Gladiator 2 first look sees Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal lock swords, with an unrecognizable Joseph Quinn as a sadistic emperor

The first official look at Gladiator 2 is here, and it looks brutal. A selection of new images have been released of the sequels bloodthirsty cast, led by Paul Mescal’s Lucius. 

The Vanity Fair stills taken from Ridley Scott’s long-awaited sequel can be seen below, and they feature Connie Nielsen back as Lucilla, Denzel Washington as Macrinus, Fred Hechinger as Emperor Caracalla, Joseph Quinn as Emperor Geta, and Pedro Pascal as Marcus Acacius.

The movie, which acts as a follow-up to 2000’s Gladiator, is due out in November. Before now, plot details on the film had been very scarce, but the storyline is now set. Per the publication, the new movie picks up decades on from the original as Lucius has come of age far from his mother in Numidia. 

We meet Mescal as a husband and a father before his past comes to the forefront as conquerors encroach on his home. Pascal’s character leads the charge of Roman generals on Numidia, as a fighter said to have trained with Crowe’s Maximus. Meanwhile, in Rome, rule has fallen to two sadistic brothers, played by Quinn and Hechinger.

Speaking to Vanity Fair, Mescal gives a new insight into his character, and his relationship with Rome. “He wants nothing to do with the image of Rome. He wants nothing to do with it other than to tear it apart initially,” Mescal says. “The Romans were some savage, savage individuals. They would go from continent to continent and just destroy communities and nations. The film doesn’t shy away from the kind of brutality of that, and the emperors at the center of it, and this kind of corrupted power that he can see through.” 

Gladiator 2 is released on November 15 in the UK and later in the United States and Canada on November 22. For more upcoming movies, check out our guide to 2024 movie release dates.