I haven’t done a trailer spotlight for ages, and there just haven’t been any upcoming films that get me pumped like Gladiator II. So let’s just get to it, shall we?
Whoa!! What a jolt of energy to see this trailer in the morning! Ok, so I’m not crazy about the use of rap music here, but the overall vibe looks promising! It gives me goosebumps to see Ridley Scott evoke the original Gladiator released 24 years ago in terms of tone, visuals, and intensity! Russell Crowe’s Maximus is not part of the sequel, but his spirit is felt throughout. There are even scenes that look eerily similar to the first film, such as Lucius walking up to the Colosseum arena out of the dungeon, bending down to rub his hands with sand, etc. Mescal looks fittingly ripped and full of rage, just like Maximus, ready to exact his vengeance on Rome.
Official Synopsis:
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 (Paul 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 honor to return the glory of Rome to its people.
Sir Ridley Scott directing Mescal on set
All photos courtesy of Paramount Pictures
Gladiator remains one of my favorite movies of all time; it’s as perfect as a film could be, and I wish they’d just leave it alone. But of course, Hollywood can’t turn down a tried-and-true prospect that’ll show them the money. There’s been so much speculation over the years that a Gladiator sequel was in the works… even musician Nick Cave drafted a version set in ancient Rome with Maximus in the afterlife. I talked about it in this post back in 2009.
Now that I’ve read a bit more about this project and seen this trailer, I’m actually excited to see the story continue after Maximus’ death, especially with THIS cast: Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Lior Raz, Sir Derek Jacobi, and Connie Nielsen. Nielsen and Jacobi are the only returning cast members from the first film.
Check out some of the character posters (click to see a larger version):
Interesting that in the trailer, Lucius said that he doesn’t know his father or mother, though in the first Gladiator, he’s shown as being raised by his mother, Lucilla. I read in Vanity Fair’s First Look that as a young boy, Lucilla sent his son to Numidia in Africa, far from the Roman Empire’s influence. Despite not knowing the exact reasons behind his relocation, Lucius couldn’t help but feel bitter towards his mother as he grew older.
The article also reveals how Lucius ends up sharing a similar fate as Maximus. Despite his status as the grandson of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, he ends up becoming a Roman POW who becomes a gladiator. At the beginning of the film, he’s happily married with a child and enjoys a peaceful life until Rome invades Numidia, led by Pedro Pascal’s General Marcus Acacius, who was a junior Roman officer trained by Maximus himself. The Mescal vs. Pascal battle will surely be epic and inspire so many thirsty memes, ahah.
Here’s a quote from Mescal describing Acacius in the VF article “… Acacius [is] 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.” There’s that moment in Gladiator when Lucilla doesn’t realize the battered gladiator in the Colosseum is Maximus. Well, this time it’s his son Lucius that she fails to recognize. There is no shortage of despicable rulers in Rome, so in place of Commodus, we’ve got a pair of evil brothers, Emperors Caracalla (Fred Hechinger) and Geta (Joseph Quinn).
I’m so thrilled to see the venerable Denzel Washington as a dashing powerbroker named Macrinus. “Denzel is an arms dealer who supplies food for the armies in Europe, supplies wine and oil, makes steel, makes spears, weapons, cannons, and catapults. So he is a very wealthy man. Instead of having a stable of racehorses, he has a stable of gladiators,” Scott is quoted in that VF article. “He’s beautiful. He drives a golden Ferrari. I got him a gold-plated chariot.” Nice! I love all the interactions between Macrinus and Lucius, which echo the rapport between Oliver Reed’s Proximo and Maximus.
Scott is working on a script by David Scarpa who also wrote Napoleon. Gladiator‘s score is one of the best things about that film, so I was hoping Hans Zimmer would be back as a composer. But no, this time it falls to Harry Gregson-Williams, who was once mentored by Zimmer, so in a story about passing down a legacy, that seems quite fitting. I sure hope they don’t use rap music or go the anachronistic route in the actual film.
I’m prepared to be entertained come November; let’s hope it delivers!!
