Denzel Washington has joined the cast of Ridley Scott’s upcoming Gladiator sequel.
Scott, 82, is directing the film, based on a script written by David Scarpa (All the Money in the World).
Paul Mescal will star as Lucius, the nephew of Joaquin Phoenix’s Commodus whom Russell Crowe’s Maximus saves in the original movie, while Barry Keoghan was recently cast as a character named Emperor Geta.
Washington’s character is being kept under wraps, but Deadline describes it as a “bad-ass role.”
Released in 2000, the original Gladiator grossed over $460 million at the box office and won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Crowe.
Its sequel is dated for release on November 22nd, 2024.
Washington and Scott previously collaborated on the 2007 crime thriller, American Gangster.
