Paul Mescal thinks we’re looking at his nose in Gladiator II, but I can promise that no one is thinking about the shape of his nozzle after seeing the first look of director Ridley Scott’s upcoming tale. “My nose just is kind of Roman,†he said in a Vanity Fair exclusive. “So it’s useful in this context. The nose that I absolutely hated when I was in secondary school—and used to get ribbed for—became very, very useful when Ridley needed somebody to be in Gladiator II.†Sorry about the bullying, but did the actor and former Gaelic football player notice just how distractingly muscled he appears in this movie? In one image, he’s washing his hands in the sand just before a fight in the ring, wearing little more than a leather breastplate and plumed tunic, biceps engaged. In another low-angle photo mid-action, the breastplate is missing, forcing us to take in his exposed chest.
Aside from the Paul Muscle of it all, the sequel is set a few years after the events of the original film. It follows Mescal’s character, Lucius, the now-grown-up son of Lucilla, played by Connie Nelson. Pedro Pascal is Marcus Acacius, a warrior who clashes with Lucius. Denzel Washington stars as Macrinus, a meretricious arms dealer who own a stable of gladiators, while Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger are brothers and ruling emperors. The film arrives November 22, hopefully in IMAX. You know why.