JAY-Z and Frank Ocean both appear in the highly anticipated trailer for Gladiator II, starring Denzo Washington, Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal.
The sequel to the 2000 Oscar winner will be released on November 22, and the first trailer shows off plenty of Roman-era action.
The three-minute clip is surprisingly set to JAY-Z, Kanye West and Frank Ocean’s 2011 Watch the Throne collaboration “No Church in the Wild,” although only Jay and Frank can be heard in the trailer the sound of.
The sequel, again directed by Ridley Scott, follows the fictional grandson of Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris in the original) as Lucius returns to Rome to become a gladiator in the city’s Colosseum s story.
Lucius is played by Paul Mescal, while Washington plays the role of Macrinus, a Roman power broker with a group of gladiators. Pascal plays Marcus Acacius, a fearsome general.
“Stranger Things” stars Joseph Quinn and Fred Heckinger also play twin Roman emperors, while Connie Nielsen is the only returning cast member from the first film.
The original “Demon Warriors” grossed nearly $500 million at the global box office and won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Russell Crowe.
Denzo Washington has a number of other projects in the works, including a remake of “High & Low,” which will reunite him with director Spike Lee for the first time since 2006’s “The Insider.”
JAY-Z tries to appease Denzel Washington amid heated argument at Lakers game
The film will also mark the acting debut of Ice Spice, while A$AP Rocky stars alongside Washington and Jeffrey Wright.
Denzo will also return to the stage next year in a new Broadway production of Othello, in which he will play the titular iconic character.
He will star opposite Jake Gyllenhaal as the evil Iago in the drama, which is scheduled to be released in spring 2025.
Washington has extensive Shakespeare experience, having performed on stage in Julius Caesar, The Tragedy of Richard III and Coriolanus, and starring in Kenneth Branagh’s adaptation ’s film Much Ado About Nothing , in which he played Don Pedro of Aragorn alongside an all-star cast that included Michael Keaton and Keanu Reeves, as well as Branagh himself.
