Gladiator II Star Joseph Quinn Breaks Down His Set Experience

UPDATE: It has since been confirmed that Joseph Quinn plays Emperor Geta in Gladiator II and that Fred Hechinger plays Emperor Caracalla. Barry Koeghan does not appear in the movie. Original story reads below.

Joseph Quinn, the star of Stranger Things and Fantastic Four, recently opened up about the experience of working on Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II. The movie stars Paul Mescal as the son of Connie Nielsen’s Lucilla and nephew of Joaquin Phoenix’s Commodus from the original film. Quinn plays the new emperor, stepping into the footsteps of Phoenix (and even giving the iconic thumbs-down in teaser footage seen at CinemaCon earlier this month). Speaking about the movie — and the wild trajectory of his current career — Quinn said that while everyone on set could feel the specter of the original movie hanging over them, they tried not to get too hung up in it, saying that he didn’t really think about following up on Phoenix’s performance.

He also praised original Gladiator star Connie Nielsen, saying that she was key to keeping the young cast focused.

“We all were very aware of the legacy of the first film,” Quinn told Entertainment Weekly. “So many people get misty-eyed about it. So going anywhere near it again felt a little scary.” 

Quinn told the magazine that he was particularly impressed by the scale of the production. 

“It’s bonkers, it’s nuts,” he said. “That’s the thing with working on a film like that, it changes your perspective on things. The fact that on a film of that scale, they built ancient Rome in Malta and to bear witness to that is truly awesome.”

He added that Connie Nielsen took it upon herself “to show us how to behave in the Colosseum,” adding, “I was very nervous about it, and she was a very calming presence. She’s a wonderful woman.”

Quinn will star in the sequel opposite Mescal. Mescal, best known for his role in Normal People, was tapped to head up the sequel last February, with Scott set to return to direct from a script by David Scarpa. It has been about five years since serious reports about a sequel to Ridley Scott’s Gladiator started to circulate, with the script being finished last spring.

Koeghan will play Emperor Geta, which was was the name of an actual Roman emperor, but like the first film, the sequel is not based on a true story. Russell Crowe, who headlined the original, will not come back, since his character died at the end of the film. Mescal will be playing Lucius, the son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen). Now a grown man, Lucius has grown up with admiration for Maximus (Crowe’s character), who saved him and his mother.

“I didn’t know what to expect when the story started up, and in hindsight, it was almost inevitable — of course we had to tell that story,” Nielsen told ComicBook.com recently. “It was incredible — Ridley has put together an incredible cast as always, and a magnificent spectacle that is rooted in real heart. As always with him, you have to use superlatives.”

Scott is set to direct and produce the film, along with Scott Free President Michael Pruss, and Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher from Red Wagon Entertainment. Also returning from the original film are Janty Yates (Costume Designer) and Arthur Max (Production Designer).