Denzel Washington Reuniting With Ridley Scott On ‘Gladiator’ Sequel At Paramount

EXCLUSIVE: Chris Chalk will star as James Baldwin in the latest installment of Ryan Murphy’s Feud series—Feud: Capote’s Women.

Angelina Jolie shocked fans when she told an interviewer that a raunchy scene with Denzel Washington was "the best sex I ever had".

Kerry Washington stepped out for two big events in the past few days!

The cast of “Gladiator 2” just got a huge new name.

What casting news could top Barry Keoghan joining fellow Irish actor Paul Mescal in Ridley Scott‘s upcoming “Gladiator 2“? Deadline has the answer.  Denzel Washington is in final talks to co-star in the sequel.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor What better way to officially close the door on an exhausting awards season than to look ahead –blindly — to what studios and production companies could bring to the screen in 2023. As Variety‘s awards coverage transitions into the Emmy season, this annual tradition (albeit highly inaccurate due to release shifts and other varying factors) creates some fun and wonder as Cannes looms two months away. One first impression is that the streamers are back with a vengeance with an arsenal of big names and titles aiming to take the trophy from reigning best-picture champ A24 with “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” Apple Original Films has a duo of master auteurs on deck.

It looks like Denzel Washington will be appearing on screen with Paul Mescal!

On Thursday, it was reported that Barry Keoghan is in negotiations to play Emperor Geta in the David Scarpa-scripted film; while there was a Roman emperor with the name it’s unclear how directly the movie will draw from actual events. Mescal will be playing Lucius, the son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen, who is thought to be returning).Also returning for the sequel is original director of photography John Mathieson, production designer Arthur Max and costumer designer Janty Yates.

Angelique Jackson Denzel Washington is in final negotiations to join Ridley Scott’s upcoming “Gladiator” sequel, reteaming after 2007’s “American Gangster.” If the deal closes, the two-time Academy Award winner would join newly minted Oscar nominees Paul Mescal and Barry Keoghan, whose participation in the project broke Thursday. The sequel follows 2000’s blockbuster hit “Gladiator,” which was nominated for 12 Academy Awards and won five, including best picture. It earned $460 million at the box office, and now Scott is returning to direct and produce the sequel. The original “Gladiator” starred Russell Crowe as Maximus Decimus Meridius, a Roman soldier forced into slavery who vows revenge against Commodus, played by Joaquin Phoenix. Since Maximus dies at the end of “Gladiator,” Mescal will play Lucius, the son of Maximus’ lover Lucilla (played by Connie Nielsen), in the sequel. Keoghan is in negotiations to play Emperor Geta.

It’s been over 20 years since Ridley Scott rocked the period action film genre with his beloved “Gladiator,” eventually earning Best Picture and Best Actor wins at the Academy Awards in 2001. A long-gestating sequel is finally going in front of cameras this summer, with recent Oscar-nominee Paul Mescal (“Aftersun“) taking the lead role and Scott returning to the director’s chair.

Angelique Jackson Academy Award-nominee Barry Keoghan is circling his next high-profile role, with the actor in negotiations to join Ridley Scott’s untitled “Gladiator” sequel. If the deal closes, Keoghan would join fellow 2023 Academy Award nominee Paul Mescal, who is set to star in the Paramount Pictures film. Keoghan is in negotiations to play Emperor Geta. Paramount Pictures has dated the film for November 22, 2024. Scott returns to direct the film, which follows 2000’s “Gladiator,” which was nominated for 12 Academy Awards, winning five including best picture. David Scarpa is penning the script. Scott will also produce with Michael Pruss via Scott Free and Doug Wick & Lucy Fisher via Red Wagon Entertainment. Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald are executive producing. Also returning from the original film are cinematographer John Mathieson, production designer Arthur Max and costume designer Janty Yates.

Parker Finn has just signed a first-look deal with Paramount to write, produce, and direct features.

$217 million at the global box office last fall, filmmaker Parker Finn has signed a first-look deal with Paramount Pictures. “I am honored and thrilled to be joining the Paramount family,” Finn said in a statement.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Somebody must be flashing their pearly whites. Paramount Pictures has entered a multi-year, first-look deal with Parker Finn to write, produce and direct features.  The pact comes on the heels of Finn’s breakout horror hit “Smile,” which became a sleeper box office sensation. Finn wrote and directed the creepy tale, which went on to be the top grossing original horror movie of 2022, raking in $216 million worldwide on a $17 million budget. It was based on his short film “Laura Hasn’t Slept.” “‘Smile’s’breakthrough success is a testament to Parker’s unique and fresh filmmaking, and we are thrilled that he will make Paramount his home,” said Paramount Pictures President & CEO Brian Robbins.

Paramount Pictures has hammered a multi-year, first-look deal with Parker Finn to write, produce and direct features. 

EXCLUSIVE: Jack Black, Bobby and Peter Farrelly, the team behind the comedy hit Shallow Hal, looking to be reuniting for the holidays and bringing an infamous character along for the sleigh ride. Sources tell Deadline that Jack Black is set to star in the Christmas comedy Dear Santa Bobby Farrelly set to direct and Peter Farrelly on board to produce with Bobby and Jeremy Kramer.

Everything Everywhere All at Once” star Michelle Yeoh, who completed her recent sweep of best actress prizes with a thunderous, history-making win at the 95th Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role. She is the first-ever lead actress of Asian descent to win in all 95 years of the Academy Awards.Yeoh, a titan of Asian cinema who famously performed a number of stunts in death-defying action classics such as “Supercop” and “Yes, Madam” before finding her way into the Bond movie “Tomorrow Never Dies,” the Ang Lee classic “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “Memoirs of a Geisha,” and “Crazy Rich Asians.” She is a beloved industry legend and the Daniels wrote the role of Evelyn Wang in “Everything Everywhere All at Once” especially for her.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Ruth E. Carter has become the first Black woman to win two Oscars. Carter, who in 2019 became the first Black person to win the Oscar for costume design for her work on Marvel’s “Black Panther,” was recognized for the film’s sequel, “Wakanda Forever.” In her speech, she thanked director Ryan Coogler and asked late “Black Panther” star Chadwick Boseman to look after her own mother, who recently died at 101. “Nice to see you again,” Carter said as she took the stage. “Thank you to the Academy for recognizing the superhero that is a Black woman. She endure, she loves, she overcomes, she is every woman in this film. She is my mother. This past week, Mable Carter became an ancestor. This film prepared me for this moment. Chadwick, please take care of Mom. Ryan Coogler, Nate Moore, thank you both for your vision. Together, we are reshaping how culture is represented. The Marvel family, Kevin Feige, Victoria Alonso, Louis D’Esposito and their arsenal of genius, thank you. I share this with many dedicated artists whose hands and hearts helped manifest the costumes of Wakanda and Talokan. This is for my mother. She was 101.”

“Da 5 Bloods,” “Malcolm X”), as well as projects such as “The Good Fight,” “The Cider House Rules,” and “The Harder They Fall.” “Based on the conversations that I had with Tracy McMillan and Kerry Washington, who approached me to do this work, I thought there was a real opportunity to illuminate a situation that people maybe have prejudiced thoughts about, when they think about somebody who has been in and out of prison,” he told The Post. “Kerry made it really clear to me not only why she wanted me in particular to do this work, but what I had meant to her as an actor.

Apple Original Films have set up the new film Echo Valley from a script by Mare of Easttown creator Brad Ingelsby with Sydney Sweeney and Julianne Moore attached to star. Hailing from Apple Studios, and produced by Scott Free Films and The Walsh Company, the film will be directed by Michael Pearce.