by Pierre Lorenz on March 19, 2023

It was quite unexpected when a sequel to the popular historical drama "Gladiator" was announced some time ago; after all, the original is almost 23 years old and was more or less concluded in terms of content. The movie with Russell Crowe in the leading role, which was nominated for seven Oscars and won five awards at the time, proved to be a success in all respects. This makes it all the more challenging to convince fans and critics of the sequel's potential.

We already know that the plot of Part 2 will take place almost 25 years after the first one and thus also depicts the real time gap between the movies. This offers plenty of possibilities to introduce new actors and set up a story of its own. Among the actors are already some famous ones, and as Deadline reports, the cast seems to be gaining celebrities: Recently, none other than Denzel Washington is said to be part of the team. Washington has already worked with director Ridley Scott on the 2007 thriller "American Gangster" and has been able to impress as a battle-hardened avenger in the "The Equalizer" film series in the past years.

Should the rumors prove to be true, he will be seen alongside the presumed leading man Paul Mescal, who appeared in "Aftersun", among other films. Also joining the project is Irish actor Barry Keoghan, who played the Joker in a cut scene in "The Batman" and, like Mescal, was nominated as a performer at the 2023 Oscars. Mescal will likely portray Lucius, who is the now adult nephew of Joaquin Phoenix's Commodus. It should be interesting to see how little Lucius has grown up after the death of his mentor Maximus at the end of the film.

It will be a while before "Gladiator 2" is released in cinemas. It is scheduled to hit theaters on November 22, 2024