“It is possible that this film is even more unique than the first part. It was worth waiting for it,” he assured Ridley Scott in the video recording preceding the presentation of the trailer “Gladiator II”.
Everything indicates that, like the cult production from 2000, the sequel will also be distinguished by its epic scope and excellent fight sequences.
The trailer shows, among others, the main character Paul Mescal fighting a charging rhinoceros, a horde of angry baboons and Pedro Pascal, who plays the main villain in the film. There will also be naval battles, political intrigues and a pair of emperors who seem even crazier than the unbalanced Commodus from the first film.
About the sequel “Gladiator” it has been loud since 2018. It was then that, along with information about the start of work on the script, a short description of the plot of the planned film was presented. Its hero is the adult Lucius, played by the above-mentioned Paul Mescal, the nephew of Emperor Commodus and grandson of Marcus Aurelius, who is greatly influenced by the bravery shown by Maximus. Mescal recently assured that the sequel to the cult film is a really well-written production that will pay tribute to the original in a worthy way.
The other roles in Ridley Scott's new film will be: Denzel Washington, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechingerand Connie Nielsen and Derek Jacobi, who repeat their roles from the first part. Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix, whose characters died at the end of “Gladiator”, will not return.
“Rome must fall. It just needs a little push,” says Washington's mysterious hero in the trailer, which indicates that we will be watching the decline of the empire on screen.
Some time ago we learned the budget of the show and it must be admitted that the amount is impressive. The sequel to the 2000 Oscar-winning production will cost as much as $310 million, making it one of the most expensive films in cinema history.
Originally, the film was supposed to cost “only” PLN 165 million, but last year's strikes of scriptwriters and actors delayed its production. Each week of downtime on the set cost as much as $600,000.
“Things have gotten out of control. Nobody is keeping an eye on it,” one of the Paramount studio employees was said to have commented on the situation.