Recent ‘Gladiator II’ trailer revealed Paul Mescal’s Lucius as the son of Russell Crowe’s Maximus from the original film. Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) shared the truth with him right before his fight in the Colosseum.
Mescal knew about the plot detail since his early discussions with Ridley Scott. He shared his reaction to discovering Lucius’ background in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, saying, “Oh, absolutely. I was like, ‘Holy sh*t.’”
Former romance between Lucilla and Maximus as well as young Lucius’ admiration for the warrior hinted at the reveal way back in 2000’s ‘Gladiator,’ though it was never confirmed.
But Mescal noted that knowing about Lucius’ parentage didn’t change his approach to the role. “The screenplay does a lot of that work for you in terms of the rubbing the dirt between the hands, the kind of DNA, and the genetics that Lucius inherits,” he explained.
“So, I kind of tried to park that to one side because ultimately, where Lucius is coming from at the start of the film, he has a very different journey than Maximus does. And I was hoping that whatever DNA and even just the physical gestures was going to be one part of, and a kind of small part of, the performance. But then what I tried to do is figure out exactly who Lucius was and where those differences lay between Lucius and Maximus.”
‘Gladiator II’ explores Lucius’ quest for revenge after Rome’s attack on his home in another land, where his mother sent him for safety. It stars Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, and Denzel Washington along with Paul Mescal.
