Gladiator 2: Release date, plot, trailer news and updates

A second trailer for the movie was recently unveiled, teasing epic action sequences involving shark-infested waters and man-eating monkeys (scroll down to the trailer section to see it).

The footage also revealed a secret plot detail, as Mescal’s Lucius is shown discovering that his father is not Lucius Verus I, as he had been led to believe, but rather that he is the son of Maximus.

The original Gladiator was a massive hit at the box office, grossing $457 million worldwide receiving nominations for 11 Oscars, winning for Best Picture and Best Actor (Crowe).

It followed Crowe's Maximus, a legatus who was forced to become a slave after he was betrayed by Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), a power-crazed emperor behind the deaths of Maximus’s wife and child.

Fuelled by rage and grief, Maximus rose through the Colosseum’s gladiatorial contests, before emerging victorious against Commodus in a duel but succumbing to his injuries.

Sir Ridley Scott returns to direct the new film, but when exactly can we expect the film and what is Gladiator II about? Read on for everything you need to know.

Gladiator 2 release date

Gladiator II will be released in cinemas on 22nd November 2024 in the UK.

Filming began on the sequel in May 2023 and wrapped in January 2024. Filming took place in Morocco, Malta and the United Kingdom.

Due to the SAG-AFRA strike, filming was suspended from July 2023 until December 2023 when filming resumed.

Speaking on The Graham Norton Show in January 2024, Paul Mescal said: "I finished filming yesterday and survived. It’s done. I am not allowed to say anything, but it will be out at thanksgiving this year."

Gladiator 2 first reactions: What do reviews say?

The film premiered in Los Angeles on Friday 18th October at a screening introduced by lead star, Paul Mescal, and received an overwhelmingly positive response.

The Wrap’s Drew Taylor said: “Gladiator II is the kind of large scale filmmaking excellence only Ridley Scott could corral,” adding: “Everything about it just works.”

Matt Ramos said: “Gladiator II isn’t just arguably the best film of the year, it’s one of the best of all-time. It’s one of those films that will reinvigorate your love for cinema. It defies expectations, the performances are outstanding (denzel just locked in another Oscar).”

But does Gladiator II live up to the original?

There were varying opinions on this, with journalist Scott Mantz saying the film is “an epic worthy of its predecessor”.

Discussing Film’s Andrew J Salazar disagreed, however, and said the movie is "largely uneven and lacks the emotional punch” of the original.

Who stars in Gladiator 2?

The following people star in the cast of Gladiator 2.

• Paul Mescal as Lucius Verus
• Pedro Pascal as Marcus Acacius
• Connie Nielsen as Lucilla
• Denzel Washington as Macrinus
• Joseph Quinn as Emperor Geta
• Fred Hechinger as Emperor Caracalla
• Sir Derek Jacobi as Senator Gracchus
• May Calamawy
• Lior Raz
• Peter Mensah
• Matt Lucas

Crowe won't be appearing in the sequel following the death of his character in the first film, and previously opened up about feeling “uncomfortable” with Gladiator 2.

"I’m slightly uncomfortable with the fact they’re making another one because, of course, I’m dead and I have no say in what gets done," he told Kyle Meredith in an interview.

"But a couple of the things I’ve heard I’m like: 'No, no, no, that’s not in the moral journey of that particular character.' But I can’t say anything, it’s not my place, I’m six foot under. So we’ll see what that is like."

He added: "I reflect back: the age I was when I made that film and all the things that came after it, the doors that particular movie opened for me.

"This is just me being purely honest: there’s definitely a tinge of melancholy, a tinge of jealousy. I remember when I had tendons."

What is the plot of Gladiator 2?

The film follows Lucius Verus (Mescal) in adulthood after he was sent to live in Numidia by his mother Lucilla (Nielsen) following the end of the last film and he crafts a new life there with a wife and child.

However, the Roman Empire encroaches on his life in the form of an army led by Marcus Acacius (Pascal) which decimates Numidia and sees Lucius brought back to Rome as a prisoner of war and forced into the gladiatorial arena where he recognises his mother in the royal box – and she thought he was dead.

What is the history behind Gladiator 2?

As with the first film, Gladiator 2 is already a highly fictionalised version of history as the real Lucius Verus died as a child and his mother Lucilla was killed by her monstrous brother Commodus for plotting his assassination.

History may shine a light on some plot, however, as co-emperors and brothers Caracalla and Geta did not have a pleasant relationship.

The pair initially ruled alongside their father, Emperor Septimus Severus, who hoped that upon his death they would continue to rule side-by-side.

However, the brothers proved incapable of sharing their rule and even considered splitting the Roman Empire between them but this was prevented by their influential mother, Julia Domna.

In the end, their feud proved too great and Caracalla had Geta murdered while attending a peace meeting with their mother and the younger brother died in their mother's arms.

Following this Caracalla had 20,000 men and women either murdered or proscribed for being the followers of Geta.

The tyrant Caracalla would rule for a further six years and campaigned away from Rome with military disasters. Eventually, Caracalla was murdered by one of his soldiers in what is now modern-day Turkey.

In the aftermath, Caracalla's mother Julia Domna ended her own life.

Is there a trailer for the Gladiator sequel?

A second trailer has been unveiled. Watch below:

The first trailer was released on Tuesday 9th July 2024.

Catch the video above, which shows the characters off in all their glory.

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