GLADIATOR II IS ONLY IN THEATRES, DOLBY CINEMA, PREMIUM LARGE FORMATS, AND IMAX ON NOVEMBER 22, 2024
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Great posts as always. I’m beyond excited to see “Gladiator 2” when it hits theaters at the end of the year. I was such a huge fan of the first film which was a magnificent medieval masterpiece. Ridley Scott directed such an incredible movie that worked on every level. Not only did it educate audiences about a forgotten time in history, but it launched the careers of two famous movie-stars. Both Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix were phenomenal in the leading roles. I’m curious to see how a sequel would turn out to be. It definitely has high expectations to live up to. I’m excited to see how it would turn out to be but doubt if it would turn out as great as the original.
Here’s my thoughts on the first film:
Hey, we’re kindred spirits aren’t we? I LOVE Gladiator so much and I’ve seen it multiple times! Crowe and Phoenix are absolutely amazing, that’s why I wasn’t all that enthused initially that this sequel is happening. At the same time, once Denzel is on board, I was like yeah!! 😀
I so agree with you on the 5/5 rating on Gladiator, it IS the best medieval epic we’ll ever see!
The trailer dialogue scenes out shine the action. I’ll be looking forward to a good storyline
Hello! Welcome to FC! Yes, a good story to go with the action is a recipe for a good film!
I was skeptical about this one since it went through several iterations of the script and didn’t think Scott was able to make it. I was surprised that it got made with Scott’s string of box office misfires! It seems they basically made the same film as the original but hopefully there will some differences when we get to see the actual film. I did enjoy Napoleon, so I have trusts that Scott can deliver this one.
I’m a fan of Harry Gregson-Williams, his theme for Kingdom of Heaven is one of the best that I heard.
As for this trailer with rap song, I’m not a fan either. This was obviously done by an outside agency. If Scott had cut the trailer himself, I don’t think he would’ve approved this cut of the trailer.
Yeah, the initial iterations of the script, esp that afterlife one sounds ridiculous! I think even Crowe laughed at the idea of bringing back Maximus. So it’s wise that they go with a different character with a strong ties to him, as the spirit of Maximus lives within Lucius who idolized him growing up.
I still haven’t seen Napoleon as it’s so darn long! But I might give it a shot when I can spare the time.
I like Harry Gregson-Williams too, who was Zimmer’s protégé. I sure hope he’d create something at least half as good as what Zimmer did and please, no contemporary songs in the movie! I’m so tired of that.
What’s good about watching long movies at home is that you can stop at certain time if you’re tired and then come back and finish it later. Lol! But Napoleon should’ve been longer because in the current version, it is clearly missing scenes that would’ve made more sense. Very similar to Kingdom of Heaven. That film’s theatrical cut was bad but the director’s cut was much much better. I don’t know when Apple TV will release the director’s cut of Napoleon, though.
Hopefully, Scott is releasing this film in as close to his final cut as possible. I know for the first film, he released an extended cut on home video.
Ahah, that’s true Ted. I will watch it at some point, as I’m curious about the story and Joaquin’s performance as Napoleon.
I am one of those that really didn’t like Gladiator as I thought it was overrated. I might check this out as the cast is promising and it does have some nice action. I just hope there’s a strong story. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Gladiator.
Overrated? Oh I can’t agree with you there… after seeing it a bunch of times, it’s still the best films about ancient Rome IMHO and Russell Crowe should’ve won Best Actor there, with Joaquin Phoenix for Supporting. It’s also very quotable!
The trailer looks like a feat of production design, costumes, SFX and stunts.
It is rich, over opulent and heraldically cacophonic, as i would expect an ancient Roman epic to be.
I love Denzel.
I look forward to your review in November, Ruth!
Yeah, on top of the story + acting, the first film was such a visual feast on every level: costumes, production design, VFX, stuntwork, music, etc. I sure hope this one would at least match it, though elevating it would be tough as Gladiator was such a huge shoes to fill!
I love Denzel too, and this role seems to suit his talents well. Can’t wait for this movie to be released already!! 😀
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