Date: 9th January 2023

Paul Mescal To Star For Ridley Scott In Gladiator Sequel.


Paul Mescal is in talks to star in Ridley Scott’s hotly-anticipated sequel to "Gladiator", the 2000 epic that made Russell Crowe a superstar and went on to win an Oscar for best picture.

But the film isn’t a prequel and Mescal won’t be stepping into Crowe’s toga. Mescal will play Lucius, the son of Lucilla.

David Scarpa wrote the screenplay. Paramount will produce the film. Universal, which backed the first movie along with DreamWorks, has the right to co-produce the movie once it has been set up.

The original film won both the Best Picture Oscar and the Best Film Bafta in 2001, with Scott being nominated for the Oscar and Bafta directing awards. The film went on to gross $503m worldwide.

Mescal, who broke through with limited series Normal People and was one of Screen International’s Stars of Tomorrow in 2020, is currently in awards contention for independent drama Aftersun, which has already earned him Film Independent Spirit Award and European Film Award nominations and a place on the Bafta longlist in the best actor category.

Source: Press Release