{"id":28283,"date":"2023-01-07T12:44:24","date_gmt":"2023-01-07T11:44:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1765271"},"modified":"2023-01-07T20:37:25","modified_gmt":"2023-01-07T19:37:25","slug":"normal-people-star-paul-mescal-to-lead-ridley-scotts-gladiator-sequel","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/normal-people-star-paul-mescal-to-lead-ridley-scotts-gladiator-sequel\/","title":{"rendered":"Normal People star Paul Mescal to lead Ridley Scott\u2019s Gladiator sequel"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By David Craig\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Saturday, 07 January 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Paul Mescal is set to star in the long-awaited Gladiator sequel from director Ridley Scott, which will continue the story of the 2000 historical epic that turned Russell Crowe into a household name.<\/p>\n

The actor, who burst onto the scene in BBC Three\u2019s Normal People<\/a>, will play an adult version of Lucius \u2013 son of Connie Nielsen\u2019s Lucilla \u2013 who appeared as a young boy in the first film (then played by Unbreakable\u2019s Spencer Treat Clark).<\/p>\n

Fans will remember that Crowe\u2019s Maximus, who dies in glorious battle in the original, left quite an impression on the young Lucius after saving him and his mother from the despicable Commodore (Joaquin Phoenix).<\/p>\n

Now, it appears the character will be following in his footsteps, entering the gladiatorial arena to fight his own battles in a sequel that reunites celebrated filmmaker Scott with costume designer Janty Yates and production designer Arthur Max.<\/p>

Deadline<\/a> first reported news that Mescal was in final negotiations to star in the film, with Scott viewing him as the clear standout after having reportedly met with numerous other actors.<\/p>\n

The Irish actor has been choosing his projects carefully since becoming an overnight superstar during the pandemic, with follow-up projects including The Lost Daughter<\/a> and Aftersun, the latter of which is featured on the BAFTA 2023 longlist<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The script for Gladiator 2 has been written by David Scarpa, who has previously worked with Scott on his 2017 thriller All The Money in the World and his upcoming war flick Napoleon.<\/p>\n

It is unclear at this stage whether Crowe\u2019s Maximus will feature in any capacity, with Scott previously saying he had ideas to bring the character back despite his apparent death in the first film.<\/p>\n

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Russell Crowe stars in Gladiator (2000)<\/span><\/figcaption> SEAC<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

\u201cI know how to bring him back,\u201d he told Entertainment Weekly (via Yahoo! Movies<\/a>). \u201cI was having this talk with the studio \u2013 \u2018but he\u2019s dead.\u2019 But there is a way of bringing him back.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether it will happen I don\u2019t know. Gladiator was 2000, so Russell\u2019s changed a little bit. He\u2019s doing something right now but I\u2019m trying to get him back down here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mescal and Scott have a big challenge ahead in terms of matching the first film, which made almost half a billion dollars at the global box office and racked up a stunning 12 Academy Award nominations, winning five including Best Picture.<\/p>