Who hasn’t heard of the iconic modern classic called Gladiator that came out at the dawn of the 21st Century? 22 years later and we are yet to see some other historical epic that’s as good or better than Ridley Scott’s Gladiator. The film was a unique blend of history and fiction with an epic scale and lots of gore for that time. In fact many would agree when I say that this film was the beginning of a new kind of cinema. It gave birth to on screen representation of fantasy novels like Lord of the Rings, A Song of Ice and Fire, The Saxon Stories, and inspired a lot of dark historical/fictional projects like Troy, King Arthur, 300, The Tudors, Vikings, etc. Gladiator was a revolutionary film indeed and it didn’t just perform great at the Box Office but was also honored by 5 Academy Awards and universal acclaim. And while most of us thought it was a one time event, that is not the case!
Gladiator 2 Cast, Plot, Release Date and More
Gladiator 2, as you may know, is an upcoming American epic historical drama directed by Ridley Scott. Apparently, Scott has had the idea for the sequel ready since more than a decade but couldn’t materialize his vision till now. That was until last year when we started receiving reports that Scott is expected to arrive in Morocco in order to shoot scenes from the Gladiator sequel in the city of Ouarzazate, known as the “Moroccan Hollywood.”
According to Le360 and some other reliable new websites, the [production] team was in the middle of negotiations because the price that was proposed was considered a little excessive. In February, Gladiator 2 was officially given a release slate of November 2024 and we received some casting updates throughout April and May 2023. Well now, we can confirm many of the cast members from the below attached BTS image as the team has now arrived to Morocco.
Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Ridley Scott, Peter Mensah and May Calamawy in Morocco for GLADIATOR 2. pic.twitter.com/X9NzT7CUoE
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) June 26, 2023
Morocco as you may know is one of the most popular filming destinations because varied geographical locations which makes cinematographers’ work a bit easier. The Moroccan cities offers incredibly varied landscapes, and climatic conditions highly suitable which are highly suitable for historic/fantasy productions. Apparently, parts of Ridley Scott’s upcoming film “Napoleon” have also been shot in Morocco. Anyways, moving to the plot of the film, the current script takes place 25–30 years after the first film and the plot will center around Lucius, the nephew of Commodus, who was portrayed immaculately by Joaquin Phoenix. Following is the confirmed cast of the film, many of whom, can be seen in the image above:
- Paul Mescal as Lucius whowas previously portrayed by Spencer Treat Clark in Gladiator.
- Connie Nielsen as Lucilla, the mother of Lucius reprising her role from Gladiator
- Djimon Hounsou as Juba, reprising his role from Gladiator
- Derek Jacobi as Senator Gracchus, a member of the Roman Senate
- Joseph Quinn as Emperor Caracalla
- Fred Hechinger as Emperor Geta
This aside, Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, May Calamawy, Lior Raz, Peter Mensah, and Matt Lucas have been cast in undisclosed roles. The star studded cast might further expand in the upcoming few months. Of course, the film is being directed by Ridley Scott and written by David Scarpa with cinematography by John Mathieson and editing by Claire Simpson and Sam Restivo. The composer of the film hasn’t been disclosed yet but fans are wishing for the return of the legendary German composer Hans Zimmer who is currently busy with Dune: Part Two. Other choices for music composition could be Martin Phipps who has also scored Scott’s Napoleon or Harry Gregson-Williams who scored Scott’s The Last Duel.
Gladiator 2 is set to hit theatres on 22nd November 2024 but we could see some delay as well considering how much care and effort Scott puts in to make his movies iconic.
If you have any questions regarding Gladiator 2, feel free to ask in the comments below. For more content, stay tuned. As usual, like, subscribe and share our articles as we here are trying to build a community of people High on Cinema!
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