Actor Pedro Pascal is best known for his starring roles in the series The Mandalorian and The Last of Us, and next up, he is taking on another major franchise with the sequel to the 2000 film, Gladiator. In Gladiator 2, the story centers on Lucius, the son of Lucilla and nephew of Commodus, the son of Roman leader Marcus Aurelius who murdered his father and seized the throne. Commodus met his downfall in the gladiator ring against Maximus, who despite being mortally wounded, took down the emperor before passing on to reunite with his family. Maximus had saved Lucius and his mother, leaving a lasting impact on the young boy.
Pascal is joined in the film by Paul Mescal as Lucius, Denzel Washington, Connie Nielsen back in the role of Lucilla, Fred Hechinger will play Emperor Geta, and Joseph Quinn will play Emperor Caracalla. They are joined by May Calamawy, Lior Raz, Derek Jacobi, Peter Mensah and Matt Lucas.
Pascal’s other projects have also been big productions in size and scale, but he says director Ridley Scott’s sequel is unique, telling Vanity Fair:
“I’ve been a part of big sets where the identity of the project, in a sense, is its size—and still, I have not been on a set as impressive as Gladiator’s. [Director] Ridley [Scott] leaves very little to the imagination in the most old-fashioned sense. All the players and pieces are there on the day, and suddenly the expected challenge of believing yourself as a powerful person in the era of the Roman Empire is evaporated.”
It sounds like Pascal is getting an awesome new experience as an actor, which is no surprise on the set of a Ridley Scott film. Gladiator 2 is set to be released on November 22, 2024.
