In Ridley Scott's new sequel, the original Gladiator star is replaced by Paul Mescal

Original Gladiator star Spencer Treat Clark talks about being replaced by Paul Meskal in Ridley Scott's upcoming sequel. Gladiator II. Clarke, who played young Lucius Verus, the nephew of Joaquin Phoenix's Commodus, will not be returning for the highly anticipated sequel. Instead, Lucious will be played by Irish actor Paul Mescalknown for its Emmy nomination for Outstanding Miniseries, Normal People. Lucius is the main character Gladiator IIIt follows the powerful Roman emperors as they are forced to enter the Colosseum after conquering his home.

talking to People to discuss his new film Max, Salem's LotClark responded to his replacement with Mescal. The former Lucius actor had nothing but positive comments Read his full response about the new film and Mescal's casting below:

The movie looks great and Paul will do such a great job. I've actually heard great things about the movie… I feel like I'm 25 years old, but for some people, they'll see me as an adult and go, “Oh my God, you're right. You were Lucius
Gladiator
,' is too wild. But I'm really excited to see the movie and see what Paul brings to it. And yes, it's coming out soon. So I'm excited.

What Lucius Recasting Means for Gladiator II

Age Can Make All the Difference

Gladiator II was developmentally delayed for a while. 2000s sequel debate Gladiator Flash back to 2001, with rumors of a plot revolving around Maximus in the afterlife and a story around Lucius being Maximus' secret son. Scott frequently updated the project over the years, hoping it would eventually go into production. The film was finally announced in 2018, and Mescal was cast in the lead role in January 2023.

Scott recently addressed the recasting of Lucius, stating that he wanted a younger actor in the role…

Speaking about recasting Lucius, Scott stated that he wanted a younger actor in the role and was impressed by Mescal. Normal People. Mescal, 28 years old He is eight years younger than Clark. While this may not seem like a huge age difference, it can be significant when comparing an actor in his twenties to an actor in his forties. Scott's re-election may also depend on which era Gladiator II is happening. It is possible that Clarke may be too old for the film.

We took it from Lucius Recasting

Casting is Common

Recasting is nothing new in Hollywood. From George McFly Back to the Future II Enter Cassie Lang Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniachanging actors happens all the time. Perhaps one of the best comparisons Gladiator Recasting is Ewan McGregor playing Danny Torrance Doctor Sleep. Danny was originally portrayed by Danny Lloyd sparkling, however, the young actor left the business, so a prominent actor was hired to portray the adult version of the character in the sequel.

However, unlike the Danny Torrance recasting, Mescal is not as famous an actor as McGregor, nor does he have an extensive acting resume. In fact, Spencer Treat Clark has three times more acting credits than Paul Mescalappears in shows like Mad Men and Marvel's Agents of SHIELD, as well as movies like this Unbreakable, Like Glass and Strange: The Al Yankovic Story. However, Mescal is already an Oscar-nominated actor with strong future potential. So Scott saw something in Mescal that he thought was more in line with the Lucius version Gladiator II the script could have been Clark.

Source: People