This weekend, a lot more people were thinking about the Roman Empire than usual thanks to the release of “Gladiator II” (read our review). Ridley Scott’s return to the glory of Rome sees Paul Mescal take on the role of Lucius, the latest contender at the Colosseum after the late, great Maximus (Russell Crowe), who has been haunting the ‘Gladiator’ sequel all along. However, there was a time when other stars were considered to enter the arena as the new hero, and their involvement could have made for a very different film (albeit one that still featured angry baboons and Denzel Washington). hissing ‘politics’).

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Timothée Chalamet and Miles Teller both wanted to play Lucius before Mescal came on board. The actors from “Dune” and “Top Gun: Maverick” respectively were also apparently the frontrunners for the role, at least until Scott decided to indulge in some late night television. After hours of hammering through Mescal’s hit series “Normal People,” steps were taken to schedule conversations with the promising newcomer.

Although Scott made it clear during their subsequent discussions that the role would be demanding, Mescal was seemingly considered for it. Producer Doug Wick and co-producer Lucy Fisher went on to watch Mescal in a stage production of “A Streetcar Named Desire” and came away equally confident that they had found their man, even knowing the risks that would come with casting him with would entail. “Every studio would always prefer to have a big-name star,” Wick admitted. But as he and the others saw it, “No other actor came close.”

After a Zoom call with cigar-chomping legend Ridley Scott, Mescal immediately declined to accept the offer, fully aware of where this could lead. “I would have had a potential reservation about what would be the first major studio film because it portrays your situation as an actor,” he explained to THR. It’s an understandable concern to have; Once you grab attention in the real world by chopping them off in slow motion in a movie, there’s no going back. On the other hand, Crowe managed to avoid being pigeonholed after starring in the original ‘Gladiator’ and has since enjoyed a varied career, recently even riding around on a Vespa to slay demons in ‘The Pope’s Exorcist’.

However, Mescal refused to contact his predecessor after signing on for ‘Gladiator II’. Crowe himself has admitted to having mixed feelings about the Gladiator sequel, having spent years trying to get an earlier version of the project off the ground before the final version was released. But ultimately, Mescal decided to focus on forging his own path with the franchise. “It was actually helpful to have some distance from (Crowe), because I had to do my own thing,” the actor admitted. While there’s no word yet on whether Crowe has seen the new film, hopefully he’ll eventually discover that Mescal did his part to bring power and honor to the “Gladiator” name.

“Gladiator II” is now playing in theaters.