Moon Knight star May Calamawy was supposed to have a major role in Gladiator IIbut his role was cut, raising questions about what happened. As soon as Ridley Scott had the idea to finally make his Gladiator sequel after more than two decades, the project became one of Hollywood’s biggest future productions. This left actors of all levels of fame fighting for a spot to be part of Gladiator 2It’s cast. Scott chose the cream of the crop, then recast Lucius with Paul Mescal, added Pedro Pascal, and finalized a reunion with Denzel Washington.
All of the director’s decisions seemed to work out, with Gladiator 2The analyzes point to it being another victory. Every actor involved in the film has contributed to the world that Scott is exploring, bringing rich new characters to the franchise or returning ones tied to Maximus’ journey. Understandably, there is a lot of focus on who is Gladiator 2 rather than focusing on who isn’t present other than Russell Crowe. However, the absence of May Calamawy Gladiator 2 It’s a different story, as her expected role is quite reduced, which is quite strange given the casting announcement.
May Calamawy has been cast in Gladiator 2 to play a major role
She was among the final additions to the cast
The news that May Calamawy has been cast Gladiator 2 came in May 2023 from Deadline. She was announced alongside the casting of Fred Hechinger as Emperor Cat, Derek Jacobi returning as Gracchus, and other new additions. This was a great opportunity for Calamawy, based on his standout performance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Moon Knight joining Ridley Scott’s highly anticipated sequel. At the time, there was no direct confirmation of which character she would play, but the report highlighted that the director himself was very committed and thorough in the casting process and choosing Calamawy.
It was reported that Calamawy was cast in Gladiator 2 after in-depth research orchestrated by Scott. It was even compared to his search for Mezcal. The director reportedly wanted to look at all options for this role due to “the importance of the character to the story.” Was Only after several auditions did Calamay officially get the role. She then participated in principal photography alongside the rest of her co-stars. Understandably, there was an expectation that audiences would see her in the final version of the film if her character was so important to the plot.
However, this meant that she continued to be absent from Gladiator 2 very suspicious marketing. She was not seen prominently in any of the trailersand she was also left out of all the posters. These were all red flags regarding the status of May Calamawy’s scenes still in Ridley Scott’s final cut. The lack of her marketing presence hasn’t completely eliminated any hope that she would still be in the film. Still, it dissuaded the idea that she played as large a role as initial casting reports suggested.
May Calamawy was eliminated from Gladiator 2
She confirmed that her scenes were removed
Now this Gladiator 2 was released, it was confirmed that May Calamawy’s scenes were cut. She is no longer present in any significant capacity, being seen only briefly in the background of some photos and without dialogue. It’s unclear at this point whether another character replaced his narrative purpose, but the final version of Scott’s film essentially removed his importance entirely. It’s possible then that she was part of a larger subplot that was removed from the film at the time, such as Gladiator 2The final version still has an epic length of 2 hours and 28 minutes.
The revelation that Calamawy was cut Gladiator 2 It wasn’t a total surprise. Not only was she absent from all of the marketing, but the actress confirmed this was the case in the weeks leading up to the film’s release. She attended London Comic Con and fansas FranPan in X,confirmed on social media that she revealed during a panel that their scenes were not kept Gladiator 2. Still, she had only good things to say about the experience, praising her time working alongside Denzel Washington’s Macrinus.
Calamawy’s scenes being cut from Gladiator 2 sparked controversy
Speculation increased about what happened to his role
In light of confirmation that May Calamawy’s scenes were cut Gladiator 2those who were looking forward to his appearance in the film were left searching for answers. Without any clear and confirmed basis for the decision, speculation turned what could have been a simple cinematic decision into a more controversial one. This is due to Gladiator 2 drastically reducing the role of its Egyptian-Palestinian star in a disappointing way.
The reason this has generated controversy is due to the Israel-Palestine war that began in 2023. The conflict began months after the Calamawy escalation and remains a controversial issue. The fact that Gladiator 2 would remove an actress of Palestinian descent in the middle of the conflict drew criticism from some online. However, it is important to note that there is no real evidence that Calamawy’s nationality had anything to do with his reduced Gladiator 2 paper. At this point, this is purely conjecture at the heart of the controversy.
May Calamawy’s Gladiator 2 role and why she was cut has not been confirmed
Ridley Scott didn’t address what happened
There is still no direct confirmation on who May Calamawy should play Gladiator 2 or how his role was fully taken into account in the narrative. The actress’ revelation that she shared scenes with Denzel Washington is telling, as it suggests she was mainly linked to the plot of Macrinus and the gladiator arena. This left more questions about how she would have originally played a role in the film and what happened in their interactions, which are now left on the cutting room floor.
Unfortunately, there is no solution to what happened to May Calamawy’s role in Gladiator 2. Ridley Scott has yet to address the issue as of this writing, but that could change as he puts more pressure on the film around its theatrical release and later during a possible awards campaign. The most likely scenario is that Calamawy’s role was simply reduced over time. purposes, as it would be much worse for Gladiator 2 and Scott if there was a more controversial reason for the decision. However, this confirmation will only come if Scott is asked about it and decides to provide some clarity.