Gladiator II is the sequel to Sir Ridley Scott’s award-winning film Gladiator, starring Russell Crowe. Twenty-four years later, Scott returns to direct the sequel, with Paul Mescal starring as Lucius, alongside Denzel Washington as Macrinus and Joseph Quinn as the villainous Emperor Geta. Connie Neilsen also returns to reprise the role of Lucilla.
The epic return to the Roman Empire is already on track to become a box office hit. Projections for opening weekend range from $60 million to $80 million, and that’s just domestically. Director Sir Ridley Scott has stated that he has plans to Gladiator 3. About that, Gladiator II will be released in US theaters on November 22nd.
Screen speech interviewed stars Connie Nielsen and Peter Mensah, cinematographer John Mathieson and composer Harry Gregson-Williams at the Los Angeles red carpet premiere of Gladiator II. They each revealed what it’s like working with director Sir Ridley Scott and how they drew on personal experiences to create their characters, while Top Gun: Maverick actor Greg Tarzan Davis came as a fan of the franchise and shared stories from his own filmography.
Connie Nielsen brought her own life experiences to Gladiator II
“You bring the truth wherever it comes from.”
Screen Rant: Did you draw on your own experiences to create the mother-son relationship with Lucius?
Connie Nielsen: It would be hard not to, right? You bring the truth wherever it comes from. But it’s also the situation Ridley put me in. I can’t even imagine having to make such an incredible sacrifice as a mother. Having to give up your son to save his life. That was painful in itself. Whether you are a mother or not, this is a very painful choice to make.
Source: Rant Plus Screen
Gladiator II’s Peter Mensah knows you need to “be on your game” when working with Ridley Scott
“He knows every frame, every angle, and you can’t cheat. You have to work.”
Screen Rant: What was your first day on set like?
Peter Mensah: I’ll tell you now, it was, let’s say, breathtaking. It’s a phenomenal set. Castle, 400 extras, animals and then a fight. It was a lot.
Screen Rant: What was it like working with Sir Ridley Scott?
Peter Mensah: He did his own storyboards. He knows every frame, every angle, and you can’t cheat. You have to go to work. You have to be on your game. But honestly, it was a great experience.
Source: Rant Plus Screen
Gladiator II Cinematographer John Mathieson Can’t Expect Audiences to See the Marines Fight
“When you watch the Royal Box, the Emperors think: this is fantastic.”
Screen Rant: What are you most excited for audiences to see in Gladiator II?
John Mathieson: The Marines fight in the Coliseum when they flood it. It’s colorful. It’s decadent. It’s exaggerated. It’s Vegas. That’s all that’s happening. There is a lot to see. It’s simply beautiful. It’s a really fun thing. They are massacring each other at the same time. When you watch Royal Box, Emperors think: this is fantastic. And so that kind of distorts it a little bit. I think that, for me, is not necessarily the most important thing, but it is the most fun thing.
The fact that they could actually do this 2,000 years ago, flood that place. You talk to the Romans, they said, no, no, impossible. Then they went underground, found the cisterns, found the water, they could flood. And there are sharks.
Source: Rant Plus Screen
Composer Harry Gregson-Williams didn’t expect to work on Gladiator II
“I know Ridley very well, but I didn’t expect to get a call that day.”
Screen Rant: What were your inspirations for creating the soundtrack for Gladiator IIespecially because you didn’t do the music for the first film?
Harry Gregson-Williams: Whenever I get a call from Ridley Scott, that’s special. We made some films together. In the time of COVID, The Last Duel and The House of Gucci, which are very different. And before that, The Martian and a few others. I know Ridley very well, but I didn’t expect to get a call that day.
I’ve already done some sequels. I’ve done the Shrek series, I’ve done Narnia. But I didn’t do the first Gladiator movie, so it was different for me to do a sequel where I didn’t do the first movie. In fact, my job was to incorporate the spiritual essence of the first film, not quoting it, but the DNA of it, and bring that to Gladiator II. And that’s what Ridley talked to me about at the beginning of the film.
Source: Rant Plus Screen
“We bonded through trauma,” explains the actor.
Screen Rant: Before filming Top Gun: MaverickYou went through intense training, right?
Greg Tarzan Davis: Yeah, that was crazy. I was one of the last to sign up for the film. I had to learn and catch up. So that was intense. Learning to swim, learning to fly, learning to do all these things to prepare for filming. But it was all worth it.
Screen Rant: Do you have fond memories of it or was it all very intense?
Greg Tarzan Davis: A good memory? We all come together through trauma. I can say that. I was driving to and from air bases. On the bus trips it felt like we were a team. Telling jokes, telling stories, crying, vomiting.
Screen Rant: Did you really throw up?
Greg Tarzan Davis: No, I don’t. Not me, of course. I’m talking about Lewis, Glen, Miles, that’s who I was talking about.
Source: Rant Plus Screen
More about Gladiator II (2024)
Years after witnessing the death of Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius must enter the Colosseum after the powerful emperors of Rome conquer his home. With anger in his heart and the future of the empire at stake, he looks to the past for the strength and honor needed to restore Rome’s glory to its people.
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Gladiator II hits theaters on November 22nd.