Twenty-four years after the original film, director Ridley Scott is bringing *Gladiator* back to cinemas with a highly anticipated sequel. Paul Mescal steps into the role of Lucius Verus, taking the spotlight from Russell Crowe’s Maximus and entering the gladiatorial arena to fight for his life before roaring crowds.
Returning alongside Scott is Connie Nielsen, reprising her role as Lucilla, a role she never expected to revisit. Reflecting on the first film, Nielsen shared, “No, I really didn’t. I saw this as a one-goer, like it was a one-off. And it was just such an amazing story.”
Discussing her return, Nielsen described her reaction to the new script. “And then I read the script and I was just like, really bowled over by the sheer story—really, really good story and plot points where I thought, ‘OK, that’s going to be amazing.’”
Oscar-winning actor Denzel Washington also joins the cast as Macrinus, a character he describes as highly resilient. “I think he is a genius in how he was able to get from literally the arena floor to the halls of whatever they were called, the Roman hierarchy. I give him a lot of credit. Now, how he got there, you know, we don’t see the half of it,” he smiled.
Washington shared that donning Roman attire helped him embrace the role fully. “That helped. All of it helped. Everything you saw looked like Rome. All the people looked like Rome. You couldn’t help but be Roman on those sets with the gear,” he said.
*Gladiator II* also features Fred Hechinger, Joseph Quinn, and Pedro Pascal. It is set to open in cinemas worldwide starting Thursday, November 14.
