24 years after the 1st Gladiator blew viewers minds with its stunning visuals and heart pounding battle sequences, directory Ridley Scott is finally presenting fans with a second installment. Russell Crowe might not be reprising his role as Maximus, but a bang up cast of gorgeous men has been tapped to carry the historical epic on their broad and capable shoulders.
Pedro Pascal and Paul Mescal are set to carry the burden of being hotter than the surface of the sun, and as usual, Pascal and his army of loyal fans are more than happy to oblige. If seeing “Papa Pedro” in yet another grizzled role wasn’t enough to send fans’ pulses racing, Mascal’s physical transformation has blood pressure spiking. In the wake of the film’s first looks, X.com is awash with excited fans, and some of them might need a cold shower.
Even “professional Pedro fans” were blindsided. Who can blame them? between the stoic look and prefect facial hair( despite being a dirty, dirty boy), Pascal really pulls off the grizzled veteran. A role he perfected as Joel Miller in The Last of Us.
While most of us were busy gazing at the absolutely gorgeous costuming, others were focusing on the olfactory rather than the visual. The user below wasn’t the only one to beg for a whiff of Mr. Pascal, and We’re starting to think that some of ya’ll need some serious help.
Pascal is a great actor who’s nailed the challenging roles Hollywood has recently tossed his way, and many fans were happy to see his name attached to the project. Ever since he donned his first set of armor in Game Of Thrones, he’s been nailing some absolutely iconic battle-ready roles.
Speaking of Game of Thrones, while most of us are ridding high on him as a hardened Roman Legionnaire, others are really struggling with that season 4 PTSD.
Though Pascal is the better known of the handsome leading men, Paul Mescal had plenty of love thrown his way. The actor opened up to Vanity Fair surrounding his “Roman nose” insecurities, and fans were quick to let him know just what benefits his shcnoz could offer. Ladies, you do know everyone can read these comments, right?
To prepare for his role as a gladiator, Mescal had to get absolutely shredded. Pascal told Vanity Fair that he would “rather be thrown from a building than have to fight him again.” The older actor even gave him the nickname, “Brick Wall Paul.” Something tells me that once Mescal’s fans get ahold of that one, thirsty Tweet production will skyrocket.
Mescal’s fanbase isn’t limited to women. Even his male audience was wowed by his budging muscles. If a picture is worth 1000 words, how much is a GIF?
Fans were quick to lament his single status, but at least some acknowledge their shortcomings. The only relationship the actor has been in publicly was the Indie singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers.
The reveal of Denzel Washington and Joseph Quinn‘s characters revved more than a few fan engines as well. Most commenters were quick to declare Washington the MVP, but Quinn was getting a little less love. While fans might not have thought he looked as regal as Washington, they did find parallels to another royal in his blond locks.
It might not be giving Roman Emperor, but it is some kind of Queenly.
Gladiator was was an incredible movie that helped land Joaquin Phoenix on the map, and many of Quinn’s fans are hopeful the Gladiator II could do the same for the under-appreciated actor.
We’re excited to see how Quinn handles the dramatic role, but one thing’s for sure, that pallor combined with that hair is definitely making X users feel something.