Paramount Pictures Germany
Paul Mescal, here in “Gladiator 2” by Ridley Scott.
CINEMA – Never two without three? The long-awaited sequel to Gladiator wasn’t even released in the United States until its director Ridley Scott has already announced to the press that it is working on a third opus. And this, 24 years after the release of the first, crowned with five Oscars.
The blockbuster with its bloody plot and fueled by the hero’s thirst for revenge has attracted uneven reviews, but has already accumulated $87 million in box office revenue in the countries where it was already released last week, including France.
“Given the performances in the rest of the world since yesterday, there will for sure be a Gladiator 3 »said Ridley Scott, during the American premiere, this Monday, November 18 in Los Angeles. “It also becomes financial, it would be crazy not to consider a third version”added the British director, acclaimed for Blade Runner Or Thelma and Louise.
There ” possibility of a sequel »
Gladiator 2 comes out this Friday, November 22, on the other side of the Atlantic, headlined by Paul Mescal. The Irish actor revealed in the series Normal people plays Lucius, son of Maximus (Russell Crowe), gladiator of the first film, Oscar winner for best film and best actor. The scenario of this second opus was “planned to leave ample room for the possibility of a sequel”explains the filmmaker who, at almost 87 years old, has made 18 films since the release in 2000 of the first Gladiator.
Exiled in Numidia, Lucius is taken prisoner of war and in turn becomes a gladiator after the Roman army, led by General Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal), invades his adopted land.
Seduced by his rage, Macrinus (Denzel Washington – on the list of potential Oscar winners), a former slave hungry for power, makes him fight in Rome, in a plot very similar to that of the first Gladiatorwhich the film constantly echoes. “Jewellery, sandals, etc. I look like a Roman pimp (…). I didn’t have enough room on my hands for the rings.”joked Denzel Washington on the red carpet this Monday.
Paul Mescal enthusiastic
Paul Mescal was enthusiastic about the possibility of starring in a third film, indicating that Ridley Scott had mentioned a new direction for the plot which would not “would not simply bring back into the arena as we saw it” until then.
“The last time I spoke to Ridley Scott, he had nine pages. Yesterday he said he had 14″the actor told reporters. “I would be delighted if it went into a more political sphere”with Lucius thrown into the pit of court intrigues that he would seek to flee, like Michael Corleone in The Godfatherhe added.
Asked about the differences between the first and second parts in the way of tackling questions of power and politics, the director did not hide his intentions: “it’s exactly the same thing”.
“A very rich man thinks he can simply seize the reins of the empire… Does that mean anything to you? »he asked, less than two weeks after the election of Republican billionaire Donald Trump to the White House. “We learn nothing from history. We are just repeating the same mistakes. We are experiencing the same thing in several places around the world at the moment. »
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