Paul Mescal, star of Hulu's Normal People, is currently in talks for the lead role in Paramount's Gladiator sequel.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Mescal is in negotiations to star in Ridley Scott's long-awaited sequel to 2000's Gladiator. His exact role has not yet been confirmed. The sequel will reportedly focus on Lucius, the son of Connie Nielsen's Lucilla, and the nephew of Commodus, who was portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix in the original movie. Mescal's breakout role was as Colin in the Hulu series Normal People, which earned him a BAFTA Award and an Emmy Nomination. He went on to star in films like The Lost Daughter and Aftersun, but Gladiator 2 would be his first leading role in a major studio production.
Directed by Scott and starring Russell Crowe, Gladiator is set in ancient Rome and follows the story of Maximus Decimus Meridius, a former general who is forced by the tyrannical Emperor Commodus to become a common gladiator. The film grossed a box office total of $460 million and won five Oscars, including Best Picture, and earned Crowe the Academy Award for Best Actor.
Gladiator's Sequel Is Now in the Casting Phase
Gladiator 2 will be written by David Scarpa with Scott back in the director's chair. Scott will be back in the director's chair for the sequel as well as producing alongside Michael Pruss of Scott Free, and Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher of Red Wagon Entertainment. Plot details surrounding the sequel remain unknown, though, in 2019, producer Walter F. Parkes stated that Gladiator 2 would pick up the events of the original film "25 years later."
In 2021, Scott confirmed that the sequel was in the early stages of development and that a script had already been written. "We have a good footprint, a good, logical place to go," the director said at the time. "You can't just do another Gladiator-type movie. You’ve got to follow…there’s enough components from the first one to pick up the ball and continue it." Scott also stated that the initial script for Gladiator 2 he was given "was not very good."
"But the person who gave it to me said, I want to show you one thing," Scott continued and went on to describe a painting titled "For Those About to Die" by Gérôme. "It's a picture of this big painting of the Coliseum, and in the corner, there is this guy, about to tuna fork this poor bastard. He's got this thing in his neck, and he's looking up for permission to kill. I went, bloody hell, that’s never been done properly before. Never. I said, I'll do it. He said you will? I said yes. Did you want to read the script? I said no, and we went off and hit the ground running around the table, and evolved the new material."
Gladiator 2 does not yet have a release date.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter