Paul Mescal’s “Most Hated” Body Part Finds New Purpose in Gladiator 2

Ideas for “Gladiator II” had been rumbling in director Ridley Scott’s head for more than 20 years. One pitch featured Maximus (Russell Crowe) resurrected by the Roman pantheon and cursed to fight in every war through history, unable to die, but that script’s hard pivot to the supernatural was rejected by studios, and so the “Gladiator II” we’re getting looks much more like a typical legacy sequel/pseudo-remake.

Lucius Verus (Paul Mescal), son of Lucilla (Connie Nielson), has somehow been exiled from Rome and forgotten his royal heritage (he’s seemingly the grandson of Emperor Marcus Aurellius, played by Richard Harris in the original “Gladiator,” althoughthe latest trailer apparently gives away a reveal that Maximus was his true father). Like Maximus before him, he’s taken as a slave and forced to fight in the Roman Colosseum.

The film recasts Spencer Treat Clark, who played the then-child Lucius in the original “Gladiator.” Mescal has proven himself a capable dramatic actor (he’ll make you cry in “Aftersun” and “All Of Us Strangers”), but can the young…

Paul Mescal’s perfect face, nose and all