{"id":2122897,"date":"2026-09-01T17:20:49","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T14:20:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2122897"},"modified":"2026-09-01T17:20:49","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T14:20:49","slug":"ridley-scott-reportedly-says-paul-mescal-wasnt-masculine-enough-for-gladiator-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2122897","title":{"rendered":"Ridley Scott Reportedly Says Paul Mescal Wasn’t \u2018Masculine Enough\u2019 for Gladiator 2"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Director Ridley Scott reportedly blamed Paul Mescal for Gladiator II<\/u><\/a>‘s underperformance, claiming the lead actor wasn’t \u201cmasculine enough\u201d for the role.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

According to Puck News\u2019 Matt Belloni<\/u><\/a> (via World of Reel<\/u><\/a>), this was the real reason why Mescal dropped out of Scott\u2019s next film, The Dog Stars<\/u><\/a>, and was replaced by Jacob Elordi.<\/p>\n

Reports at the time claimed Mescal\u2019s exit from The Dog Stars stemmed from scheduling conflicts with Sam Mendes\u2019 four-part Beatles movie, where Mescal plays Paul McCartney<\/u><\/a>. <\/p>\n

IGN\u2019s Tom Jorgensen, for one, appreciated Mescal\u2019s performance, writing in his positive Gladiator II review<\/u><\/a> that \u201cPaul Mescal is adept in the belabored-hero role, going toe-to-toe with not only the delightfully deranged Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger, but also with Denzel Washington.\u201d<\/p>\n

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While Gladiator II earned $462 million worldwide, the long-awaited sequel to the 2000 Best Picture winner also cost anywhere from $250 million to north of $300 million to produce.<\/p>\n

The Dog Stars is one of the biggest box office flops of Ridley Scott\u2019s career<\/u><\/a>, opening to just $19 million worldwide on what was reportedly an $89 million budget.<\/p>\n

In other Ridley Scott shit-talking news, the director recently said he\u2019s developing a sequel to Alien: Covenant<\/u><\/a> with Michael Fassbender because he thinks the Fede Alvarez-directed Alien: Romulus was just \u201cOK\u201d and the franchise \u201cneeds some help.\u201d<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n

Also be sure to read IGN\u2019s picks for Ridley Scott\u2019s 10 best movies,<\/u><\/a> a list that doesn\u2019t include Gladiator II, The Dog Stars, or Alien: Covenant.<\/p>\n

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What is the best Ridley Scott movie?<\/h2>\n

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