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Paramount Pictures on Monday debuted the first poster for Ridley Scott‘s Gladiator II, slated for release on November 22, which sees Paul Mescal prepare for battle. Check out the image below.
In the film following up Scott’s classic historical epic from 2000, which won five Oscars from 11 nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Russell Crowe, Mescal plays Lucius, son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) — the second daughter of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius — who now is a grown man in a story taking place years after the first film ended. As you’ll recall, Lucius is also the nephew of Marcus’s son Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), who murdered his father in order to seize the throne.
In Gladiator, Commodus wound up in the gladiator ring with Maximus — who, though mortally wounded, skewered the emperor before fading into the great beyond to reunite with his slain wife and son. Maximus saved the boy and his mother while avenging his own family, and left a strong impression on the young Lucius.
David Scarpa scripted the long-anticipated sequel from his and Peter Craig’s story, which is based on characters created by David Franzoni. Pic’s starry ensemble also includes Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Lior Raz, Derek Jacobi, Nielsen and Denzel Washington.
Douglas Wick, Scott, Lucy Fisher, Michael Pruss and David Franzoni produced, with Walter Parkes, Laurie MacDonald, Raymond Kirk and Aidan Elliott serving as executive producers.
Gladiator II is set to open against the first chapter of Universal Pictures’ Wicked, along with the Angel Studios drama Bonhoeffer. Most recently releasing A Quiet Place: Day One, which has thus far grossed over $178 million globally, and the John Krasinski-directed IF, Paramount’s slate for the rest of the year also includes Transformers One on September 20, horror sequel Smile 2 on October 18, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 on December 20, and the Robbie Williams drama Better Man on December 25.
