GLADIATOR II, Ridley Scott’s long-awaited follow-up to GLADIATOR, the 2000 epic that took home the Academy Award for Best Picture, is heading to Netflix after a release in 2024 that left audiences, critics, and reportedly even Scott himself divided.

Mescal takes the lead as Lucius Verus Aurelius, the son of Marcus Aurelius, the emperor played by Russell Crowe in the original film. He is joined by a stacked supporting cast that includes Denzel Washington, known for MALCOLM X and GLORY, Pedro Pascal of GAME OF THRONES and THE LAST OF US, Connie Nielsen, who returns after GLADIATOR and appears in NOBODY, and Quinn, whose credits include STRANGER THINGS and FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS. Paramount’s official synopsis frames the story as a continuation of the saga of power, intrigue, and vengeance in Ancient Rome. Years after watching the revered Maximus fall at the hands of his uncle, Lucius is dragged into the Colosseum when his home is conquered by tyrannical emperors who rule Rome with an iron fist, and with rage in his heart and the empire’s future at stake, he must look to his past to find the strength and honor to restore Rome’s glory to its people.