Ridley Scott has never exactly been shy about saying what he thinks. This is a filmmaker who will happily tell you which of his movies he dislikes, why your criticism is dead wrong and probably what he had for lunch while doing it. So, when a report claimed he privately blamed Gladiator II cast lead Paul Mescal for the film underperforming, the story sounded explosive enough to get attention fast. Now, Scott is speaking out about this rumor.
A report alleged that Scott blamed Mescal for the sequel’s box office performance and believed his leading man was not “masculine” enough. Following that, the filmmaker's camp issued a response to Entertainment Weekly, and it's a pretty unequivocal denial. The rep also pushed back on the suggestion that those feelings were behind the decision to replace the Gladiator II lead with Jacob Elordi in Scott's 2026 movie schedule release, The Dog Stars. The statement reads:
