Sure, Steven Soderbergh and Steven Spielberg work fast, so does Guy Ritchie, but none of them are 86 years old and Ridley Scott is arguably the oldest director working at the pace he does, a film every two years at least. But that clip has sped up recently. 2021 delivered two films in one year, “The Last Duel” and “House Of Gucci,” 2023 gave us “Napoleon” and Scott returns in 2024 with the long-awaited sequel to “Gladiator” with “Gladiator II.”
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Twenty four years after “Gladiator” in 2000, Scott has finally cooked up a long-discussed sequel. Talk about “Gladiator II” started more than a decade ago and at one point, rocker Nic Cave, had written a batshit crazy screenplay that made the rounds, impressed, but never got made.
It seemed at one point that Scott had given up on “Gladiator” but seemingly out of nowhere it came back to life just a year ago. Written by Peter Craig and David Scarpa and based on the characters created by David Franzoni, “Gladiator II” stars the all-star crew of Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Lior Raz, Derek Jacobi, with Connie Nielsen and Denzel Washington.
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.
“Gladiator II” opens November 22, 2024 via Paramount Pictures. Watch the new trailer below.
