When the first trailer for Gladiator II dropped in early July, it racked up more than 180 million views in its first 48 hours, so clearly there’s an audience for Ridley Scott’s long-awaited sequel to his 2000 blockbuster Gladiator. And no wonder; as I noted at the time, the film “promises to be just as much of a visual feast, as a new crop of power players (plus a couple of familiar faces) clash over the future of Rome.” We’ve now got a shiny new trailer, and I stand by that initial assessment—especially since this trailer confirms what had previously been hinted about the protagonist’s biological father.

(Some spoilers for Gladiator below.)

Gladiator II centers around Lucius Verus (Paul Mescal), son of Lucilla and former heir to the Roman Empire, given that his father (also named Lucius Verus) was once a co-emperor of Rome. Lucius hasn’t been seen in Rome for 15 years. Instead, he has been living in a small coastal town in Numidia with his wife and child. Like Maximus before him, he is captured by the Roman army and forced to become a gladiator after the death of his family. Per the official premise:

Gladiator II continues the epic saga of power, intrigue, and vengeance set in Ancient Rome. Years after witnessing the death of the revered hero Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors who now lead Rome with an iron fist. With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, Lucius must look to his past to find strength and honor to return the glory of Rome to its people.

Pedro Pascal plays Marcus Acacius, a Roman general who trained under Maximus, tasked with conquering North Africa. Although the young Lucius once idolized Maximus, Marcus Acacius apparently will be a symbol of everything Lucius hates. Connie Nielsen reprises her Gladiator role as Lucilla, who does not recognize her son when she first sees him fighting in the arena as a gladiator. But she figures it out, since we see her urge Lucius to “take your father’s strength. His name was Maximus, and I see him in you.”

Derek Jacobi also returns as Senator Gracchus, who is opposed to growing corruption in the Roman court. Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger play young co-emperors Geta and Caracalla. Denzel Washington rounds out the cast as Macrinus, an arms dealer who keeps a stable of gladiators. Tim McInnerny plays Thraex, Alexander Karim plays Ravi, and Rory McCann plays Tegula.

Gladiator II hits theaters on November 22, 2024, in the US. Internationally, it will premiere on November 15, 2024. Scott recently said that he is already developing a third film, Gladiator III, which would also star Mescal as Lucius. So we already know Lucius will survive, which might be why Scott has compared the ending of this film to The Godfather: Part II (1974).

Listing image by YouTube/Paramount Pictures

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