We've realized Barry Keoghan has been cast as Emperor Geta in Gladiator 2, and that he will be the leader villain of the function.

By Michileen Martin | Updated three hundred and sixty five days ago

He were given his first Academy Awards nomination this 12 months, and now he’s joining a franchise known for attracting Oscars. Our trusted and proven sources let us know Barry Keoghan has joined the cast of Gladiator 2 as the long-awaited sequel’s leader villain. Specifically, Keoghan will play a fictional version of the real-life Roman Emperor Geta, aka Publius Septimius Geta, who dominated Rome from the years 209 to 211.

Barry Keoghan’s signing on to Gladiator 2 is only the second one piece of casting news we’ve won about the sequel. Back in January, Deadline reported that every other actor who won his first Oscar nomination this 12 months, Aftersun‘s Paul Mescal, would be enjoying the sequel’s hero. He’ll play an older version of Lucius, who Spencer Treat Clark (Mystic River) played in the primary movie.

In 2000’s Gladiator, the younger model of Lucius is essentially a hostage in all but identify. As the son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) and grandson to Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris), Lucius is next in line to Rome’s throne. The bold and risky Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) sees the boy as a risk and uses his well-being to stay his sister Lucilla in line.

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Lucius comes to idolize Russell Crowe‘s Maximus and is the first to volunteer in helping the senator Gracchus (Derek Jacobi) raise his body away at the finish of Gladiator. It remains to be noticed exactly how the older Lucius will come to search out himself in a equivalent position to that of the overdue Maximus, or how that places him in war with Barry Keoghan’s Geta in Gladiator 2.

It’s truthfully a bit sudden that it’s taken till now for word to floor of another casting in Ridley Scott’s sequel. Last month it used to be reported Gladiator 2 had a target release date of November 22, 2024. Arguably, essentially the most surprising part of our story is that by means of now we don’t have more casting information about the film.

That includes whether or no longer we will be expecting any actors from the first film to sign up for Paul Mescal and Barry Keoghan in Gladiator 2. As the woman who performed Lucius’ mother, Connie Nielsen would seem to have a natural spot in the sequel. Of course, Crowe’s hero dies on the finish of the primary film, however with the de-aging technology to be had to filmmakers, a flashback or some kind of beyond-the-veil imaginative and prescient of Maximus isn’t out of the query, not to point out the same may well be said of Joaquin Phoenix’s Commodus.

While quite a lot of the unique film’s stars are unfortunately no longer with us — maximum notably Richard Harris and Oliver Reed (who played Proximo, Maximus’ gladiator mentor) — both Derek Jacobi and Djimon Hounsou are fortunately still running, and their characters live on the epic. We don’t know if the ones particular characters would have any believable reason why to join Lucius in his struggle in opposition to Barry Keoghan’s Geta in Gladiator 2, however the coming months will tell us extra. When we know, we’ll make sure to know.

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