The Gladiator 2 first look was finally released on Tuesday and leading man Paul Mescal has broken his silence about the highly-anticipated sequel having the same release date as Wicked.

The 28-year-old hunky Irish actor – got candid about the fanfare regarding the two big budget films opening in cinemas worldwide on November 22 together.

In playing off of last year’s massively successful ‘Barbenheimer’ campaign when Barbie and Oppenheimer were released on the same day, fans have dubbed the day Glicked.

‘It would be amazing ’cause I think the films couldn’t be more polar opposites and it worked in that context previously. So fingers crossed people come out and see both films on opening weekend.’

The Gladiator 2 first look was finally released on Tuesday and leading man Paul Mescal has broken his silence about the highly-anticipated sequel having the same release date as Wicked

Decades have passed, but Maximus Decimus Meridius remains fresh in the memory as Paul Mescal’s Lucius Verus picks up the sword in this first official trailer for Ridley Scott’s eagerly anticipated Gladiator II. 

Normal People star Mescal takes his biggest role to date in this epic historical blockbuster, a blood-and-gore soaked sequel to Scott’s award-winning 2000 triumph, Gladiator.

With Russell Crowe’s legendary Maximus long-since dead and buried, it is vengeful Lucius – the grandson of Rome’s former emperor Marcus Aurelius and son of Lucilla  – who must fight for his liberty after being taken into slavery. 

A former heir to the Roman empire, Lucius is imprisoned by Pedro Pascal’s Marcus Acacius – a feared general who honed his fighting skills under the tutelage of Maximus – and his marauding army of troops. 

Played by a then 12-year old Spencer Treat Clark in Scott’s original film, Lucius is now fully grown and intent on forcing his way out of the notorious fighting pits, at all costs. 

Along the way he encounters and befriends Denzel Washington’s Macrinus, a power broker who keeps a stable of gladiators and sees battle-hungry Lucius as a promising investment. 

‘You have something in you,’ he tells him. ‘I knew it from the start… rage is your gift.’ 

Inspired by the feats of Maximus, Lucius must find his way out of ‘the greatest temple Rome ever built’ in the Colosseum, where sword-wielding soldiers, rampaging rhinos and even Marcus Acacius himself await. 

The 28-year-old hunky Irish actor – got candid about the fanfare regarding the two big budget films opening in cinemas worldwide on November 22 together

Paul reacted to the phenomenon in an interview with ET as he said: ‘Wickdiator doesn’t really roll off the tongue does it? I think my preference would probably be Glicked if it has a similar effect to what it did for Barbie and Oppenheimer. It would be amazing ’cause I think the films couldn’t be more polar opposites and it worked in that context previously. So fingers crossed people come out and see both films on opening weekend’

 The new trailer also features Stranger Things star Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger as impish Roman co-emperors Geta and Caracalla, with both bearing a strong resemblance to Marcus Aurelius’ scheming son Commodus, played by Joaquin Phoenix. 

Fans of the original film will remember that Lucius is also the nephew of Commodus, who famously killed his father to seize the throne.

The young emperor subsequently lost his own life while fighting Maximus, who save the young Lucius and his mother while avenging his own wife and son’s death. 

The long-awaited Gladiator sequel will debut 24 years after the original historical film was released to commercial and critical acclaim in 2000.

At the time, Gladiator won five Oscars from its 11 nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Crowe’s portrayal of gladiator Maximus.

David Scarpa scripted the sequel, while Ridley, Douglas Wick, Lucy Fisher, Michael Pruss and David Franzoni produced the film.

It will be a battle between wands and swords as Wicked and Gladiator II are to go head-to-head at the box office on Friday, November 22nd. 

The double release is a bid to recreate the movie magic of Barbenheimer, which saw thousands flock to cinemas when Barbie and Oppenheimer was released on the same day in 2023. 

Meanwhile, though decades have passed, but Maximus remains fresh in the memory as Paul’s Lucius picks up the sword in the first official trailer for Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II which was released

Lucius was played by Spencer Treat Clark in the original 2000 blockbuster (left), now fully gown, he is played by Paul Mescal in the forthcoming sequel (right) 

Enslaved by the Roman empire and inspired by Maximus (played by Russell Crowe, pictured), Lucius vows to fight his way out of the pits

Vanity Fair reports Wicked have moved their date from Wednesday 20 to two days later when Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II will be released, meanings fans will have to pick which film they see first. 

