Paul Mescal Practiced Fighting ‘Gladiator II’ Co-Star Pedro Pascal ‘Whenever I Could Get My Hands On Him’

Following last summer’s Barbenheimer craze, cinema’s follow up is coming on November 22 with Glicked, as Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator II” and Jon M. Chu’s “Wicked” battle at the box office for the number one slot. IndieWire attended the former’s premiere in Los Angeles on Monday, November 18 and caught up with stars Paul Mescal and Fred Hechinger.

Mescal leads Ridley Scott‘s highly-anticipated epic sequel as Lucius, the nephew of Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) who was killed by Russell Crowe’s Maximus. Lucius is the son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) and grandson of Marcus Aurelius. “Gladiator II” is set 20 years after the events of the first film, with the estimated era for the sequel being 200 A.D.

One scene involves Pedro Pascal battling Mescal in one of the most violent scenes of either film. “We just rehearsed a lot, or whenever I could get my hands on Pedro, I like trying to steal him to run the choreography,” Mescal told IndieWire of preparing for their battle.

“You can rehearse it as much as you want, but then there’s this adrenaline that comes with actually actually filming us,” he continued. As for a message to Pascal, who wasn’t at the premiere, Mescal said, “I want to see him soon; I think he’s gonna still be in London when I get back.”

Hechinger plays Emperor Caracalla, co-emperor of Rome, alongside his brother Emperor Geta, played by Joseph Quinn. The duo shares a sort of deranged bond, almost reminiscent of Beavis and Butt-Head.

“Honestly lovely,” Hechinger told IndieWire of creating the brotherly bond with Quinn. “He’s such a tremendous person. Usually you’re alone in the preparation of a character. I’m just [used to] trying to build my guy waiting, until the time where I get to interact with everyone else. This was an unusually nice experience, because we got to meet earlier on, and aspects of our characters were built together. He’s a good guy to work closely with.” Quinn was also absent from the LA premiere due to filming “Fantastic Four.”

The official synopsis reads: “From legendary director Ridley Scott, ‘Gladiator II’ continues the epic saga of power, intrigue, and vengeance set in Ancient Rome. Years after witnessing the death of the revered hero Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius (Mescal) is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors who now lead Rome with an iron fist. With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, Lucius must look to his past to find strength and honor to return the glory of Rome to its people.”

Watch the trailer here.