First Gladiator 2 Pics Show Paul Mescal And Pedro Pascal Duke It Out

It’s July 1, folks. You know what that means? Pride Month is over and all the corporations who told us we were welcome to spend our money at their businesses are about to fold up their rainbow flags and forget about the gays and theys until next year. But fear not, we have one buffer to cushion the fall as the country drops us down a chasm of despair: Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal looking filthy and bloody in the first images from Gladiator II.

Vanity Fair has a first look at the film, which is the sequel to the 2000 Academy Award-winning film starring Russell Crowe. Original director Ridley Scott is returning to helm, with Mescal (Normal People, All of Us Strangers) set to lead the movie as Lucius Verus, last seen as a young child portrayed by Spencer Treat Clark in the original. Connie Nielsen is returning for the sequel, as well, to reprise her role as Lucilla, Lucius’ mother. Gladiator II will take place decades after the first movie, with the two long-separated and forced to reckon with the state of their relationship. But in the time since their separation, the Roman empire—led by Pascal’s (The Last of Us, The Mandarin) character Marcus Acacius—has begun encroaching on North Africa, where Lucius has been in hiding.

All roads lead back to the gladiatorial matches, and for more on the minutiae of how Gladiator II ties into the original movie, be sure to check out Vanity Fair’s write-up. But their story and interviews also include 13 images of Mescal, Pascal, Nielsen, and other actors like Denzel Washington, playing arms dealer Macrinus. I’m iffy on if Gladiator needs a sequel when it wrapped up so well over 20 years ago, but for a chance to see Pascal and Mescal on the big screen doing hot boy shit? I will sit through most things.

Gladiator II is set to hit theaters on November 22, but the first trailer will premiere next week on July 9.

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