Ridley Scott’s Gladiator offered no shortage of fantastic sets which instantly transported audiences to Ancient Rome, and the upcoming sequel looks to be just as impressive. Morocco’s Minister of Culture, Mohammed Mehdi Bensaid, recently visited the set of Gladiator 2 and shared a few photos and a video on Instagram. He met with Ridley Scott, took pictures with extras, and toured a massive set of a walled city. Check out the photos and video below!
In the translated caption, Mohammed Mehdi Bensaid said, “I visited the shooting site of “Gladiator 2” movie in the city of Ourzazat after an explosion that the site has seen in recent days. The visit formed an opportunity to meet British director and producer Ridley Scott and his team, where he affirmed that Ourzazat and Morocco are a global cinematic destination, and there are great qualifications to shoot the largest global cinematic productions. During the visit, I visited the set site, met with its staff, assuring that the Ministry will keep up with such productions, and will contribute to the projects of the film and cultural industries.” The set in the Gladiator 2 video already looks pretty spectacular, and I can only imagine how much better it will look in the finished movie.
The production of Gladiator 2 was recently rocked by an accident which involved a large explosion during the shooting of a planned stunt sequence. Six crew members suffered non-life-threatening burn injuries.
“While filming a planned stunt sequence on the set of the Gladiator sequel, an accident occurred during which several crew members experienced non-life-threatening injuries,” a Paramount spokesperson said in a statement about the accident. “The safety and full medical services teams on-site were able to act quickly so that those who were impacted immediately received necessary care. They are all in stable condition and continue to receive treatment. The well-being of the cast and crew is of the utmost importance to us, and we have strict health and safety procedures in place on all our productions. We will continue monitoring the situation and taking all necessary precautions as we resume production.“
Ridley Scott is directing the Gladiator sequel, which has been scripted by David Scarpa (All The Money In the World). The film stars Paul Mescal (Aftersun) as Lucius, the young boy who idolized Maximus (Russell Crowe) in the original movie. The cast also includes Denzel Washington (The Equalizer 3), Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian), Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things), Connie Nielsen (Wonder Woman), May Calamawy (Moon Knight), Lior Raz (The Crowded Room), Peter Mensah (Spartacus), Matt Lucas (Wonka), Fred Hechinger (The White Lotus), and Derek Jacobi (Murder on the Orient Express). Russell Crowe isn’t involved in the new Gladiator movie, but he did express a slight amount of jealousy about the experience Mescal has ahead of him.
Gladiator 2 will hit theaters on November 22, 2024.