Critics and your standard moviegoers enjoyed Ridley Scott‘s Gladiator. The film starring Russell Crowe circled a Roman general forced into arena battles where survival was his only option. The film, directed by Scott, seemed to be an open-and-shut story because of the movie’s ending. However, there have been talks about revisiting the world of Gladiator and recent news regarding production starting on the sequel.
Unfortunately, it seems like a bump has been hit before the making of Gladiator 2 can start.
Deadline reports that the producers behind Gladiator 2 have decided to delay the movie’s production. Actor Paul Mescal, who is set to star in the film, is still in the midst of production of Tennessee Williams’s play A Streetcar Named Desire. Mescal has garnered critical acclaim for the play, which is moving to London’s West End and will run through February. The producers are postponing the production to accommodate the actor’s time away.
It was announced just a few weeks ago that Paul Mescal would be the lead for the sequel that fans of the first movie have been waiting for. Chris Hemsworth, who has recently starred in National Geographic’s Limitless show, was initially approached to star in the sequel before the job went to Mescal.
Gladiator 2 will have Mescal play Lucius, the son of Connie Nielsen’s character Lucilla. For those who don’t remember, Lucious was the nephew of Commodus, played by Joaquin Phoenix. Spencer Treat Clark played the young boy in the first film, but there has been no mention of the actor being asked to return to the role. Although he is old enough to fit the build, maybe the producers saw something in Mescal’s previous work that meshed well with their plans.
So far, the plot details for Gladiator 2 are under wraps, and it’s unknown what Mescal will be doing in the movie. However, we would have to guess the actor’s character will be involved in the gladiatorial events in some form or fashion.
It’s understood that the delay might be only two weeks, which isn’t all that significant to production. Past films have been delayed for months because of a hiccup in production. However, this doesn’t seem to be the case. So hopefully the sequel will live up to the hype that’s been building and can match Russell Crowe‘s amazing performance.