Why did Ridley Scott choose Paul Mescal as the protagonist of Gladiator 2?

More than 20 years after the launch of Gladiator (2000), the classic film by Ridley Scott will get a sequel, but with a cast overhaul. For the protagonist of the sequel, the director chose Paul Mescalknown for roles in Normal People It is Aftersun.

Mezcal interprets Luciusson of Lucilla (Connie Neilson) It is Maximus (Russell Crowe), in addition to being the nephew of the villain Emperor Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix). The cast of Gladiator 2 also has Pedro Pascalwhose role has not been revealed so far.

During an interview with TotalFilm, Scott revealed how he discovered the work of Mezcal as an actor, and the way he was cast in the sequel. “I watched Normal People. It’s not my kind of show, but I watched four episodes in a row – boom, boom, boom,” she stated.

“I was thinking, ‘Who the hell is this? Paul Mescal?’ And then I watched the entire series. And then, suddenly, it appeared Gladiator 2, because the script worked very well. And I kept thinking about Paul. And that was it,” continued the filmmaker.

Can imagine Paul Mescal as big as Russell Crowe? For sure.

Right away, Ridley Scott talked about the creative process of Gladiator 2: “There was no script [antes]. We actually tried four years ago, and I picked a great screenwriter who I couldn’t understand. He fought. He was terribly upset about not delivering.”

“He’s a friend of mine. I said, ‘Aren’t you going to get there?’ He said ‘no.’ That took 10 months. Then he died,” he recalled. “And so we circled the carriages again, coming back with a very obvious idea, and why not? There is a survivor. The survivor is the child of the union between Lucilla It is Maximus.”