First look at Gladiator 2 has everyone saying the same thing

'Who’s this guy?'

The sequel follows the story of Lucius who was last seen as the young son of Lucilla, played by Connie Nielsen in the original movie. Nielsen also returns in the sequel, playing one of the few true-life figures in the otherwise fictional 'Gladiator' storyline.

Fans took to X as excitement builds ahead of the film’s release on November 15th and all said the same thing.

Director Ridley Scott decided to pursue Paul Mescal for ‘Gladiator II’ after watching his performance in ‘Normal People’: “Watching a TV show that's not really my kind of TV show almost four years ago I said, ‘Who's this guy?’”

🔗: https://t.co/e8zQOWjQ1G pic.twitter.com/IAz2oSV0Mr

— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) July 1, 2024

On user wrote: “My girlfriend and I are both just as excited about this.” Whilst another user swooned over images of Paul Mescal who plays Lucius.

One user had some nerves over the follow-up saying: “Rewatched Gladiator the other day and it's still amazing. Fingers crossed this is just as good.”

Paul Mescal on being cast in ‘Gladiator II’:

“My nose just is kind of Roman. So it’s useful in this context. The nose that I absolutely hated when I was in secondary school—and used to get ribbed for—became very, very useful when Ridley needed somebody to be in ‘Gladiator II.’”… pic.twitter.com/4AZBInSrUQ

— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) July 1, 2024

The trailer will be released on July 9^th but one user shared the photos and said: “I’m already sold!”

Meanwhile, one fan joked that ‘Normal People’ season 2 looks strange, referring to the TV show where Mescal made his breakthrough.

Paul Mescal says his athletic background playing Gaelic football played a role in his ‘Gladiator II’ casting: “Maybe that was something that helped with it, in that I'm used to being physical in my body.”

🔗: https://t.co/gjQcglF5bw pic.twitter.com/rAcsqohhQg

— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) July 1, 2024

In a first-look of the sequel to ‘Gladiator’ which was released in 2000, Vanity Fair spoke to Mescal and director and co-producer Ridley Scott.

Scott shared how he came across Mescal when watching a TV show that was wildly different from the upcoming film – his breakthrough performance as Connell Waldron in the romantic series ‘Normal People’ was what grabbed Scott’s attention.

Scott said: “When I watch anything, I tend to be clocking who’s interesting. It’s just in my DNA. And so, watching a TV show that’s not really my kind of TV show almost four years ago, I said, ‘Who’s this guy?’”

Scott went on to say that Mescal was a ‘special find’ and ‘absolutely perfect’ for the role.

The Irish actor believes his experiences playing Gaelic football as a child helped him bag the part.

He told Vanity Fair: “I wanted to get a flavour from him about what the story was going to be about, so we spent about 15 minutes talking about that, and then we spent another 10 minutes talking about the sport that I played growing up—Gaelic football. Maybe that was something that helped with it, in that I’m used to being physical in my body.”

The film will be released in cinemas on November 15^th in the UK before being released in the US and Canada a week later.