Gladiator II director Ridley Scott is already working on a third instalment of the franchise, according to Paul Mescal.
The latest film sees Irish actor Mescal star as Lucius, son of Maxmus who was famously played by Oscar winner Russell Crowe in 2000. Gladiator II was set 15 years after Maximus’ death.
A story of revenge, treachery and of course, gladiators has already received positive previews, accruing an impressive $87 million at the global box office after it opened in several countries last week.
Speaking on Monday, Ridley Scott had said: “Given the performance in the rest of the world that we’ve seen yesterday, there’s certainly going to be a Gladiator III”.
He added: “Because it also becomes financial, and you’d be insane not to consider a third version”.
Mescal Confirms Gladiator III Plans
Paul Mescal has already expressed his excitement at the possibility of returning for a third Gladiator movie.
He also revealed that he and Scott had talked about exploring a new direction for the movie’s plot which would not simply “go back to the arena as we know it”.
“The last time I spoke to (Scott) he said he had nine pages. Yesterday, he said he had 14,” Mescal said. “I would be excited for it to go into a more political sphere,” with Lucius thrust into a world of court intrigue that he does not want to inhabit, like Michael Corleone in The Godfather”.
Last week, Gladiator II got premiered in London, which saw Paul Mescal cheered on by his friend and fellow actor Andrew Scott. More on this from Nova here.
