Denzel Washington Reveals Gladiator 2 Is His Biggest Film Ever
Denzel Washington has one of the most legendary careers in Hollywood, so when he says a film he’s working on is the biggest he’s ever been on, you definitely believe him. That’s what Washington said about his time on the upcoming Gladiator 2 in an interview, saying, “I think this is the biggest film I’ve been on,” adding, “They built the Colosseum!” From the trailers for the film we’ve seen so far, Ridley Scott’s upcoming sword-and-sandals epic does seem like a massive spectacle, and it’s not hard to imagine the actors felt the same way working on the elaborate sets that were built.
Macrinus
Denzel Washington’s character for Gladiator 2 is Macrinus, an arms dealer and someone who looks like they’ll be pulling some strings in the story. The film is a sequel to the beloved 2000 film starring Russell Crowe, and this time follows the character Lucius as he enters the Colosseum to battle and try to win back Rome from its conquerors.
Lucius is played by Paul Mescal in this film, taking over for Spencer Treat Clark, who played the young version of the character in the previous film.
Gladiator 2
Denzel Washington isn’t the only big name in the star-studded cast of Gladiator 2, as Paul Mescal is joined by Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, and Connie Nielsen reprising her role from the first film.
Ridley Scott returns to direct and co-produced, with David Scarpa writing the screenplay from a story he wrote with Peter Craig. Needless to say, the film has a ton of hype behind it, and the positive news and trailers have only added to the expectations.
Washington’s Career
Denzel Washington has also been in plenty of massive films, so his statements about Gladiator 2 are also a reason to get excited. He’s worked on films like The Taking of Pelham 123 and Unstoppable, which had pretty huge $100 million budgets.
His blockbuster Equalizer trilogy also had big budgets and plenty of action, but it’s no surprise that Ridley Scott, who is known for making an epic or two, is ratcheting things up to the next level.
A Massive Budget
Denzel Washington’s awe of the Colosseum set for Gladiator 2 is shared by the rest of us, but it’s no surprise these sets are so massive when you learn the budget for the film is somewhere between $250 to $310 million depending on if you’re looking at estimates or what Paramount is saying.
Either way, that’s a ton of money and the film is going to need to perform pretty well to be considered a box-office smash hit. Fortunately, Washington’s presence, the rest of the star-studded cast, the quality we’ve seen so far, and the franchise recognition should probably bring plenty of people flocking to theaters.
Coming In November
We don’t have to wait too much longer to see Denzel Washington, Paul Mescal, and the rest of the cast in Gladiator 2. The film is set to hit theaters on November 22 in the United States. It’s going to be exciting to see Washginton’s biggest film yet, but we’ll have to wait and find out if it’s one of his best films too.
