November 15th 2024.
As we eagerly anticipate the release of Gladiator II, we can't help but wonder what surprises director Sir Ridley Scott has in store for us. And it seems we're not the only ones with bated breath, as Connie Nielsen, who plays Lucilla, has shared that the script for the sequel left her stunned and amazed.
Nielsen, known for her role as the daughter of Emperor Marcus Aurelius in the original Gladiator film, reveals that she was taken aback by the plot for the sequel. In the first film, Lucilla meets a tragic end at the hands of her own brother, Commodus. However, in the trailer for Gladiator II, it is revealed that her son, Lucius, who was sent away for his safety, is in fact the son of Maximus, played by the talented Paul Mescal.
As the story picks up 18 years later, we find Rome under the rule of debauched co-emperors, Geta and Caracalla. Lucilla's position is more precarious than ever as she navigates the dangerous political landscape, with her ambitious brother Commodus and scheming arms dealer Macrinus vying for power. To make matters worse, her son Lucius returns as a slave gladiator after his home in Numidia is conquered by Rome.
While a sequel to Gladiator has been in the works for years, Nielsen was only made aware of it when the script from writers David Scarpa and Peter Craig was chosen by Sir Ridley himself. "They finally figured out what they exactly wanted the story to be," she tells Metro. "And that's when they contacted me to ask if I would be willing to come back and reprise Lucilla."
But Nielsen is not the only familiar face we'll see in the sequel. Sir Ridley has also brought back renowned British thespian Sir Derek Jacobi, now 86 years old, as Senator Gracchus. However, it seems that Nielsen's character will play an even more crucial role this time around as she is caught in the middle of conflicting loyalties and a complicated relationship with General Marcus Acacius, played by Pedro Pascal.
When asked about her hopes for her character's return, Nielsen shares, "I honestly could not have imagined the incredible plot points that she would be at the centre of." She also expresses her excitement for exploring Lucilla's perspective on the "complete madness of Rome" 18 years later and how it has affected her.
Despite the pressure of reprising a role after almost 25 years, Nielsen claims to have felt no pressure and found it easy to reconnect with Lucilla. "I really felt it was such an organic and natural experience," she says. "I remembered the feeling inside of me, of her, and finding her again was so simple and so easy."
As for her onscreen son, Mescal, Nielsen praises the young actor's talent and reveals that she was looking forward to their scenes together. "And when we did get to the scenes, it was really so special to go in there and I could just feel that they were going to be very strong," she says.
Shooting Gladiator II held a special significance for Nielsen as they returned to Malta, where they filmed the first movie, and even recreated the Colosseum in the same location. Reflecting on the changes in technology and the filmmaking process, Nielsen admits that she was worried about losing one of her favorite parts of working with Sir Ridley – their collaborative conversations about her character.
"He's such a collaborative director," she shares. "It's such a pleasure for an actor to actually have all these conversations with him about where the character should go." However, with the advancements in technology, the process has become much quicker, leaving less time for these discussions. But Nielsen found a clever way around it by having their chats in the mornings before filming.
With Gladiator now hitting cinemas, we can't wait to see what surprises and emotional moments await us in the sequel. And if Nielsen's performance is anything like we've seen in the past, we know we're in for a treat.
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