Everybody — stop what you’re doing and watch the Gladiator II trailer that Paramount dropped earlier on Tuesday (July 9). Why? Well, because Ridley Scott is cooking up another spectacle for audiences this fall, and it looks fucking insane.
Sure, Russell Crowe’s not around in this one (hard to bring him back from the dead unless you’re working with the Roman gods and all that), but we’ve got Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington to fill the void he left. The production design looks as incredible as it always does in a Scott picture, and, of course, we’ve got plenty of badass action briefly glimpsed here. We’re just so ready to revisit Scott’s interpretation of Rome, even if it might be a little different than what you remember.
Peep it:
Here’s a synopsis:
“From legendary director Ridley Scott, ‘Gladiator II’ continues the epic saga of power, intrigue, and vengeance set in Ancient Rome. Years after witnessing the death of the revered hero Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius (Mescal) is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors who now lead Rome with an iron fist. With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, Lucius must look to his past to find strength and honor to return the glory of Rome to its people.”
Gladiator II hits theaters on November 22. Ridley really has that Thanksgiving corridor reserved, huh? Anyhow, as excited as we are for this, we’re still just weeping over what could have been if Scott had used the script that Nick Cave wrote for it back in the ’00s when folks first demanded a continuation. Seriously, just Google it, and prepare to read some of the wackiest shit you’ll wish made it to a screen near you.