Paul Mescal booked Gladiator 2 after producers saw him shirtless in A Streetcar Named Desire
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Paul Mescal's torso-baring performance as Stanley Kowalski in the West End revival of A Streetcar Named Desire helped him book his role in the Gladiator sequel. "There are several moments where he takes off his shirt and it was electric," Daria Cercek, co-head of Paramount Motion Picture Group, told Variety in a recent feature about the studio's upcoming film slate. "The ladies in the audience were very vocal, and we were like, 'I think we've found our guy.'"
Mescal is set to enter the arena in the upcoming sequel as Lucius, son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen, who will reprise her role) and nephew of Joaquin Phoenix's Commodus. Ridley Scott will once again return to helm the sequel, which will also see the return of original cast member Derek Jacobi as Gracchus. They'll be joined by Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, May Calamawy, Lior Raz, Peter Mensah, and Matt Lucas.
Both Russell Crowe's Maximus and Phoenix's Commodus died in battle in the first film, making a return unlikely. Mescal admitted to The Hollywood Reporter earlier this year that he had some anxieties about stepping into the arena. "It's an intimidating feat," he said. "It's something I'm nervous about but something I feel like I can do."
Still, "I'm so proud I get to make it," he said, adding that he wasn't particularly too concerned about the physical training aspect. "With films like this and superhero films, there is sometimes a focus on that, which I don't find that interesting," Mescal said. "Of course there's a physical robustness required for the character, but past that, I'm not interested. This guy's got to fight and got to be a beast. And whatever that looks and feels like is right for me, is what it's going to be. Sometimes I see films and I'm like, 'That person doesn't look real.'"
Gladiator 2 is slated for a Nov. 22, 2024 theatrical release.
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