Gladiator II’s marketing has come out swinging from first-look photos to, now, a brand new trailer. While the trailer leaves much to the imagination, much of the main cast gets a moment to shine, including Pedro Pascal as Roman general Marcus Acacius.
Gladiator II follows Lucius Verus (played by Paul Mescal), Lucilla’s (Connie Nielsen) son, and his exploits to escape his role as a gladiator and get revenge. Like Maximus, Lucius lost his home and possibly his family due to an invasion led by Pascal’s Acacius. As a result, Lucius starts a revenge quest with his sights set on Acacius.
Pascal’s Acacius doesn’t have much time to showcase his motivations in the trailer, aside from a few shots of him attacking Lucius’ home. That said, he shines in key shots, such as one that shows off a regal gold and white armor complete with a gold leaf tiara.
This outfit is hard not to notice, especially for fans, as well as it’s presence in many of Acacius’ scenes in the trailer where he speaks to the emperors of a failing Rome and also oversees the combat in the coliseum.
Later in the trailer, Acacius is also shown dodging an arrow from Lucius as the latter chooses to face him in combat. After that, Acacius takes on a small group of gladiators, giving viewers a taste of his combat skill but also the risk that Lucius will face against him.
Pascal is no stranger to one-on-one combat, being that his character in Game of Thrones, another skilled warrior, met a gruesome end that seemed to set a trend for his future roles. Now, fans can’t help but comment about the MCU star’s seemingly imminent death as he faces off against the film’s main character.
Watch the trailer with Pedro Pascal below:
Gladiator II hits theaters on November 22nd, 2024.