Using proper music that fits the era results in the latest “Gladiator II” trailer being a vast improvement over the original Jay Z/ Kanye mishmash we got a few months back. The footage shown is also much better, and hints at some genuine thrills.
The CGI does look a bit rough, and the whole thing looks over the top, but that could beneficial to a film that didn’t even need a sequel to begin with. It was heavily implied in the 2000 original, but this latest trailer also confirms that Lucius is Maximus's son.
Given how hit and miss Ridley Scott has been his entire career, expectations should be in check for this one, but there are some positive signs springing and indicating that it could be one of Scott’s better films of the last few years.
Earlier in the year, Scott’s sequel test screened and a person who attended the show described the film as “thrilling” and “Oscar worthy. “Gladiator II” will have an official runtime of 141 minutes. This means that the upcoming sequel is 11 minutes shorter than 2000’s “Gladiator” (although that film eventually had a 2-hour 50-minute extended version released).
A few months ago, a THR report confirmed that Scott’s sequel had its budget “balloon” from $165 million to a whopping $310 million. The piece went on to describe Paramount execs as feeling “terribly vexed” by the whole ordeal but felt relieved once they saw footage of the film which “blew them away.
Oh, and did I mention that “Gladiator III” is already in the works? Last week, Scott practically ruined the ending by revealing the fate of Mescal’s character in the second film. Franchise aspirations are definitely there, and Scott seems to have built up another IP with this one (his others are “Alien” and “Blade Runner”).
“Gladiator II,” which stars Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Connie Nielsen, Joseph Quinn, Pedro Pascal, and more, is set to hit theaters on November 22.