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The first images from the highly anticipated Gladiator 2 have arrived, and they are stunning. The images from the Ridley Scott-directed movie show star Paul Mescal looking shredded as he prepares for battle in a variety of settings. One of the most incredible photos shows Mescal going toe-to-toe with Pedro Pascal’s character in what looks to be a battle to the death.
The photos were posted by Vanity Fair, and you can see snapshots below. But be sure to visit the site for the full high-res images and other key details.
Mescal plays Lucius in Gladiator 2. You might remember him as the little boy who stood in shock and awe as he witnessed the events of Russell Crowe’s Maximus dying in the middle of the Colosseum. He is the son of Lucilla, who is set to come back in the sequel, too, with Connie Nielsen reprising her role. The movie also stars Denzel Washington and Joseph Quinn.
Scott told Vanity Fair that he was quickly impressed with Mescal, and didn’t even ask him to do a screen test for the role. Mescal said the fact that he played Gaelic football growing up was possibly “something that helped” convince Scott to cast him. “I’m used to being physical in my body,” he said.
Gladiator II takes place decades after the first movie, with Lucius sent by his mother to the northern coast of Africa that was just outside the reach of the Roman empire. Lucius is living there with his wife and child, enjoying a peaceful life, until Roman conquerors come and uproot his life.
Pascal plays Marcus Acacius, a Roman general who is leading the efforts to expand Rome’s empire. Acacius trained under Russell Crowe’s character Maximus from the original movie, but the character did not appear in the first film.
Lucius is captured and sent to Rome as a prisoner and directed to fight in the arena. Lucilla is now in love with Acacius, the man who captured Lucius, but Lucilla does not recognize her own son or understand the hell that her new lover put her son through.
Ultimately, Lucius and Acacius meet in the Colosseum in a fight to the death, as seen in one of the images above. “Rome represents all the personal neglect that he felt as a child. Suddenly he’s thrust back into that world and has direct proximity to all of the things that he thinks he hates and doesn’t feel attached to anymore,” Mescal said.
Mescal said Gladiator II is about “what human beings will do to survive, but also what human beings will do to win.”
The full Vanity Fair story offers tons more information and insight into Gladiator 2. The movie releases in theaters on November 22.
