We all have Hollywood favorites, but let’s be real—they don’t need to be squeezed into every other movie, especially not in something like the Gladiator sequel.
When you spend 25 years perfecting a script to continue one of the most iconic stories of the 2000s, that movie better be flawless. Sure, it’s all about the script, the cinematography, and all that technical jazz — but it’s the actors who truly bring it all to life. In a recent interview, Ridley Scott revealed that several big names were considered to play Maximus’ son in Gladiator 2 long before they settled on Paul Mescal. And guess who was among those? Hollywood’s hottest rodent of the year—Timothée Chalamet. (via THR)
Chalamet has certainly skyrocketed to fame in recent years, with both his personal and professional life making headlines practically every other month. He began dating Kylie Jenner, while also starring in silver screen spectacles like Dune and its sequel, as well as indie darling Bones and All, blockbuster musical Wonka, and more. But when fans found out he was almost cast as Lucius in Gladiator 2, they were oddly relieved it didn’t happen. “Nothing against him but this wouldn’t even make sense,” a user wrote on X and honestly, we couldn’t agree more.
The Gladiator aesthetic is all about ancient, jacked-up warriors slashing throats with swords and bathing in their enemies’ blood. And Timothée Chalamet? He’s probably more suited to playing the clever, intellectual type than a ruthless fighter. While one user argued that “Chalamet has more aura in a leadership role,” which is evident by his acting in the Dune movies, another justified Mescal’s casting over Chalamet, saying, “No way Timmy would have delivered on those Colosseum fight scenes.”
While none of us disagree that Chalamet is a good actor who puts perfection into his roles, the internet collectively agrees that Timmy as Lucius would’ve been a mismatch. And this made all of them thank Ridley Scott and the Gods that he didn’t go on with his idea. “Praise the sun it was not him.” one user wisecracked. And on the brighter side, Scott saved Chalamet some serious and rigorous training by not casting him.
In the same interview, Scott revealed another name who was considered to be the junior Maximus—Miles Teller. But then, when Scott saw Mescal in the Hulu series Normal People, he “could immediately imagine the then little-known 28-year-old Irish actor in a codpiece.” Though producer Douglas Wick admitted that “Any studio would always prefer to have a known star,” he said that “no other actor came close” to their vision of Lucius. And so, we got our next Gladiator in the face of Paul Mescal.
And before Chalamet fans feel sad that he missed out on such a big role, the 28-year-old will soon be seen as the legendary singer-songwriter Bob Dylan in the upcoming film A Complete Unknown. He’s also set to co-produce and star in an upcoming sports drama film Marty Supreme, which is inspired by the life of a professional table tennis player, Marty Reisman. So buckle up because Chalamet isn’t stepping out of the screen anytime soon.
Published: Nov 25, 2024 01:34 pm