New faces join 'Gladiator 2' cast.

Released more than 20 years ago, Gladiator has positioned itself as one of the classics of cinema in the new millennium. The revenge story of the Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius is one of the most acclaimed by audiences and has won more than twenty awards, including several Oscars, Bafta and Critics' Choice Awards, proving its timelessness in the industry. Although the story came to a satisfying conclusion for audiences, its now official that a sequel would be in definitive production after a somewhat fanciful attempt in 2001, and now we know which actors will be in the film.

New actors joining Ridley Scott's film include Paul Mescal (Aftersun), Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things), Denzel Washington (The Equalizer) and Barry Keoghan (The Banshees of Inisherin); the only actor with a revealed role is Mescal, playing Emperor Caracalla. In fact, confirmed returnees include Ridley Scott in the director's chair, which is very important for the sequel to live up to its predecessor, and Connie Nelsen who will reprise her role as Lucilla.

The sequel to Gladiator has been in development since 2001, but never came to fruition because the scripts presented were too fanciful, some of which included a Maximus reincarnated by the gods fighting against the spread of Christianity or fighting in the Vietnam War. All these scripts were rejected by Ridley Scott, as he was looking for a historically correct action story, moving away from divine and supernatural elements.

In fact, for now, what we know is that filming would begin in the summer (of the United States) in 2023. The director has been busy with Kitbag, a Napoleon biopic. If estimates are correct, the Gladiator sequel would see the light of day by the end of 2024.