Over twenty years after Ridley Scott’s Gladiator became a blockbuster and Best Picture winner (among four other Oscar accolades) Paramount is getting ready to bring another historical epic to the big screen with Gladiator 2. One of the most highly-anticipated 2024 movies will see Scott back in the director’s chair, but rather than Russell Crowe, a new champion will emerge: Paul Mescal. Apparently showing some skin on stage led to the high-profile casting.
When the co-heads of Paramount Studios, Michael Ireland and Daria Cercek, recently spoke to the casting process for Gladiator 2. When talking about nabbing Oscar-nominee Paul Mescal for the role of Lucius, they recalled watching the actor star in a West End revival of A Streetcar Named Desire when they made the decision. In Cercek’s words to Variety:
