Fans are eager to see how director Ridley Scott plans to follow his classic 2004 film Gladiator. Though the details are finally falling into place. The cast for Gladiator 2, led by actor Paul Mescal, is coming together with actor Denzel Washington now in talks to join.
The upcoming sequel is expected to focus on Lucius, Lucilla’s son from the original Gladiator, who has now grown into adulthood. The character will be played by the aforementioned Paul Mescal. Fans will recall that Lucius admired Russell Crowe’s Maximus throughout the previous film.
As for Denzel Washington and his Gladiator 2 role, it’s been confirmed that the actor is in talks to join the film. Plot details beyond this are scarce but having Washington join the film is most certainly an exciting development.
The award-winning actor formerly starred in such hits as Malcom X, Training Day, and Remember the Titans. Now he’ll soon be adding Ridley Scott’s long-awaited follow-up to Gladiator to his resume. We should have other cast and story details in the near future.
In addition to Paul Mescal and Denzel Washington, the Gladiator 2 cast has actor Barry Keoghan in talks to join. Keoghan, known for having played the Joker in The Batman, is expected to play a character named Emperor Geta in the film. The character’s name seems to be inspired by a real-life historical figure with the same name. It’s unknown if the project will feature any historical accuracy, however, beyond this.
Ridley Scott will return to direct the sequel which was penned by David Scarpa. The crew will also include several key members from the first film’s production. John Mathieson will return as director of photography, Arthur Max will return as production designer, and Janty Yates will return as costume designer.
Gladiator 2 is currently scheduled to be released on November 22, 2024. Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional updates on the highly-anticipated sequel as we have them.