and I have no say in what gets done. But a couple of the things I’ve heard I’m like ‘No, no, no, that’s not in the moral journey of that particular character’. But I can’t say anything, it’s not my place, I’m six foot under. So we’ll see what that is like.”
Crowe continued: “I reflect back: the age I was when I made that film and all the things that came after it, the doors that particular movie opened for me. This is just me being purely honest: there’s definitely a tinge of melancholy, a tinge of jealousy. I remember when I had tendons.”
In January, Mescal also shared his concern about the fame which may come with the epic sequel. Speaking to The Sunday Times, the Irish actor said about the film’s upcoming release: “I don’t know what the difference will be. Maybe that’s naive? Is it just that more people will stop you in the street?”
He continued: “I’d get profoundly depressed if that’s so and hope it isn’t true. I’ll have an answer next year, but if [the film] impacts my life in that way, I’ll be in a bad spot. I’d have to move on and do an obtuse play nobody wants to see.”
Gladiator II is due to release on November 22 globally.
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