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Is Gladiator II streaming? Find out when Ridley Scott’s epic hits Paramount+

Paul Mescal kneels to cup some dirt in his hand in a still from the movie Gladiator II.
Paul Mescal in Gladiator II Paramount Pictures / Paramount Pictures

Relive the excitement of the arena at home as Gladiator II heads to Paramount+. The streamer announced Ridley Scott’s epic sequel begins streaming on Tuesday, January 21, 2025, in the U.S. and Canada.

24 years after Gladiator, Scott returned to Ancient Rome for a new story of strength and honor in Gladiator II. After the death of Maximus Decimus Meridius, Lucius (Paul Mescal), the grandson of Marcus Aurelius, was sent away from Rome by his mother Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) to protect him from assassins. Over a decade later, Lucius lives in Numidia with his wife. Lucius must confront his past when Roman forces led by General Acacius (Pedro Pascal) conquer Numidia and take the survivors captive. Lucius becomes a slave and trains to become a gladiator. Upon entering the Colosseum, Lucius swears to exact his revenge and bring glory back to Rome.

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Gladiator’s ensemble includes Joseph Quinn as Emperor Geta, Fred Hechinger as Emperor Caracalla, Lior Raz as Viggo, Derek Jacobi as Senator Gracchus, and Denzel Washington as Macrinus.

Gladiator II | New Trailer (2024 Movie) - Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Ridley Scott

Scott directed Gladiator II, with a screenplay by David Scarpa and a story by Scarpa and Peter Craig, based on characters by David Franzoni. Released on November 22, 2024, in the United States, Gladiator II debuted to a $55 million opening weekend, the mark for an R-rated film in November. To date, Gladiator has earned over $455 million at the global box office.

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Gladiator II mostly received positive reception and garnered nominations for two Golden Globes, three BAFTAs, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. While not official, Scott has toyed with the idea of Gladiator III, admitting he has completed eight pages of the screenplay.

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Paul Mescal reveals that he won his Gladiator II role after a single Zoom call with Ridley Scott
Paul Mescal wields a sword and stares.

Paul Mescal is receiving widespread acclaim for his performance in Gladiator II, but the question of whether he was the right person to anchor a long-awaited sequel was apparently not on director Ridley Scott's mind. During a recent interview on The Graham Norton Show, Mescal revealed that he was cast in the blockbuster following a single Zoom call.
 “Ridley does not waste time," Mescal explained per Deadline. “I thought there would be camera tests and auditions, but we Zoomed for half an hour, spoke for 10 [minutes] about the part and then 20 minutes about Gaelic football, his dog and his wife.”
Gladiator II | New Trailer (2024 Movie) - Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Ridley Scott
“I thought there would be more, but he called a few weeks later to offer me the part," the Normal People actor continued. “I think he just goes by instinct, on set and off, and I’m very glad that’s the way it went.”
Following his role as one of the leads of Normal People, Mescal has experienced a rapid ascent to the height of movie stardom. He received an Oscar nomination for his performance in the widely acclaimed Aftersun and has also starred in several other acclaimed independent features.
Mescal co-stars in the Gladiator sequel with Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, and Connie Nielsen. He plays Lucius, the son of Russell Crowe's character from the original film. The first wave of reactions to Gladiator II were overwhelmingly positive. With a little less than a month to go until the film's release, the only question left is whether the movie will live up to the high standard set by its predecessor.

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Ridley Scott has already written eight pages for Gladiator 3. Will a third film happen?
Paul Mescal holds a sword and stands in the arena.

Gladiator II is still weeks away, but that hasn't stopped Ridley Scot from planning Gladiator 3. Scott has already conceived an idea for a third Gladiator film, even going so far as to write some of the screenplay.

"I've already got eight pages," Scott said about Gladiator 3's development via Total Film. "I've got the beginning of a very good footprint."

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Gladiator II’s latest trailer asks: ‘Are you still not entertained?!?’
Paul Mescal wields a sword and stares.

"Rome has taken everything from me," Paul Mescal's Lucius says in the new trailer for Gladiator II. "But I will have my vengeance."

The latest trailer for Ridley Scott's sequel packs political intrigue, brutal fights, and a rhino in the arena. The trailer's most shocking moment involves an interaction between Lucius and his mother, Lucilla (Connie Nielsen). All his life, Lucius believed his father was Lucius Verus I. Before her son prepares for battle, Lucilla reveals that Lucius' father is Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe), the hero at the center of Gladiator.

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