Wicked director Jon M. Chu spoke about the schedule shake-up on X, formerly Twitter, and named the clash ‘Glicked’. 

He said:  ‘#Glicked November 22nd. Bring… everyone . #Erivo #Grande #Washington #Pascal #Mescal #Goldblum #Yeoh #Bailey #Scott #Chu & You’

Barbie and Oppenheimer became a combined cultural phenomenon over summer 2023. 

After the two films were released on the same day – July 21 – Barbenheimer gripped film fans who made an event out of going directly from the screening of one to the other.

Barbie and Oppenheimer made more than $240 million combined in their opening weekend, making it the fourth-biggest box-office weekend of all time, after Margot Robbie refused to move the clashing release date to help drum up publicity.  

The Greta Gerwig hit tops the list grossing over $1.4 billion with Oppenheimer just short of the billion mark. 

Starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as its leads, Barbie was an instant hit in July and enjoyed the biggest Box Office debut of the year. 

Vanity Fair reports Wicked have moved their date from Wednesday 20 to two days later when Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II will be released, meanings fans will have to pick what they see 

Wicked director Jon M. Chu spoke about the schedule shake-up on X, formerly Twitter , and named the clash ‘Glicked’ 

Many fans were pleasantly surprised by the movies deeper meaning and messages around misogyny and its countless cinematic references and Easter eggs throughout.

Running at almost two hours, the adventure-comedy follows its title character as she and her land suffer a mysterious crisis at the hands of her owner and the Kens respectively.

Oppenheimer also brought a strong cast as the biopic of the ‘father of the atomic bomb’ grossed just over $950m and took home seven Oscars. 

The Christopher Nolan epic, starring Cillian Murphy, also broke recodes in overtaking Dunkirk ($527m), Saving Private Ryan ($482m) and Pearl Harbor ($449m) to become the highest-grossing World War II film ever.

Wicked Part 1 was originally set for a Christmas Day, 2024 release but it has been moved to November. The second part of the musical is scheduled to hit cinemas in November, 2025.

It boasts a star-studded cast which showcases the impressive vocal talents of lead stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. 

Ariana, 31, portrays Glinda the Good Witch in the upcoming film based on Gregory Maguire’s best selling novel and the hit Broadway musical adaptation while Cynthia takes on the role of Elphaba. 

It is a prequel to the The Wizard of Oz in which the storyline proceeds Dorothy and details the one-time friendship between the Elphaba and Glinda characters.

Barbie and Oppenheimer made more than $240 million combined in their opening weekend (pictured Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling)  

Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer became the highest-grossing World War II film ever

It is a sequel to Russell Crowe’s 2000 film Gladiator (pictured) 

The set is where she met her boyfriend, Ethan Slater, who plays Boq, a resident of Munchkinland.

Gladiator II, meanwhile, sees Paul Mescal, 28, takes on the role of Roman Empire Lucius Verus, the grown-up son of Lucilla, portrayed as a child in the Oscar-winning original from 2000 starring Russell Crowe.

The Last Of Us actor Pedro Pascal plays Roman general Acacius, who trained as a gladiator beneath Russell’s character Maximum, while Denzel Washington, 69, is Macrinus. 

The sequel will be set after Maximus’ death, following Lucius, who has long thought that his mother is dead only to clap eyes on her when he is brought to Rome as a slave.

The cast also includes Joseph Quinn as Emperor Caracalla, Fred Hechinger as Emperor Greta as a pair of brothers who rule a decaying and corrupt Rome.

Meanwhile returning Gladiator stars Connie Nielsen (Lucilla) and Derek Jacobi (Senator Gracchus) will also be returning for the sequel.

Director Ridley is back to helm the reported £250M sequel, after the original bagged five Oscars including Best Director, Best Actor and Best Picture, as well as earning £400M worldwide.

The original story is set in 180 AD, followed Maximus (Crowe) returning home after leading Roman forces to victory over Germanic tribes.

Meanwhile, his Emperor, Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris), is secretly murdered by his treacherous son Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), after telling him he was unfit to rule.

After Maximus refused to pledge his loyalty to Commodus, he murdered his family, as Maximus is captured by slave traders as he must fight his way through various obstacles to get his vengeance against Commodus.

The film from director Ridley Scott and writers David Franzoni, John Logan and William Nicholson is still considered a classic.

While there had been talk of a sequel since 2001, it never fully came to fruition since 2018 when Paramount gave the project a green light.