Ridley Scott is one of the greatest directors of all time, so when I heard he was returning to helm the sequel of one of his greatest movies of all time, I was pretty ecstatic.
Gladiator II, starring Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, and Connie Nielsen, is one of the most anticipated movies of the year, with people already predicting it makes a splash in the Oscar race.
This is interesting territory for Scott, who has really only done sequels in his Alien franchise. Even those weren’t direct sequels (more distant prequels in their own sort of Prometheus sort of way), so this is the first time Scott will be behind the camera for a direct sequel to a franchise he personally helmed.
Let’s take a look at the trailer and talk after.
‘Gladiator II’ Official Trailer
The trailer begins with a shot of Rome in ruins. We then see a young man named Lucius, who was present during the first Gladiator story as the nephew of the Emperor.
Lucius is now a gladiator himself, and filled with rage. It seems like Rome is falling, and Lucius wants to be a slave that unites an empire. We get glimpses of how he plans to do it, with Denzel Washington pulling the strings as his mentor.
We also get to see a peek at some set pieces in the movie, like a battle with a rhino and another battle on water.
Like I said up top, it’s awesome Ridley Scott is back for this sequel. the first Gladiator won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Russell Crowe.
In my opinion, Ridley was robbed of the Best Director Oscar that year, as well.
Scott’s return ensures a continuity of vision and a sense of ownership over the franchise. And it means he feels like he has some unfinished business with the story.
This was an exciting trailer that has me begging for more. I can’t wait to see what Ridley Scott has in store for us when the movie comes out only in theatres on November 22nd.
Let me know what you think in the comments.
Author: Jason Hellerman
This article comes from No Film School and can be read on the original site.
