Are you not entertained? Watch the new trailer for Gladiator II, and we promise that you most certainly will be. Over two decades after Russell Crowe’s Maximus stepped into the arena in Ridley Scott’s award-winning, instant classic historical drama, the director is returning to Rome. The new movie will focus on Lucius, son of Connie Nielsen’s Lucilla from the first film, played now by Aftersun and All Of Us Strangers’ star Paul Mescal. Take a deep breath, and watch the trailer now:
Phew. Still with us? That is three minutes of pure gladiatorial adrenaline, indicating that even at age 86, Scott can still deliver a film of truly epic proportions. It begins with a flashback to the first movie, a voiceover from Mescal’s Lucius setting the scene. “I remember that day,” he says. “I never forgot it – that a slave could take revenge against an Emperor.”
Far from home, he’s taken under the wing of Denzel Washington’s Macrinus, eventually sent into the arena as a weapon against cruel new Emperors Caracalla (Fred Hechinger) and Geta (Joseph Quinn), against whom a rebellion is forming. We get glimpses of him coming up against Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal), the army general whose blood he’s out for, plus an actual rhino, in some immense-looking fight sequences. The gods have spoken. Swords at the ready, everyone – the big screen is about to become a battle ground.
Gladiator II is in cinemas from 22 November.