Exclusive: Denzel Washington talks Gladiator II, Working with Ridley Scott again, & The Piano Lesson
Opening in theaters on November 22, 2024 from Paramount Pictures is director Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II, which stars Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Lior Raz, Derek Jacobi, with Connie Nielsen and Denzel Washington.
Serving as a sequel to Gladiator (2000), the film was written by David Scarpa, the film was produced by Scott Free Productions for Paramount Pictures.
In the original film, Roman General Maximus (Russell Crowe) is forced into exile and slavery by Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), the jealous heir to the Emperor’s throne. During his captivity, Maximus trains as a gladiator and returns to Rome, intent on avenging the murder of his family by killing Commodus, now Emperor.
Gladiator II continues the epic saga of power, intrigue, and vengeance set in Ancient Rome. Years after witnessing the revered hero Maximus’s death at his uncle’s hands, Lucius (Paul Mescal) is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors who now lead Rome with an iron fist. With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, Lucius must look to his past to find strength and honor to return Rome’s glory to its people.
Denzel Washington plays a dashing powerbroker named Macrinus. “Denzel is an arms dealer who supplies food for the armies in Europe, supplies wine and oil, makes steel, makes spears, weapons, cannons, and catapults. So he is a very wealthy man. Instead of having a stable of racehorses, he has a stable of gladiators,” Scott says. “He’s beautiful. He drives a golden Ferrari. I got him a gold-plated chariot.” Asked if Macrinus is good to his fighters or cruel, the filmmaker scoffs: “To the guys who fight in the arena I guess he’s pretty fucking cruel, right?”
Blackfilmandtv.com's Wilson Morales talks to Denzel Washington on Gladiator II, working with Ridley Scott again, & The Piano Lesson