A whopping 24 years after Sir Ridley Scott’s Roman epic Gladiator was first released in 2000 and instantly became a huge hit, a sequel is officially on the way this year

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However, despite rumours swirling about a possible return, Russell Crowe will not be back for Paramount Pictures’ Gladiator 2.

The original Gladiator was a massive hit at the box office, grossing $457 million worldwide receiving nominations for 11 Oscars, winning for Best Picture and Best Actor (Crowe).

The first movie follows Maximus (Crowe), a legatus who was forced to become a slave after he was betrayed by Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), a power-crazed emperor behind the deaths of Maximus’s wife and child.

Fuelled by rage and grief, Maximum rose through the Colosseum’s gladiatorial contests, before emerging victorious against Commodus in a duel but succumbing to his injuries.

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Sir Ridley Scott returns to direct the new film which will arrive later this year.

But who will star in the sequel and what could it be about? Read on for everything you need to know.

Gladiator 2 release date

Gladiator 2 will be released in cinemas on 22nd November 2024.

Filming began on the sequel in May 2023 and wrapped in January 2024. Filming took place in Morocco, Malta and the United Kingdom.

Due to the SAG-AFRA strike, filming was suspended from July 2023 until December 2023 when filming resumed.

Speaking on The Graham Norton Show in January 2024, Paul Mescal said: "I finished filming yesterday and survived. It’s done. I am not allowed to say anything, but it will be out at thanksgiving this year."

Gladiator 2 cast

The following cast members have been confirmed for Gladiator 2.

  • Paul Mescal as Lucius Verus
  • Denzel Washington
  • Connie Nielsen as Lucilla
  • May Calamawy
  • Derek Jacobi as Senator Gracchus
  • Joseph Quinn as Emperor Caracalla
  • Fred Hechinger as Emperor Geta
  • Pedro Pascal
  • Lior Raz
  • Peter Mensah
  • Matt Lucas

Normal People star Paul Mescal has been cast as Lucius Verus, the son of Lucilla who was played by Spencer Treat Clark in the original film as a child.

Meanwhile, Connie Nielsen will reprise her role as the late Emperor Commodus's sister Lucilla, while Derek Jacobi returns as elder statesman Senator Gracchus.

Connie Nielsen as Lucilla in Gladiator, staring to the camera over her shoulder which is draped in silken robes.
Connie Nielsen as Lucilla in Gladiator. Getty Images

Oscar-winner Denzel Washington has been cast as a former slave who has become a wealthy arm and commodity dealer but holds a grudge against the Emperors.

Stranger Things star Joseph Quinn has been cast in the role of the historical tyrannical emperor named Caracalla, while The White Lotus actor Fred Hechinger will portray his co-emperor and brother Geta.

May Calamawy (Moon Knight), Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us, The Mandalorian, Game of Thrones), Lior Raz (Fauda), Peter Mensah (Spartacus: Blood and Sand), and Matt Lucas (Little Britain, Wonka), round out the cast in undisclosed roles.

Gladiator 2 plot

The film will centre on the character Lucius Verus as an adult 15 years following the events of the first film where he was saved by Maximus (Russell Crowe) from his evil uncle Emperor Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix).

Director Ridley Scott has revealed to Rotten Tomatoes that Lucius has been living "in the wilderness" and in a rural setting away from his imperial lineage, leading his mother Lucilla to think he could be dead.

No doubt, Lucius will return to Rome at some point where no doubt his imperial lineage could put him in conflict with the new co-emperors.

What is the history behind Gladiator 2?

Geta killed by Caracalla in the arms of his mother Julia Domna (212 AD), Plate 27, engraving by Persichini from a drawing by Pinelli, from The History of the Roman Emperors from Augustus to Constantine, by Jean Baptiste Louis Crevier, 1837, Rome.
Geta is killed by Caracalla in the arms of his mother Julia Domna (212 AD), Plate 27, engraving by Persichini from a drawing by Pinelli, from The History of the Roman Emperors from Augustus to Constantine, by Jean Baptiste Louis Crevier, 1837, Rome. Icas94 / De Agostini Picture Library via Getty Images

As with the first film, Gladiator 2 is already a highly fictionalised version of history as the real Lucius Verus died as a child and his mother Lucilla was killed by her monstrous brother Commodus for plotting his assassination.

History may shine a light on some plot, however, as co-emperors and brothers Caracalla and Geta did not have a pleasant relationship.

The pair initially ruled alongside their father, Emperor Septimus Severus, who hoped that upon his death they would continue to rule side-by-side.

However, the brothers proved incapable of sharing their rule and even considered splitting the Roman Empire between them but this was prevented by their influential mother, Julia Domna.

In the end, their feud proved too great and Caracalla had Geta murdered while attending a peace meeting with their mother and the younger brother died in their mother's arms.

Following this Caracalla had 20,000 men and women either murdered or proscribed for being the followers of Geta.

The tyrant Caracalla would rule for a further six years and campaigned away from Rome with military disasters. Eventually, Caracalla was murdered by one of his soldiers in what is now modern-day Turkey.

In the aftermath, Caracalla's mother Julia Domna ended her own life.

Is there a trailer for the Gladiator sequel?

No, it's too early for a trailer yet, but keep an eye on this page.

Wondering what to watch on TV? Visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide.

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