"Paramount's 'Gladiator' Sequel Faces New Challenges with Return of Connie Nielsen and Joseph Quinn"

Connie Nielsen has closed a deal to reprise her role as Lucilla in the highly-anticipated Gladiator sequel, while Joseph Quinn is currently in talks to play Emperor Caracalla, according to sources cited by Deadline. These actors join Paul Mescal, who has been cast as Lucius, as well as Barry Keoghan and Denzel Washington. The untitled film, which will be directed by Ridley Scott, follows the 2000 blockbuster Gladiator, which grossed over $460 million worldwide and was nominated for 12 Academy Awards, winning five including Best Picture. The original film's lead role of Maximus, the Roman general-turned-gladiator, was a career-defining role for Russell Crowe, earning him the Best Actor Oscar and solidifying his status as a leading man. Since it was announced last year that the sequel would be Scott's next project, male actors fitting the profile have been vying for the part.

In addition to directing, Ridley Scott will produce the Gladiator sequel alongside Michael Pruss of Scott Free and Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher of Red Wagon Entertainment. The screenplay was written by David Scarpa. John Mathieson (Director of Photography), Arthur Max (Production Designer), and Janty Yates (Costume Designer) are also returning from the original film. Paramount Pictures has set a release date of November 22, 2024.

What are others reading:

The first Gladiator film was a co-production between Universal and DreamWorks. While DreamWorks is not involved in the sequel, Universal has the option to partner again when the project is packaged.

As many characters were killed off in the first film and a significant amount of time has passed since its premiere, there were few familiar faces available for the sequel's legacy cast. This is why it was crucial for Scott and the studio to include Connie Nielsen's character in the sequel's plans from the beginning. Nielsen's character, Lucilla, was Maximus's main love interest in the original film and is also the mother of Lucius, who will be the main character in the sequel. Their mother-son relationship is expected to play a significant role in the sequel's story arc.

Joseph Quinn's star has been rising since his standout performance as Eddie Munson in the latest season of Netflix's popular series, Stranger Things. Paramount recognized his talent quickly and offered him a lead role in the A Quiet Place spin-off, A Quiet Place: Day One, which recently received a lot of attention at CinemaCon. Sources close to the production say that early footage from the film impressed executives with how well he held his own alongside Lupita Nyong'o, who stars in the film and has won an Academy Award.

In addition to Stranger Things, Quinn has recently appeared in BBC One's limited series Howards End and Les Miserables. Meanwhile, Connie Nielsen will be appearing in Ava DuVernay's upcoming limited series Caste.

Quinn is represented by CAA, the Curtis Brown Group, and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher, while Nielsen is represented by Lasher Group, UTA, The Artists Partnership, and Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Adler, Feldman & Clark.