Paul Mescal Kissed Pedro Pascal’s Forehead in Cut Gladiator II Scene

Gladiator II fans were robbed of a sweet moment between Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal and Us Weekly needs Sir Ridley Scott to release the tapes immediately.

Mescal, 28, recently sat down with the film’s director, the 86-year-old Scott, for a chat with CinemaBlend and the interviewer brought up a scene that had been cut from the movie. Mescal apparently kissed Pescal, 49, on the forehead during one take — but it has yet to see the light of day.

“What happened was, I didn’t tell Rid I was going to do it and then I was nervous after we did it,” Mescal admitted, referring to Scott. “I thought he was going to f—ing hate it. So, I nervously go over to the radio being like, ‘Ridley did you like the kiss on the forehead?’”

The Normal People alum continued, “There was this kind of, like, [static], ‘I’m afraid I did.’ So, I don’t know where it got lost in the edit, but I trust this man entirely with how he cuts his films.”

Related: Us Explains Denzel Washington’s Drama With This ‘Gladiator II’ Kiss

Paramount Pictures/YouTube Thinking about the Roman Empire? Us too — thanks Denzel Washington! Paul Mescal stars as Lucius in the followup to 2000’s Gladiator. He becomes a gladiator and competes in the Colosseum under the training of Macrinus (Washington). It’s important to note that Pedro Pascal also appears in the film as Marcus Acacius, who […]

Scott was laughing as Mescal retold the story before chiming it.

“It could have been — I can’t remember,” Scott said. Mescal joked that it’ll be in the “director’s cut” of Gladiator II.

Mescal stars as Lucius in the sequel to 2000’s Gladiator, which is currently in theaters. Pescal plays the role of Marcus Acacius, the film’s main antagonist. Yes, Mescal and Pescal fight to the (almost) death during the movie’s climax.

Believe it or not, this admission from Mescal about his forehead kiss is hardly the only smooch from this movie that’s become the internet’s Roman Empire.

Late last month, Denzel Washington, who stars as Macrinus in the movie, revealed that he “kissed a man in the film” but it had been cut out of the final version.

“I think they got chicken,” Washington claimed during an October interview with Gayety. “I kissed a guy full on the lips and I guess they weren’t ready for that yet. I killed him about five minutes later. It’s Gladiator. It’s the kiss of death.”

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Ridley Scott‘s Gladiator sequel has been in development for years, and the film is finally coming together — and to theaters soon — with an A-list cast. Scott directed the 2000 historical drama starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Oliver Reed and more. The film was a hit at the box office and took home five […]

Scott, however, has since denied Washington’s statement.

“No, that’s b——t. It was a senator. They never did,” he told Variety at the movie’s Los Angeles premiere on November 18. “They acted the moment, and [it] didn’t happen.”

During the same premiere, Washington walked back on his initial comment.

“It really is much ado about nothing,” he said. “They’re making more of it than it was. I kissed him on his hands, I gave him a peck and I killed him.”