Director Ridley Scott has opened up about his casting of Paul Mescal in the upcoming new Gladiator 2 film. The new film will follow Lucius (Mescal) – the son of Lucilla (Connie Neilson) and Maximus (previously played by Russell Crowe) – and the nephew of Emperor Commodus, who Joaquin Phoenix played in the first film. Pedro Pescal has also been cast in the film although details about his character are as yet unknown. Scott spoke to Total Film about Mescal’s casting. On how he came across Mescal he said: “I watched Normal People. It’s not my kind of show but I saw four episodes in a row – boom, boom, boom. “I was thinking, ‘Who the hell is this Paul Mescal?’ And then I watched the whole series. And then, suddenly, Gladiator 2 came up, because the script was working pretty well. And I kept thinking about Paul. And that was it.” He added: “Can I see Paul Mescal being as big as Russell Crowe? For sure,” he continued.Speaking about making the second Gladiator, Scott added: “It didn’t have a script [before]. We tried, actually, four years ago, and I chose a very good writer who couldn’t get his head around it. He wrestled. He was terribly upset that he didn’t deliver. “He’s a friend of mine. I said, ‘You’re not getting there?’ He said, ‘No.’ That took 10 months. So it went dead. And then we circled the wagons again, coming back with a very obvious idea, and why not? There’s a survivor. The survivor is the son of the union between Lucilla and Maximus.” Earlier this summer, new set photos from Gladiator 2 revealed the building of a massive colosseum on a tiny island. Exclusive first-look images from the upcoming sequel have been shared, which show that producers have created a real, life-sized auditorium for the film’s main filming setting. Based in Malta, filming on the film began in June. The sequel follows the 2000 award-winning film, which grossed over $500million (£398million) worldwide at the box office and won five Oscars, including Best Picture. It is set to be released in cinemas on November 22, 2024.