‘Gladiator II’ trailer: Paul Mescal doesn’t fight for power [Watch]
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Paramount released a new trailer for “Gladiator II” on Monday, the long-awaited sequel to Ridley Scott’s 2001 Best Picture winner.
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As previously teased in the first trailer and now confirmed with this latest bit of marketing, the new film focuses on Lucius (Paul Mescal), the son of Maximus (played in the original film by Russell Crowe). That’s a twist of sorts on the “Gladiator” canon, as in the original film Maximus had a previous relationship with Lucius’s mother, Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), but it wasn’t made explicitly clear if Lucius was their child. In “Gladiator II,” Lucius is captured as a prisoner of war following a battle that leaves his wife dead and forced to fight in gladiator battles as the main “tool” of Macrinus (Denzel Washington). Meanwhile, Macrinus is trying to consolidate power and take over Rome from its current awful emperors (played by Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger). Here’s the official synopsis from Paramount:
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.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Mescal said he knew of the Lucius/Maximus connection from his initial conversations with Scott. “He mentioned it in the talk, but then it’s an affronting thing to see it written on the page, and [to have] that responsibility fall on your shoulders is interesting,” Mescal said.
“The screenplay does a lot of that work for you in terms of the rubbing the dirt between the hands, the kind of DNA, and the genetics that Lucius inherits,” he added. “So I kind of tried to park that to one side because ultimately, where Lucius is coming from at the start of the film, he has a very different journey than Maximus does. And I was hoping that whatever DNA and even just the physical gestures was going to be one part of, and a kind of small part of, the performance. But then what I tried to do is figure out exactly who Lucius was and where those differences lay between Lucius and Maximus.”
“Gladiator” was released in 2000 and became a massive hit and later Oscar winner. The film received 12 nominations and won five awards: Best Picture, Best Actor for Crowe, Best Visual Effects, Best Costume Design, and Best Sound. Scott, who has never won an Oscar, lost Best Director to Steven Soderbergh (who was nominated twice and won for “Traffic”). Other key nominations came for Best Supporting Actor (Joaquin Phoenix) and Best Original Screenplay.
“Gladiator II” is expected to be a major awards player as well, with the film currently predicted to land a Best Picture nomination. Scott, who was last nominated for Best Director in 2002 for “Black Hawk Down,” is currently seventh in the odds. Washington is also expected to score an Oscar nomination for his part – which, it should be noted, dominates the trailer. If Washington does receive a nomination, it would be his 11th overall and his first in the Best Supporting Actor category since his win there for “Glory” in 1990.
“Gladiator II” is out in theaters on November 22.
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