More details about Paul Mescal's Lucius in Gladiator 2 revealed

Ever since Paul Mescal was announced to play the lead in the second Gladiator movie, the rumour was that he would be playing Lucius, who featured in the first movie as a boy.

The original is recognised as one of the best movies of the noughties well as a hit commercially. It won five Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Actor for Russell Crowe.

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It told the story of Maximus Decimus Meridius, a Roman general betrayed by Emperor Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) following the death of previous Emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Maximus survives an assassination attempt and is eventually sold into slavery before becoming a Gladiator inside the Roman Colosseum.

A sequel was confirmed in 2022, with Mescal in the lead role as Lucius. The son of Lucilla and nephew of Commodus, he struck a bond with Maximus, who may or may not be his father.

Plot details on Gladiator 2 are thin, but Ridley Scott has provided some more background on where Lucius is at in his life.

“Paul is playing Lucius... That’s someone who was 12, and this is about 12, 15 years later," he told Rotten Tomatoes.

"He’s been out in the wilderness having lost touch with his mother. Mother lost touch with him, doesn’t know where he is. She thinks he might be dead.”

Scott is putting together a fascinating cast for this one, as in addition to Mescal we have Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal and Connie Nielsen, who reprises her role as Lucilla.

Ridley Scott gives us an inside scoop on Paul Mescal's role as Lucius in #Gladiator2. pic.twitter.com/iWIKDY73gl— Rotten Tomatoes (@RottenTomatoes) November 26, 2023

Why Scott cast Mescal in Gladiator 2

Scott previously revealed that he decided to cast Paul Mescal in Gladiator 2 after seeing his performance in Normal People.

Interestingly, Normal People is a grounded psychological romance drama, but Scott watched the entire series and was fascinated by Mescal.

"I'm always looking for someone, something new and fresh," the legendary director told Deadline.

"I mean, fresh is terribly important. So they're not carrying... baggage is a terrible word for what they've done before, because it's great stuff, but you will remember he just did this character already.

"I watched this show called Normal People. It's unusual for me, but I saw one and thought, that's interesting. These actors are really good, I watched the whole goddamn show and thought, damn.

"So this came up at a time when I need a 23-year-old, 24-year-old to take up the mantle of Lucius. And I just said, 'You want to do it?' He said, 'Yeah'."