Gladiator 2 announces trailer release date with new photos

Gladiator 2, the sequel to Ridley Scott's 2000 film, is one of the most anticipated movies of 2024. As per exclusive report from Vanity Fair on July 1, the first trailer will be released on July 9, 2024, showcasing action scenes. First-look photos from Vanity Fair show Pedro Pascal and Paul Mescal ready for battle.

The newly released pictures have teased the first look of Lucius Verus played by Paul Mescal, Marcus Acacius played by Pedro Pascal, and Macrinus played by Denzel Washington. The trailer for Gladiator 2 will provide a closer look at the characters teased through the new set of pictures.

---

What do we know about Gladiator 2 till now?

As per reports, Gladiator 2 picks up the story almost 15 years after the events of the first film. Ridley Scott's Gladiator saw Russell Crowe's Maximus sacrifice his life for the sake of disrupting the corrupt leadership of the society at the time.

The upcoming sequel follows his son, Lucius Verus (Paul Mescal) who was sent to Numidia on the Northern coast of Africa in the first film. The young Lucius (played by Spencer Clark in Gladiator) has grown up in the wilderness with a lot of resentment. Connie Nelson will reprise her role as Lucilla (Maximus' wife), as teased by the first look pictures.

The film reportedly reunites Lucilla and Lucius in a very unsuspecting manner, which provides an extra twist to the plot.

As per Ridley Scott, the character of Lucius was living a peaceful life until the Roman empire came knocking at the door of Northern Africa where he resides. In an exclusive interview with Vanity Fair, Ridley Scott stated the following about Mescal's character—

“He’s taken root in a seacoast town in Numidia. He’s a blue-eyed, fair-skinned man with red hair, and he couldn’t be more different from the inhabitants. It’s one of the last surviving civilizations, as the Romans begin to descend in North Africa and take it all over.”

The conquest to capture Numidia was led by none other than Pedro Pascal's Marcus Acacius, a Roman general trained under Lucius' father Maximus. A scenic battle between Pascal's character and Paul Mescal's character was already teased in Paramount's slate presentation at CineEurope in Barcelona earlier this year. A first-look picture released today provides the first glimpse at the highly discussed battle sequence.

The film features some other interesting characters such as Denzel Washington's Macrinus, who is a wealthy powerbroking arms dealer, and a former slave. Fred Hechinger plays Emperor Caracalla, who co-rules Rome with his brother Emperor Gata (played by Joseph Quinn).

---

Stay tuned for the release of the first trailer of Gladiator 2 on July 9, 2024. The film is scheduled to be released in theaters on November 22, 2024.