Gladiator 2

Gladiator II is an upcoming epic historical action film directed and co-produced by Ridley Scott. Serving as a sequel to Gladiator (2000), the film was written by David Scarpa, from a story he wrote with Peter Craig, and stars Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen, and Denzel Washington. Nielsen and Derek Jacobi reprise their roles from the first film. It was produced by Scott Free Productions in association with Red Wagon Entertainment and Parkes+MacDonald Image Nation for Paramount Pictures. The story follows Lucius, the former heir to the Roman Empire, who becomes a gladiator after his home is invaded by the Roman army, led by General Marcus Acacius, during the reign of the co-emperors Caracalla and Geta.
A sequel to Gladiator was discussed as early as June 2001, with David Franzoni and John Logan set to return as screenwriters. Over the next few years, Scott offered occasional updates, including the possible involvement of the original film's lead actor, Russell Crowe, along with plot ideas about the Roman afterlife and different historical time periods. Development was halted when DreamWorks sold the rights to the property to Paramount in 2006. The film was finally announced in 2018, and Mescal was cast in the lead role in January 2023, with a script by Scarpa. The rest of the cast signed on over the next several months. Filming took place between June 2023 and January 2024, with a five-month hiatus due to the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes.
Gladiator II is scheduled to be released internationally, including the United Kingdom, on November 15, 2024, and later in the United States and Canada on November 22.
== Premise ==
Over two decades after the events of Gladiator (2000), Lucius—the grandson of Rome's former emperor Marcus Aurelius and son of Lucilla—lives with his wife and child in Numidia. Roman soldiers led by General Marcus Acacius invade, forcing Lucius into slavery. Inspired by the story of Maximus, as depicted in the 2000 film, Lucius resolves to fight as a gladiator under the tutelage of Macrinus, a power broker who opposes the rule of the young emperors Caracalla and Geta.
== Cast ==
== Music ==
In January 2024, it was reported that Harry Gregson-Williams was composing the score for the film, taking over from Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard who scored the first film. Zimmer decided not to return because he did not want to repeat his work from the first film. In an interview with Curzon, he said that the film was "in really good hands" with Gregson-Williams, who had started his career as Zimmer's assistant.
== Release ==
Gladiator II is scheduled to be released internationally, including the United Kingdom, on November 15, 2024, and later in the United States and Canada on November 22, by Paramount Pictures. Universal Pictures declined to co-finance the sequel or distribute it overseas as it had the first film because of the sequel's expensive production budget, leaving only Paramount as the worldwide distributor. It was previously scheduled for a global release on November 22.
On July 1, 2024, it was announced that the film's release date would be shared with the first film of the two-part film adaptation of the musical Wicked (from Universal), whose date was moved from November 27 to avoid competition with Moana 2. This sparked speculation whether pitting the two films together could result in a scenario similar to the Barbenheimer phenomenon resulting from the films Barbie and Oppenheimer being released together on July 21, 2023. On July 10, 2024, Mescal dubbed the pair-up as "Glicked" and voiced his support for the two films as a double feature, saying "It would be amazing 'cause I think the films couldn't be more polar opposites and it worked in that context previously. So fingers crossed people come out and see both films on opening weekend."
===Marketing===
Footage of the film screened at the CinemaCon 2024 in Las Vegas included scenes of Quinn as Caracalla dressed in a white toga and laurel-leaf crown dramatically plunging his thumb downward to note the fate of defeated gladiators, with Nielsen in the background. In June of that year, Scott showcased an extended clip of the film featuring Denzel Washington, Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen, and Joseph Quinn. A poster for the film was released on July 8, 2024, with a trailer released the following day. The trailer will also reportedly be attached to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), slated for release on July 26, 2024. Jennifer Ouellette of Ars Technica said the trailer indicated the film "promises to be just as much of a visual feast, as a new crop of power players (plus a couple of familiar faces) clash over the future of Rome". Rather than using an orchestral score, the first trailer used "No Church in the Wild" by Jay-Z and Kanye West which caused a backlash among film fans. Some attempts to justify this choice of music cited the trailer for the first Gladiator which had used "Bawitdaba" by Kid Rock.
== Video ==
===Trailer===
Gladiator II - Official Trailer (2024 Movie) - Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington
== External links ==
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== References ==
Category:2024 films
Category:Upcoming films
Category:Gladiator (2000 film)
Category:2024 action drama films
Category:2020s American films
Category:2020s British films
Category:2020s English-language films
Category:2020s historical drama films
Category:American action drama films
Category:American epic films
Category:American films about revenge
Category:American historical drama films
Category:American sequel films
Category:British action drama films
Category:British epic films
Category:British films about revenge
Category:British historical drama films
Category:British sequel films
Category:Cultural depictions of Lucilla
Category:Films affected by the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike
Category:Films directed by Ridley Scott
Category:Films produced by Ridley Scott
Category:Films scored by Harry Gregson-Williams
Category:Films set in 2nd-century Roman Empire
Category:Films shot in Malta
Category:Films shot in Ouarzazate
Category:Films shot in the United Kingdom
Category:Films with screenplays by David Scarpa
Category:Historical epic films
Category:Scott Free Productions films
Category:Paramount Pictures films
Category:Upcoming English-language films
Category:Upcoming sequel films
Category:2020s historical action films
Category:American historical action films
Category:British historical action films
Category:Rated R
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