Pedro Pascal May Have Joined The Gladiator Sequel
Pascal may be on track to join an already impressive cast in Ridley Scott's sequel, which also stars Paul Mescal.
Pedro Pascal is having a major career moment, and it seems like every other week or so there’s a new announcement that he’s set to star in something major.
Everyone wants a piece of him, which makes him incredibly castable – oh, and he’s a fantastic actor. Now, unsurprisingly, there’s another bit of good news for those who can’t get enough of him. It may be a rumor to begin with, but fans of the star are sure to latch on to it anyway.
According to insiders who spoke with Deadline, Pascal is in the final stages of negotiations to join the upcoming Gladiator sequel, which has already been announced by Paramount. Though nothing has been confirmed yet, given the reputable source of the information, it seems likely that Pascal will indeed be added to the upcoming historical action flick.
Pascal would join an already impressive cast, which includes Paul Mescal, cast as the star Lucius, as well as Barry Keoghan, Joseph Quinn, Connie Nielsen, and Denzel Washington. Ridley Scott, who helmed the first Gladiator more than two decades ago, is returning to direct the sequel.
The original Gladiator film was a massive blockbuster in 2000, and it is still remembered as a critical and commercial win.
The film was nominated for an incredible 12 Academy Awards, and took home five trophies, including Best Picture.
It also raked in nearly half a billion dollars at the box office globally, and it cemented Russell Crowe’s status as one of the biggest movie stars of his generation (as well as an Oscar winner himself).
Now, over two decades later, a sequel is finally on the horizon, and Paramount has set a release date for the film of November 22, 2024.
For Pascal, joining the cast of Gladiator 2 (which hopefully has a much more inventive and interesting title) would be another major accomplishment in a career that’s seen him recently star in two hugely successful TV shows: The Mandalorian and The Last of Us.
His impressive performances in both of those series — though the focus is on the latter — have made him a likely contender for an Emmy nomination this year.
For those who just can’t wait to see more of Pascal, don’t worry. He has a busy slate of projects coming soon.
Up first from the actor is a starring role in Pedro Almodovar’s highly-anticipated LGBTQ/Western short film Strange Way of Life, which will premiere at the Cannes film festival.
He also has a pair of feature films on the horizon: Ethan Coen’s Drive Away Dolls, set to be released in September 2023 by Focus Features, and Anna Boden’s Freaky Tales, which will likely be released sometime later this year.
And as if that wasn’t enough for Pascal lovers to focus on, he is also heading back to fight more fungi in the second season of The Last of Us, which HBO has already greenlighted.
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