This image released by Paramount Pictures shows director Ridley Scott, left, and Paul Mescal on the set of “Gladiator II.” , Photo Credit: AP

Ridley Scott was long awaited the Gladiator The sequel hasn’t even hit American theaters yet, but the veteran director is already hard at work on the third installment.

gladiator iiwhich arrives in North American theaters on Friday, starring Irish actor Paul Mescal (normal people) as Lucius, the son of Russell Crowe’s Maximus from the multiple Oscar-winning original.

A bloody, blockbuster epic of revenge, betrayal and – yes – gladiators, it has received positive reviews and has taken in a whopping $87 million at the global box office since its release in multiple countries last week.

“Given the performance we saw yesterday in the rest of the world, there is certainly going to be a Gladiator IIIScott said of the film’s spectacular US premiere in Los Angeles on Monday.

The British director of such seminal films said, “Because it gets financial too, and you would be crazy not to consider a third version.” blade Runner And Thelma and Louise,

conspiracy of gladiator ii Scott, a famously prolific filmmaker who is still directing about one film per year at age 86, said, “It was also planned to leave it open for sequels.”

The second film begins with Lucius – sent into exile by his mother to avoid certain death in Rome – struggling in vain to save his adopted North African home city from the arrival of unstoppable Roman troops.

Captured as a prisoner of war, he is brought back to the Imperial Metropolis, where he must prove his worth in the Colosseum to take revenge on the invading General Marcus Acacius, played by Pedro Pascal.

Danish actress Connie Nielsen reprises her role of Lucilla from the original 2000 film, while Denzel Washington is already earning Oscar buzz for his cunning, flamboyant and extremely flamboyant ringmaster, Macrinus.

Washington joked on Monday, “Jewelry, sandals and everything – I looked just like a Roman broker… I couldn’t wear enough rings.”

political

Mescal – whose character, in addition to humans, also fights bloodthirsty baboons, rhinos and sharks gladiator ii – Also expressed excitement about returning in the second film.

But he added that Scott had discussed a new direction for the storyline that would not “go back to the realm as we know it.”

“Last time I talked to (Scott) he said he had nine pages. Yesterday, they said they had 14,” Mescal told reporters.

“I would be excited to see it go into more political territory,” Lucius said as he entered the world of court intrigue, in which he did not want to live like Michael Corleone. religious personMescal added.

Asked how the themes of the second film dealt with power and politics differently, some 24 years after the original, Scott said: “They’re exactly the same.”

“A super-rich man thinks he can take over an empire. Is he familiar?” He said, just days after billionaire Donald Trump was re-elected as US President.

“We learn nothing historically. We keep repeating the same mistakes. We’re going through exactly the same thing right now in many parts of the planet,” he said.