Moon Knight Star May Calamawy Joins Gladiator 2
Ridley Scott has officially begun ramping up production on his upcoming Gladiator sequel, which will star Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, and Connie Nielsen. Mescal is taking over the role of Lucius, who was originally played by Spencer Treat Clark, in the sequel, and Nielsen is returning to the role of Lucilla. Now, it has been revealed that May Calamawy (Moon Knight) has joined the cast of Gladiator 2. According to Deadline, Calamawy, Fred Hechinger, Lior Raz, Derek Jacobi, Peter Mensah, and Matt Lucas have all been cast in the upcoming sequel. Not much is known about Gladiator 2, but Barry Keoghan (The Batman, Eternals) was originally cast in Gladiator 2 as Emperor Geta and had to exit due to a scheduling conflict. Emperor Geta will now be played by Hechinger.
Is Russell Crowe in Gladiator 2?
Despite dying in Gladiator, there were previously written sequel ideas that would have seen Crowe return as an immortal Maximus. However, the actor is not expected to return to the role that earned him an Oscar back in 2001. In fact, the actor recently told Collider that he's "jealous" of the new movie's cast.
"I mean, look, the only thing that I really feel about it is slightly jealous, you know? Because I was a much younger man, obviously, and it was a huge experience in my life," Crowe explained. "It's something that changed my life, really. It changed the way people regarded me and what I do for a living, and, you know, I've been very lucky to be involved in lots of big movies, but the legs on that film are incredible. Here it is, it's 2023, and we made that film in 1999. I guarantee you, somewhere around the world tonight, Gladiator is going to be showing on primetime TV. And you don't always get that kind of longevity with every film you do, so, it obviously holds a special place in my heart."
How Did A Gladiator Sequel Get Announced?
David Scarpa's script has been the plan for this movie for a while now. Ridley Scott's Gladiator is absolutely beloved, but there wasn't much talk around a sequel until five years ago. Now, with the script being completed in the spring of 2022, all signs point to the project making that tight deadline. Scott said that the sequel would be his next feature film all the way back in 2021.
"First of all, I love doing period films. I love the research. I love to create sort of smells of the period," Scott told the press back then. "I think what we did with the first Gladiator…I don't like being critical of other things that have happened before, but I wasn't the biggest fan of Hollywood Roman epics, honestly. They felt artificial and so, when I was asked to consider a script, the script was not very good. But the person who gave it to me said, I want to show you one thing, and he picked up an illustration, this is true, it's called For Those About to Die by Gérôme. He holds it up. It's a picture of this big painting of the Coliseum, and in the corner there is this guy, about to tuna fork this poor bastard," Scott added. "He's got this thing in his neck, and he's looking up for permission to kill. I went, bloody hell, that's never been done properly before. Never. I said, I'll do it. He said you will? I said yes. Did you want to read the script? I said no, and we went off and hit the ground running around the table, and evolved the new material."
Gladiator 2 currently has a November 22, 2024 release date.
What do you think about May Calamawy joining the cast of Gladiator 2? Are you excited to see the sequel? Let us know in the comments below or by hitting up our writer @NateBrail on Twitter!