Gladiator II had its first screening on Friday evening and the first reactions have already spread on social media.
The sequel to the 2000 film was screened at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles, where media and film critics got their first look at the film starring Denzel Washington, Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal.
Gladiator IIdirected by Ridley Scott, it sees Mescal play an adult Lucius Verus II, grandson of Emperor Commodus from the original film, played by Joaquin Phoenix. Lucius returns to Rome after being forced into slavery to fight not as a ruler, but as a gladiator seeking revenge and power, and seeks to restore the glory of Rome to its people.
The cast also includes Connie Nielsen, Joseph Quinn, Derek Jacobi, Rory McCann, Fred Hechinger, Matt Lucas, May Calamawy, Tim McInnerny, Peter Mensah and Alec Utgoff. The film will be released in theaters on November 22.
Gladiator II is is set to be released by Paramount Pictures at Thanksgiving after the original film, released more than two decades ago, won five Oscars and grossed $465.4 million worldwide. Even the first trailer released in July collected 215 million global multiplatform views in just a few days.
Full critic reviews for Gladiator II won't drop until closer to the film's release date, but read on for a taste of early reactions to the film after the screening.