Ideas for “Gladiator II” had been rumbling in director Ridley Scott’s head for more than 20 years. One pitch featured Maximus (Russell Crowe) resurrected by the Roman pantheon and cursed to fight in every war through history, unable to die, but that script’s hard pivot to the supernatural was rejected by studios, and so the “Gladiator II” we’re getting looks much more like a typical legacy sequel/pseudo-remake.
Lucius Verus (Paul Mescal), son of Lucilla (Connie Nielson), has somehow been exiled from Rome and forgotten his royal heritage (he’s seemingly the grandson of Emperor Marcus Aurellius, played by Richard Harris in the original “Gladiator,” although the latest trailer apparently gives away a reveal that Maximus was his true father). Like Maximus before him, he’s taken as a slave and forced to fight in the Roman Colosseum.
The film recasts Spencer Treat Clark, who played the then-child Lucius in the original “Gladiator.” Mescal has proven himself a capable dramatic actor (he’ll make you cry in “Aftersun” and “All Of Us Strangers”), but can the young Irishman compare to Russell Crowe as an action star? And will his charisma be enough to make us root against Pedro Pascal? (Pescal plays Lucius’ enemy, Roman General Marcus Acacius.)
Mescal said he was right for the role in small part because of one physical feature — and no, it’s not his impressive guns (strong enough to a face a rhino). It’s his aquiline nose, a feature sometimes referred to as a Roman nose. Speaking to Vanity Fair, Mescal noted, “My nose just is kind of Roman. So it’s useful in this context.”
Paul Mescal’s perfect face, nose and all
A Roman nose is one that’s large with a sharp bridge and curve, almost resembling a bird’s beak. The adjective “aquiline” derives from “aquila,” the Latin world for “eagle.” Eagles were an important animal in Rome (the animal was the symbol of the Roman legion), so it makes sense that a nose as sharp as their beaks became associated with nobility and beauty.
Not for Mescal, though. He continued in his Vanity Fair interview: “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.'”
Teenagers really will just mock their peers for anything, huh? A nose like Mescal’s is historically a mark of handsomeness and dignity. Just take a look at his face — the kind that makes straight men like myself finally understand what women see in us, that makes us think “I wish I looked like that” — and you’ll see why.
Scott is currently already planning a “Gladiator III,” with Mescal set to return as Lucius. Depending on how “Gladiator II” performs (with its Colosseum-sized budget being a worrying sign), perhaps this third film will be the one where the moneymen finally let Scott make the more spiritual and fantastic Roman epic he wanted this one to be. Mescal definitely has a nose that’d be the envy of Jupiter himself, and maybe the two will meet face to face in the third movie.
“Gladiator II” is scheduled for theatrical release on November 22, 2024.
