PAUL MESCAL GOES HEAD-TO-HEAD WITH PEDRO PASCAL IN DEBUT TRAILER FOR GLADIATOR II

Paul Mescal battles Pedro Pascal in the first trailer for Ridley Scott's highly-anticipated Gladiator II.

The film is set to be released in theaters on November 22 and will see Paul take on the role of Lucius, the nephew of Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), who was killed by Russell Crowe’s Maximus in the first film. The sequel picks up with Lucius living in the northern African region of Numidia, where he was sent by his mother Lucilla as a child.

Lucius is a young adult by the time the film starts and has a wife and child. While his life in Numidia is peaceful, it's threatened when conquerors from the Roman Empire show up. Lucius is then led back to Rome as a gladiator and reunites with his mother.

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"I remember that day," he opens the trailer by saying. "I never forgot it. That a slave could take revenge against an emperor." Thereafter, scenes of the movie underscore that the aesthetics of the film are akin to the original. Moviemakers zeroed in on the same raw style as before as they sought to explore this new, expansive plot line, balancing callbacks to old with the promises of new.

Fans were immediately impressed. One wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: "Looks incredible. Was on the fence of them creating a second but I think it’s in great hands after watching the trailer. I am entertained!"

"It was a tough task but Paul mescal has matched Russell Crowe in screen presence I think," another applauded the latest star of the franchise.

Not everyone was happy, though, and some are predicting the film to tank in the box office. One fan said that the music selection, which included Jay-Z and Kanye's No Church in the Wild, was a dead giveaway. They wrote: "As soon as I heard the music I knew this was going to fail."

"This trailer is very badly cut, thanks for showing so much," one fan jabbed about the three minute trailer. Ahead of the trailer's release, Paramount Pictures unveiled the first poster for Gladiator II on Monday. The poster showed Paul Mescal's character knelt down in the arena as he rubbed sand into his hands. His sword was next to him as he prepared for battle.

Pedro Pascal plays Marcus Acacius in the film, a Roman general who trained under Russell Crowe's Maximus. Denzel Washington is also in Gladiator II. He plays an arms dealer who keeps gladiators for sport.

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Other cast members include Joseph Quinn, who shot to fame on Stranger Things, and The White Lotus star Fred Hechinger. Gladiator II was announced at this year's CinemaCon, held in April and will follow on from the 2000 blockbuster hit starring Russell Crowe.

The first film was a huge hit, earning over $460million worldwide and winning five Academy Awards, including Best Actor and Best Picture, after receiving a record 12 nominations at the time.

2024-07-09T13:43:20Z