An extensive first look at the anticipated sequel to Ridley Scott's Oscar-winning epic "Gladiator II" is out now.
Complete with a dramatic photo of leads Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal going mano-a-mano in the Colosseum, Vanity Fair published on Monday the first look along with a synopsis and interviews with several stars.
Mescal plays Lucius, the now-grown son of Connie Nielsen's character Lucilla from the first film.
The actress reprises in the November release, and the magazine explains in the years since Russell Crowe's Maximus gave his life to try to save the Roman republic, Lucilla sent Lucius to the northern coast of Africa, outside the Roman Empire. A move he was ultimately be displeased with.
Years later, the Romans destroy that region, Numidia, and he is enslaved.
"The wrinkle is, when he gets to Rome ... and has a first round in the arena, he sees his mother ... in the royal box looking pretty good after 20 years. And she's with the general who he came face-to-face with ... in Numidia," said Scott.
That general is Pascal's Marcus Acacius, a brutal general who, according to the film, trained under Crowe's Maximus.
"He is one of those rare actors who really has heart, soul, and at the same time this incredible gift of transformation," Nielsen said of Pascal in the piece.
The arena face-off was intimidating for Pascal in real life. "He got so strong," Pascal said of Mescal. "I would rather be thrown from a building than have to fight him again."
The movie also features two-time Oscar winner Denzel Washington as a wealthy arms dealer called Macrinus. "[H]e has a stable of gladiators," Scott said. "He's beautiful. He drives a golden Ferrari. I got him a gold-plated chariot."
Scott said he mined "familiar" ground with today's politics and his film's, thanks to Rome's sadistic sibling rulers: Joseph Quinn's Emperor Geta, and Fred Hechinger's Emperor Caracalla.
"The people who are in charge are out of their minds, and everyone is too afraid to contradict," Scott said. "That's familiar ground right now."
Mescal offered insight on his opinion of what the overarching message of the sequel is.
"What human beings will do to survive, but also what human beings will do to win," Mescal said. "Where's the space for humanity? Where's the space for love, familial connection? And ultimately, will those things overcome this kind of greed and power? Those things are oftentimes directly in conflict with each other," he added.
Scott drew a connection between his own personal story and the story of "Gladiator II" detailing his childhood in World War II-ridden England before moving to Germany after the war to help the rebuilding efforts. "This is my education," Scott said.
