“Are you not entertained?” The CinemaCon audience certainly was!

At the Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace, Paramount and Ridley Scott premiered the first footage of Gladiator 2, the highly anticipated sequel to his 2000 film Gladiator. The Roman epic stars an eclectic cast of new and old A-listers, including Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, and Connie Nielsen.

The Hollywood Reporter described the first-look footage. With Mescal playing the titular Gladiator in the film, the footage shows Mescal fighting monkeys, rhino-riding soldiers, and even taking part in a mock-naval battle in the Colosseum (a strange, but true historical use for the arena). The character is clearly inspired by the deceased Maximus Meridus (Russell Crowe’s character from the original film). Mescal’s character recalls the original film’s climax, saying, “I remember that day. I never forgot it. That a slave could take revenge against an emperor. That a slave could get justice in the arena.”

The footage also revealed Washington and Pascal’s characters. Pascal’s general character wants to stop the killing of Rome’s young soldiers. Washington’s character wants Mescal’s character to inspire revolution.

In a video introducing the footage, Ridley Scott described the film as “possibly even more extraordinary than the first” and “well worth the wait.”

Gladiator 2 will be sure to entertain on November 22, 2024.