Denzel Washington in talks to star in ‘Gladiator 2’

Actor Denzel Washington is in final negotiations with director Ridley Scott to star alongside Paul Mescal in the sequel to the blockbuster “Gladiator.”

According to a Deadline exclusive, Washington is interested in reviving the character Scott wrote for him. The actor and the director have already worked together on the film “American Gangster” from 2007.

New tape the most importantwhich is set to premiere on November 22, 2024, has already added Barry Keoghan, recently nominated for an Oscar for his role in “The Banshees of Inisherin,” to its cast.

“Gladiators 2” will give continuity to the story in which he starred in 2001 Russell Crowewho gave life Maximuswhich was nominated for 12 Oscars and won five of those awards, including Best Picture.

In this continuationPaul Mescal will play Lucius, a man who has a strong memory of the gladiator Maximus after saving him and his mother from death.

The producers in charge of the project are Scott Freeheaded by Ridley Scott and Michael Prussand Red Wagon Entertainment, starring Lucy Fisher and Douglas Wick. The latter was also the producer of “Gladiator”.

Additionally, the team will include director of photography John Mathieson, production director Arthur Max and costume designer Janty Yates, all of whom previously worked on “Gladiator.”

Scott is also working as a producer on the sequel to another of his most notable projects.

It’s about a series “Blade Runner 2099” which gives continuity to the films inspired by the famous novel of the American writer Philip K. Dick “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?”, from 1968.

The last project in which Denzel Washington participated was “The Tragedy of Macbeth” 2021, whose work earned him an Oscar nomination, and this year he is expected to be seen in Antoine Fuqua’s tape “The Equalizer 3”.