Ridley Scott casts Paul Mescal in GLADIATOR 2 as Lucius if(typeof ez_ad_units != ‘undefined’){ez_ad_units.push([[728,90],’geektyrant_com-box-3′,’ezslot_18′,112,’0′,’0′])};__ez_fad_position(‘div-gpt-ad-geektyrant_com-box-3-0’);

Director Ridley Scott is actually making a sequel to his 2000 blockbuster Gladiator and now he’s throwing it! Paul Mescal will take the lead role in the film. Mescal plays the role of Lucius, the son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), and grandson of Commodus (Joaquin Fenice), son of the Roman leader Marcus Aurelius, who killed his father and took the throne.

Russell Crowe’s Maximus saved Lucius and Lucilla while avenging his own family and Lucius admired and idolized him. Massimo certainly made a strong impression on Lucio.

When previously discussing making a Gladiator sequel, Scott said, “You can’t just do another Gladiator-type film. You have to follow through … there are enough components of the first one to pick up the ball and continue it.”

The director spoke about the enduring appeal of Gladiator and why he initially came aboard the film: “First of all, I love making period films. I love research. I love creating sort of period smells. I think what we did with the first gladiator.. i don’t like to be critical of other things that came before but honestly i wasn’t a big fan of roman epics in hollywood. one script, the script was not very good. but the person who gave it to me said, I want to show you something”.

It was that one thing that sold Scott on the project. That “one thing” was an artwork created by Gérôme entitled “For those who are about to die”. When talking about it, Scott said, “It’s a picture of this big painting of the Colosseum, and in the corner is this guy, who’s about to fork this poor bastard’s tuna. He’s got this thing in his neck and he’s looking in high for permission to kill. I went, goddamn, it’s never been done right before. Never. I said, I’ll do it. He said will you? I said yes. Did you want to read the script? I said no, and we took off and went ashore running around the table, and developed the new material.”

Deadline also shares some insight into Mescal’s casting, reporting, “The meetings with Scott for the role started to heat up once a final draft was delivered in November, with Mescal being one of the first to sit down with the director. Though Scott continued to meet other talent, insiders say it seemed clear to all involved that Mescal was clearly Scott’s first choice after a fantastic match between the two.

I wasn’t seriously sure Gladiator 2 would be made, but it will and I’m curious to see how it turns out!