Yahoo Lifestyle SNL Video: Paul Mescal Sings and Dances (and Raps!) as Gladiator II Gets Turned Into a Musical
You know what Gladiator II was missing? A lot of singing and dancing, apparently.
After the runaway box office success of Moana 2 and Wicked, this week’s Saturday Night Live reimagined Gladiator II as a musical, with host Paul Mescal — who stars in the big-screen epic — reprising his role as warrior Lucius… only with a lot more singing this time. To kick off the fake trailer, Kenan Thompson led the ensemble in a stirring opening number called “There’s No Place Like Rome,” where (oof) “every senator has a boy to molest.”
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The trailer touted “an extra 50 minutes of songs” that have been added to the film, including Mescal singing about being “a killing machine” while hacking off heads and limbs in the fighting arena. (Amid all the critics’ quotes, the film’s director Ridley Scott claimed, “I was not told about this.”) Plus, Mikey Day’s emperor rattled off a Hamilton-style rap, with Mescal battling back with a few rhymes before topping him in a floss-off. Mescal even hit a high note while flying off on a broom… because hey, gotta get a piece of that Wicked money somehow.
Press PLAY above to watch a clip from the sketch, and then give this week’s SNL a grade in our poll.
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