Director Ridley Scott seems to be offering a bloodier version of that distant age, one that finds Paul Mescal entering the arena as a nobleman who has renounced his privilege and finds himself in a life-and-death struggle for the amusement of the Roman people.

Based on the footage Scott shared with cinema owners, Gladiator 2 recaptures the first film’s epic sprawl and action sequences.

What You Need to Know about Gladiator (2000)

Best Picture Oscar Winner

Released: May 5, 2000 (US)

The teaser saw Mescal face off against a charging rhino, a horde of vicious baboons, and Pedro Pascal, among other threats to his chiseled physique. There were also naval bombardments, political intrigue aplenty — and a pair of diabolical emperors who seem even crazier than Joaquin Phoenix’s unhinged monarch from the first film.

The theater operators gave the film an enthusiastic response. “It is possibly even more extraordinary than the first,” Scott said in a video message. It is well worth the wait.”

My Oscar Book:

The 2000 epic won best picture at the Oscars and was a box office smash.

It was hard to make a sequel, however, given that original star Russell Crowe’s character doesn’t make it past the final credits, nor does Phoenix’s character.

But Connie Nielsen returns as Lucilla, the mother of Mescal’s Lucius, as does Derek Jacobi, playing a member of the Roman Senate. They are joined by an ensemble of heavyweights that includes Washington, who previously worked with Scott on “American Gangster,” and “The Mandalorian” star Pascal.

Fred Hechinger (“The White Lotus”) and Joseph Quinn (“Stranger Things”) play co-emperor Geta and co-emperor Caracalla, respectively.

Wearing face paint and watching the whole spectacle from their imperial boxes, the duo seem to be treating the proceedings with scenery-chewing relish.