Paramount went all in on Gladiator II at CineEurope today, showing off an exclusive extended look at Ridley Scott’s sequel to his 2000 Best Picture Oscar winner. Introducing the footage in a video clip, Scott promised that Gladiator II, coming nearly two-and-a-half decades after the original, is “well worth the wait”; the audience today agreed. That pre-roll clip also included stars Denzel Washington, Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen and Joseph Quinn. Paramount releases globally in November.
At the top of the show, President of International Theatrical Distribution Mark Viane once again had the CineEurope crowd in stitches with his annual entrance tied to a major Par title; this time appearing in gladiator garb in a cheeky pre-recorded video as Markimus Vianus and wearing a vest with the Paramount logo, celebrating the film and the theatrical experience as he urged members of Par’s international distribution team (sporting swords, sandals and togas), “On my signal, distribute hell!”
Appearing on stage, Viane looked back on Par’s strong start to the year with Mean Girls, Bob Marley: One Love and IF, and promised the “biggest Paramount presentation ever” at CineEurope.
He next showed two extended 3D scenes from highly-anticipated September release Transformers One. Star Chris Hemsworth sent a video to talk up the movie, enthusing, “Trust me when I say it’s out of this world.” A work-in-progress version of the Josh Cooley-directed animation recently screened to a standing ovation in Annecy. The origins story is set on Cybertron and tells how Optimus Prime and Megatron, originally known as Orion Pax and D-16, go from brothers-in-arms to sworn enemies. There was enthusiastic applause here today for the buzzy pic.
There was also a big focus on prequel A Quiet Place: Day One. Directed by Michael Sarnoski, and starring Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn, Djimon Hounsou and Alex Wolff, the origin story in the $638M+ global franchise follows what happens on the first day the aliens come to Earth, and the catastrophe that ensues. When one of the loudest cities in the world goes quiet, promised Nyong’o in a video clip, “audiences will be on the edge of their seats.”
CineEurope also got a look at the first five minutes of fall release Smile 2, whose trailer dropped yesterday. Parker Finn’s sequel to his surprise 2022 horror hit follows a new set of characters within the same universe. What was shown today resulted in audible screams from attendees.
And, the studio played up holiday release Sonic the Hedgehog 3 showing off an exclusive sneak peek at the movie which introduces the mysterious Shadow.
Other footage shown today came from dark comedy Savage House starring Richard E Grant and Claire Foy, and an animation test of the upcoming Smurfs. Tom Cruise didn’t pop in for one of his occasional surprise appearances, but he was celebrated as CineEurope was treated to a look back at the Mission: Impossible franchise — exactly one year to the day that M:I7 world premiered in Rome. M:I8 is due next summer.