After returning to his Alien and Blade Runner franchise in various capacities, Ridley Scott is continuing the story of his Best Picture winner Gladiator nearly a quarter-century later. Following up last year’s period epic (Napoleon) with another, Gladiator II brings together the epic cast of Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Lior Raz, Derek Jacobi, and Connie Nielsen. Ahead of a November 22 release, the first trailer has now arrived.
Set a few decades after the original film, Mescal plays Lucius, grandson of Rome’s former emperor Marcus Aurelius, who is forced into slavery by Roman soldiers led by Marcus Acacius (Pascal) and fights as a gladiator.
“There’s a lot of Sophie’s Choice going on here, where these are impossible situations that we are being forced to reckon with,” Nielsen tells Vanity Fair. “There is an authoritarian power that is parading as if it were still somehow the vestiges of a Republican government. Inside of this travesty are human beings who are caught in this gamesmanship and power. That is what I find always so interesting in Ridley’s stories. He’s really showing the effect of power on people and what happens in a place where power is unrestrained.”
Scott added, “The leadership is in total chaos. We have demagogues—that’s a good word. The people who are in charge are out of their minds, and everyone is too afraid to contradict. That’s familiar ground right now.”
Watch the trailer below.
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