Get ready to be entertained all over again: Ridley Scott is back in Gladiator mode with the long-awaited Gladiator II, returning to Ancient Rome with a whole new cast in tow. His latest film – following hot on the heels of Napoleon, which came hot on the heels of The Last Duel and House Of Gucci; the man’s heels are permanently hot – is rumbling towards its big-screen release at the end of the year, and while we haven’t seen a trailer yet (one screened to much applause at CinemaCon earlier in 2024), we now have the first official poster – a tantalising glimpse at new leading man Paul Mescal in the combat arena. Swords up, people.
Scott’s sequel is set several decades after the previous film (it’s no surprise, give its ending, that Russell Crowe is not returning), and centres on Mescal’s Lucius Verus, grandson of former Emperor Marcus Aurelius, who is forced into slavery and seeks to follow in Maximus’ footsteps to become a renowned gladiator. As we know, he’ll be facing off in the arena with Pedro Pascal’s Marcus Acacius. Also in the cast are Denzel Washington, Connie Nielsen, Derek Jacobi, Joseph Quinn, and Fred Hechinger.
The countdown is on, then, for the trailer to finally arrive – hopefully, it teases a sequel that can live up to Scott’s beloved original (or, at least, the hit BBC gameshow Gladiators). We’ll find out if that’s the case when it hits UK cinemas on 15 November – a week before its US release on 22 November.