PARAMOUNT showed a gory first look at “Gladiator 2” while Disney put on an unusual R-rated presentation for cinema bosses on the final day of CinemaCon in Las Vegas on Thursday.
In the extended trailer for the anticipated “Gladiator” sequel, star Paul Mescal battles through a Colosseum filled with rhinos, flesh-eating apes and even a floating Roman warship, driven by Denzel Washington’s dark advisor.
“It was probably even more extraordinary than the first one,” said director Ridley Scott, speaking via video link.
The trailer was met with thunderous applause at CinemaCon, the annual gathering where Hollywood studios introduce their upcoming titles to cinema owners and managers from around the world.
Ridley Scott’s sequel will hit theaters in November, nearly 25 years following the release of the historical epic “Gladiator” that won the best picture Oscar.
All this week, promotional marble statues for “Gladiator 2” have been gracing the casino floor of Caesars Palace, the Ancient Rome-themed casino and hotel in Las Vegas where CinemaCon is being held.
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Due to the previous film’s main characters, played by Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix, having been killed off, a new group of actors stepped in.
Mescal plays the gladiator Lucius, nephew of the evil emperor Phoenix, who is seen briefly as a child in the original film.
Pedro Pascal plays a military general, while Denzel Washington’s mysterious character is seen in extended footage plotting to overthrow the Roman Empire.
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“Rome must fall. I just need to give it a boost,” he says in one scene.
The lavish presentation raised cheers even as both Paramount and the big screen industry as a whole face uncertain times.
Parent company Paramount is currently involved in merger talks with Skydance, a media company founded by the billionaire Ellison family.
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Meanwhile, Hollywood’s total box office receipts are expected to fall in 2024, largely due to last year’s actors’ and writers’ strike, which shut down and delayed film production.
On Thursday, Paramount executives also previewed titles such as “A Quiet Place: Day One,” “Smile 2,” “Transformers One,” and “IF” — a new comedy from John Krasinski and starring Ryan Reynolds.
Paramount’s film chief, Brian Robbins, even joked regarding the merger talks, suggesting that one of his executives had launched a crowd-funded Kickstarter campaign to buy the studio.
Then on Thursday, Disney closed out CinemaCon with a star-studded presentation of their own.
The presentation included appearances from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson — promoting the release of “Moana 2” this November — and Amy Poehler, who returns in “Inside Out 2” this June.
Oscar-winning director of “Moonlight,” Barry Jenkins, previewed his animated prequel “Mufasa: The Lion King,” which will hit theaters in December.
Disney showed footage of Harrison Ford making his Marvel superhero film debut in next year’s “Captain America: Brave New World.”
But the family-friendly studio showed off a different presentation than usual with a glimpse of “Deadpool & Wolverine,” Disney’s first R-rated superhero film.
The film sees foul-mouthed antihero Reynolds partnering with beloved “X-Men” star Hugh Jackman.
Both characters were previously owned by 20th Century Fox.
But Disney bought the rival studio and its properties in 2019, and is now bundling them into its hugely popular Marvel film series.
It resulted in a Disney superhero film that featured mature language, explicit sex references, and some meta jokes regarding the studios themselves. (AFP/Z-3)
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