Paramount Pictures has released the trailer for the long-awaited sequel, Gladiator II. The film, starring Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn and Connie Nielsen, is director Ridley Scott’s follow-up to his 2000 epic Gladiator that starred Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix and collected five Oscars, including best picture.
Set several decades after the events of the first movie, Gladiator II centers on Lucius (Mescal), the grandson of former Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius and now the grown-up son of Emperor Commodus, who resides with his family in Numidia. After ending up in slavery following an invasion led by Roman general Marcus Acacius, Lucius follows the inspiration of Maximus (played by Crowe in the original Gladiator) and competes as a gladiator.
Gladiator II will hit theaters on Nov. 22.