![](https://www.gaytimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/paul-mescal-gladiator-590x370.jpg)
Paul Mescal’s kit makes a disappearing act in the trailer for Gladiator 2.
The epic historical drama is released 22 November, and also stars Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Lior Raz, Derek Jacobi, Connie Nielsen and Denzel Washington.
A sequel to the 2000 classic with Russell Crowe, it will continue “the epic saga of power, intrigue, and vengeance set in Ancient Rome.”
Mescal, who was recently celebrated for his role in the LGBTQIA+ fantasy romance All Of Us Strangers, plays Lucius, the nephew of Joaquin Phoenix’s villain from the original, Commodus.
Years after witnessing his uncle kill Crowe’s “revered hero” Maximus, Lucius is “forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors who now lead Rome with an iron fist.
“With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, Lucius must look to his past to find strength and honor to return the glory of Rome to its people.”
In the trailer, Mescal goes shirtless on various occasions – which is very important – before he battles Pascal’s new villain Marcus Acacius, a Roman general who trained under Maximus.
Watch the trailer for Gladiator 2 below.