It’s been over 20 years since Ridley Scott rocked the period action film genre with his beloved “Gladiator,” eventually earning Best Picture and Best Actor wins at the Academy Awards in 2001. A long-gestating sequel is finally going in front of cameras this summer, with recent Oscar-nominee Paul Mescal (“Aftersun“) taking the lead role and Scott returning to the director’s chair.
Now another high-profile Irish actor looks to join “Gladiator 2” as The Hollywood Reporter backs up rumors that fellow Oscar-nominee Barry Keoghan (“The Banshees of Inisherin“) is in talks for a major role in the Roman Empire epic. So what part does Keoghan have his eye on? Emperor Geta, a real Roman Emperor, but, like the previous installment, it’s expected that Scott will tinker with historical figures and mix them together with fictional ones that never existed. This wouldn’t be the first mature period film Keoghan has done as he took a small role in director David Lowery‘s grim Arthurian adventure film, 2021’s “The Green Knight.”
As fans of the original await more concrete plot details about “Gladiator 2,” as it’s expected to take liberties regarding historical figures and events from the era of The Roman Empire. The original pic focused on General Maximus being betrayed by Emperor Marcus Aurelius’ son Commodus. Post-betrayal, which includes the murder of his wife and son and being sold into slavery, Maximus becomes a legendary gladiator, The Spaniard, using his military strategies to fend off professional killers in the gladiator ring. We at least know there is going to be one returning character from the first installment and it’s not hard to envision another backstabbing plot within the leadership and senate of the Roman Empire being at the heart of the story.
Mescal previously took over the role of Lucius Verus II (another real figure from history) from actor Spencer Treat Clark, the son of Connie Nielsen‘s Lucilla and the nephew of Joaquin Phoenix’s cruel Commodus in the 2000 film. It’s expected that an adult Lucius will be the main protagonist of the sequel as Russell Crowe‘s Maximus is long-dead at this point. The time jump certainly gives them a neat entry point to continue the story after the original.
David Scarpa pens the script for “Gladiator 2” after previously working with Scott on “All The Money In The World” and his upcoming Napoleon Bonaparte film at Apple that stars Phoenix. Paramount Pictures has already announced “Gladiator 2” is set for a release date of November 22, 2024. Production on the sequel is expected to begin this summer, so more casting announcements are inbound soon.
