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‘Rage is your gift’: Paul Mescal battles Pedro, Denzel and a rhino in first Gladiator II trailer

Mescal steps into Russell Crowe’s sandals as the enslaved Lucius, in this first glimpse of the emperors and massive bloodstained rhinoceros he must defeat

Gladiator II, Ridley Scott’s sequel to his 2000 Oscar-conquering epic, is due in cinemas in November, but the promotional reel offers the first look proper at Paul Mescal, who has stepped into Russell Crowe’s sandals. In his way – or, possibly, giving him a bit of a leg-up – are Denzel Washington’s slave owner and power broker, Macrinus, who Scott has described as “pretty fucking cruel” to the arena fighters, as well as Pedro Pascal’s Roman general, Marcus Acacius. The trailer also offers a preview of the stirring soundtrack – again composed by Hans Zimmer – and a new song which features the rap lyric: “Tears on the mausoleum floor / Blood stains the Colosseum doors.”

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