Gladiator II Footage Reaction: Rhinos And Sharks And Pedro Pascal And Denzel [CinemaCon 2024]

It's been 24 years since Ridley Scott's "Gladiator" brought the glory and gore of ancient Rome to gorgeous life, and now the prolific director has returned to the tale with "Gladiator II." Set 20-30 years after the events of the first film, "Gladiator 2" will star Paul Mescal as Lucius, the son of Roman Empress Lucilla (Connie Nielsen, reprising her role). Though Maximus (Russell Crowe) died along with Lucius's vicious uncle Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) at the end of "Gladiator," both Lucilla and Lucius survived.

The movie will also star Denzel Washington as an arms dealer who has a stable of gladiators and Joseph Quinn as Emperor Geta, along with Pedro Pascal, May Calamawy, Peter Mensah, Matt Lucas, Fred Hechinger, and Derek Jacobi. That's quite a packed cast, although with a reportedly massive budget of more than $300 million, "Gladiator 2" could prove to be a disaster financially while paying off well for movie-goers who want to see some high-end historical fiction. That also means the "Gladiator" sequel may end up capping off a truly impressive back-to-back history-based film run for Scott, who's only just come off the epic "Napoleon" in 2023.

There really hasn't been much information revealed about "Gladiator 2" just yet outside of a few random interviews with Scott and some of the cast. Now, however, Paramount has only just provided a sneak peek of the film to those attending the ongoing CinemaCon 2024 in Las Vegas. Thankfully, /Film's Ryan Scott was there and has all the details you need about the footage that was screened. Will it get the thumbs up or thumbs down? Only time will tell!

The five minutes of unfinished footage is nothing short of spectacular. "I remember that day. I never forgot it. That a slave could take revenge against an emperor," Paul Mescal's Lucius Verus says as the footage begins. From there, we see Lucius entering the Colosseum. Denzel Washington's character serves as a mentor, telling him: "This is what they believe in. Power!" You can practically hear Denzel spitting that line, can't you?

From there, the footage gets wild. There are boats in the Colosseum, floating on water. Elaborate games and fights are shown, and just when you think you've seen it all, someone falls off one of the boats and gets eaten by a shark. Yes, really. Sharks aren't the only wild creatures here. Gladiators are shown fighting CGI monkeys at one point.

"You have something in you, smoke, rage," Denzel Washington's character says. "Rage is your gift."

The footage continues with big, sweeping shots of war. Lucius is seen fighting a rhino — animal fights seem to be a big deal in this sequel. Lucius blinds the rhino with dust and jumps out of the way of the charging beast. And wait — there's more! Huge battle sequences at sea unfold; war, war, and more.

Joseph Quinn's character, Emperor Geta, seems to be stepping into the sandals of Joaquin Phoenix's villainous character from the first film.

"The only truth in Rome is the law of the strongest," Denzel Washington says at one point, making a meal out of his dialogue as is his custom.

At one point, Pedro Pascal's character can be seen fighting five men at once (maybe he'll get in on the animal fighting too, who knows?). Later in the footage, Connie Nielsen returns as Lucilla, handing Lucius a ring that belonged to Maximus from the first movie.

More killer lines from Denzel Washington: "You will be my instrument." It sounds like he'll be training Lucius for some sort of revenge, and the footage builds to a battle between Washington and Pascal.

The footage ends with Joseph Quinn's Geta yelling "The gods have spoken!" just as Lucius cuts off a man's head. In short, it sounds epic, sprawling, and insane. We can't wait for this damn movie. As our own Ryan Scott says, this looks like "Aliens" compared to "Alien" — bigger, crazier, louder. Again: we can't wait. 

"Gladiator II" opens November 22, 2024.