Ridley Scott’s 2000 epic Gladiator is widely regarded as a nearly perfect film. Russell Crowe’s turn as Maximus was a career defining moment, and Joaquin Phoenix was phenomenal as the utterly unhinged and ambitious Commodus.
Twenty-four years later, Scott is ready for the movie’s sequel to hit theaters. Gladiator II releases on Friday, November 22, bringing the audience back into the world of ancient Rome, the Colosseum, and emperors. Paul Mescal takes over in the lead role, and the charismatic actor knows that viewers might have reservations about touching the franchise again.
“I weirdly see the reservations as a positive thing, because it means that the film has a legacy,” Mescal said in a recent interview with For The Win. “I’m biased, but I think from what we’ve experienced from the first kind of reviews is that people who did go in with a kind of reservation, a lot of those people were brave enough to say, ‘Hey, I went in with these reservations,’ but the film has has really, really worked on them.”
With a “Certified Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it appears as though the sequel is connecting with fans. With high-octane action and outstanding performances from Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal, it’s easy to see why. Still, Mescal wants fans to still keep the skepticism going into the movie.
“So anybody who has reservations, hold on to them, do whatever, but I can hopefully assure you that within the first three or four minutes of the film that you’ll be put at ease.”
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