More than two decades later, Ridley Scott’s Best Picture-winning classic action epic Hellraiser is getting a sequel, and by all accounts, it’s going to be a great movie. Starring the burly Paul Mescal as Lucius, a far cry from Normal People’s sensitive Cornell Waldron, he’s the son of Connie Nielsen’s Lucilla and Joaquin Phoenix also plays Commodus’ nephew, the film will see our charming hero enter the fray and fight to the death.
According to Vanity Fair, the new film will pick up decades after the first movie, with Lucius “growing up far away from his mother. When he was a child, Lucilla sent him away to a region called Numidia on the northern coast, which he grew to resent — even if solely because of his mother’s infatuation.”
The attack is led by Pedro Pascal’s Marcus Acacius, a Roman general who is a ruthless killer and, to Lucius, “the embodiment of everything he hates.” The film reportedly begins with the guerrillas destroying the Roman fleet in Numidia, after which Lucius is captured. “When he arrived in Rome… and he had his first round in the arena, he saw his mother – he was surprised,” Scott told the publication. “He didn’t know if she was alive or not. How could he know? You don’t have phones and you don’t have the press. In the imperial box, his mother looked beautiful after 20 years. She was with the general when he came in. They confronted each other on the walls of Numidia at the Colosseum, Lucilla didn’t recognize her son, but soon after she and her lover came into conflict.
The attack is led by Pedro Pascal’s Marcus Acacius, a Roman general who is a ruthless killer and, to Lucius, “the embodiment of everything he hates.” The film reportedly begins with the guerrillas destroying the Roman fleet in Numidia, after which Lucius is captured. “When he arrived in Rome… and played the first round in the arena, he saw his mother – it was a surprise to him to see her alive. How did he know? You had no phones and no media. 20 years later when he entered the Colosseum she came face to face on the Numidian wall and Lucilla did not recognize her son and her lover came into the conflict.
Nielsen reprises his role in the original film and stars opposite Denzel Washington in Gladiator II as Macrinus, a brilliant and wealthy arms dealer who raises a tribe of animals for sport. Stranger Things breakout Joseph Queen plays the ruthless Emperor Geza; Fred Heckinger plays his twin brother and equally ruthless co-ruler Emperor Caracalla. Mark your calendars for November 22, when the blockbuster hits theaters, and check out the two explosive early trailers below.
