When will Gladiator 2 release? Cast details and more explored

After more than two decades, we finally have a solid development on Gladiator 2. This update includes the release date, leading man, a possible plot, director, and crew. Paramount will bankroll the sequel to the quintuple-Academy Award-winning movie, Deadline reports.

The publication added that Ridley Scott, who helmed the original, will once again grace the director’s chair for part two. He will also produce the feature with Michael Pruss, Doug Wick & Lucy Fisher via Scott Free Productions and Red Wagon Entertainment.

The release date of Gladiator 2 has been set for November 22, 2024.

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Whether Chris Hemsworth is leading Gladiator 2, and other such details

Recalling in April 2021, Chris Hemsworth expressed his wish for Gladiator 2 and approached the lead man of the original, Russell Crowe, with a plan. The Australian star proposed to co-produce so that the film gets made.

While shooting for Thor: Love and Thunder in 2021, the actor mused over the proposal, with Crowe reportedly wanting Hemsworth to play his son in the sequel. While Deadline and no other news outlet have mentioned Hemsworth’s involvement in the project, Crowe emphasized last month that he wouldn’t be returning in any capacity.

So has Gladiator 2 got its lead? The answer is a resounding yes! Paul Mescal, known for his work in Normal People (2020), is reportedly in the final talks to lead the project. The 27-year-old Irish actor has received a BAFTA TV Award and a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for his work in the Hulu miniseries. Reports state that Mescal was Scott’s top choice all along.

Paul Mescal (right) will play a grown-up Lucius Verus in Gladiator 2, which was portrayed by Spencer Treat Clark in the original. (Photo via IMDb/Sportskeeda)

As for the possible plot, Gladiator 2 will focus on Lucilla’s (Connie Nielsen) son, Lucius Verus (Mescal), now a grown-up man, and his emperorship. In the 2000 release, it was shown that Spencer Treat Clark’s Lucius idolizes Maximus Decimus Meridius (Crowe). While avenging the deaths of his wife and son, Maximus saved him and his mother, leaving a lasting impression on young Lucius.

Deadline stated that Gladiator production designer Arthur Max and costume designer Janty Yates would join for part two. Notably, Yates grabbed an Oscar, and Max was nominated at the 73rd Academy Awards.

Ridley Scott’s frequent collaborator, David Scarpa, best known for his screenplay of The Last Castle, the 2008 remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still, and All the Money in the World has been roped in to pen the story and screenplay of the sequel.

No details about the production have been shared yet, so we don’t know when the trailer will arrive. But since Gladiator was released a year after its production commenced, we can hope to get promotional material for the sequel early next year.

So anyone who believes Gladiator 2 was canceled can now breathe a sigh of relief.

Separately, Scott is awaiting the release of his next directorial, Napoleon. Starring his Gladiator antagonist Joaquin Phoenix in the titular role, the film is slated to hit Apple TV+. Vanessa Kirby as Empress Joséphine, Tahar Rahim as Paul Barras, and Ben Miles as Coulancourt, among others, round up the cast.