Gladiator will go back to the cinema after 23 years. Ridley Scott’s masterpiece will have a sequel with Paul Mescal to take up the legacy of Russell Crowe. A heavy burden, very heavy but this 26-year-old Irishman can do it, and how.
From what little has been leaked about the plot, it is known that it is set several years after the end of the first film and that the actor plays Lucius, son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) and granddaughter of Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix). General Massimo Decimo Meridio (Crowe) had saved him together with his widowed mother, only to die in the woman’s arms after defeating Commodus.
Deep, versatile and extremely talented, a few days ago Paul Mescal thus conquered the starring role in the sequel de Gladiatorwhich won five Academy Awards in 2000 after being partially filmed also in Tuscany. The scoop comes from Deadlines, which confirms the presence of Ridley Scott to direct (screenplay by David Scarpa). According to the US newspaper, Paul Mescal has always been the first choice of casting though other colleagues including Richard Madden had also been considered (Game of thrones), Timothee Chalamet (Call me by your name), Miles Teller (Top Gun: Maverick) and Austin Butler (to the fore with the biopic Elvis).
More than a bet, Paul Mescal is now a confirmation… and big ones. He achieved global success thanks to one of the most poetic series of recent years, Normal People (Lionsgate+), adaptation of the bestseller of the same name by Sally Rooney (in Italian the book is called Ordinary people and is published by Einaudi). It led to Venice Film Festival The dark daughter (now on Sky and NOW), based on the novel by Elena Ferrante (E/O Editions) and chosen as directorial debut by Maggie Gyllenhaal. And this year he landed at Cannes Film Festival with Aftersun (now on MUBI), an intimate gem on fatherhood. Also on the Croisette, together with Viola Davis and Paolo Sorrentino, he was among the guests of honor at the Kering gala evening which celebrates female empowerment with talks Women in motion.
The star role in Gladiator 2 promises the leap from indie projects to blockbusters in the Irish artist’s career. Just think that the same Russell Crowelast October in Rome for Alice in the city during the Rome Film Festivalbegan posting selfies with his family on social media in the summer at the Colosseum saying he wants to show his children his office. That particular role not only gave him the Academy Award (for which he still had two other nominations) but it opened the doors of showbusiness to him, transforming him into one of Hollywood’s super stars.
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Source: Vanity Fair
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