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Highly Anticipated ‘Gladiator II’ Trailer Includes Cameo by ‘Fauda’ Co-Creator Lior Raz
Lior Raz in the new trailer for “Gladiator II.” Photo: YouTube screenshot
Paramount Pictures released on Tuesday an official trailer for Ridley Scott’s highly anticipated “Gladiator II” and it includes scenes with Israeli actor and “Fauda” co-creator Lior Raz.
In the trailer for the action-packed sequel written by David Scarpa, Raz is seen fighting actor Paul Pascal, who plays an adult Lucius, the main character in the film. Lucius is the son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) and the nephew of Commodus, the antagonistic ruler in the original “Gladiator” film from 2000 who was played by Joaquin Phoenix.
Raz’s character later tells a group of gladiators, “the arena turns slaves into gladiators and gladiators into free men,” referring to Rome’s Colosseum where gladiators were forced to fight for their lives. Raz shared the trailer in a post on Instagram and wrote in the caption, “So proud to be [a] part of this epic movie.”
“Gladiator II” picks up years after the original film. Lucius is living peacefully with his family in the northern African region of Numidia, where his mother sent him as a child so he could grow up outside the reach of the Roman Empire. A series of events result in Lucius returning to Rome as a slave and gladiator, following a government overthrow and an invasion of his city. He reunites with his mother but also makes enemies along the way as he seeks revenge.
The film’s star-studded cast includes Pedro Pascal as the main villain Marcus Acacius, a Roman general who trained under the command of Maximus Decimus Meridius (played by Russell Crowe in “Gladiator”) and led the government overthrow, which ruined Lucius’ life. Denzel Washington plays a powerbroker in Rome named Macrinus, and Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger star as the twin co-emperors of Rome, Geta and Caracalla.
“Gladiator II” will be released in theaters on Nov. 22.
The post Highly Anticipated ‘Gladiator II’ Trailer Includes Cameo by ‘Fauda’ Co-Creator Lior Raz first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel Readies for a Nationwide Strike on Sunday
Demonstrators hold signs and pictures of hostages, as relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas protest demanding the release of all hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Itai Ron
i24 News – The families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza are calling on for a general strike to be held on Sunday in an effort to compel the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a deal with Hamas for the release of their loved ones and a ceasefire. According to Israeli officials, 50 hostages now remain in Gaza, of whom 20 are believed to be alive.
The October 7 Council and other groups representing bereaved families of hostages and soldiers who fell since the start of the war declared they were “shutting down the country to save the soldiers and the hostages.”
While many businesses said they would join the strike, Israel’s largest labor federation, the Histadrut, has declined to participate.
Some of the country’s top educational institutions, including the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv University, declared their support for the strike.
“We, the members of the university’s leadership, deans, and department heads, hereby announce that on Sunday, each and every one of us will participate in a personal strike as a profound expression of solidarity with the hostage families,” the Hebrew University’s deal wrote to students.
The day will begin at 6:29 AM, to commemorate the start of the October 7 attack, with the first installation at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square in Tel Aviv. Further demonstrations are planned at dozens of traffic intersections.
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Netanyahu ‘Has Become a Problem,’Says Danish PM as She Calls for Russia-Style Sanctions Against Israel
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the press on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
i24 News – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has become a “problem,” his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen said Saturday, adding she would try to put pressure on Israel over the Gaza war.
“Netanyahu is now a problem in himself,” Frederiksen told Danish media, adding that the Israeli government is going “too far” and lashing out at the “absolutely appalling and catastrophic” humanitarian situation in Gaza and announced new homes in the West Bank.
“We are one of the countries that wants to increase pressure on Israel, but we have not yet obtained the support of EU members,” she said, specifying she referred to “political pressure, sanctions, whether against settlers, ministers, or even Israel as a whole.”
“We are not ruling anything out in advance. Just as with Russia, we are designing the sanctions to target where we believe they will have the greatest effect.”
The devastating war in Gaza began almost two years ago, with an incursion into Israel of thousands of Palestinian armed jihadists, who perpetrated the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.
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As Alaska Summit Ends With No Apparent Progress, Zelensky to Meet Trump on Monday
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks at the press conference after the opening session of Crimea Platform conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, 23 August 2023. The Crimea Platform – is an international consultation and coordination format initiated by Ukraine. OLEG PETRASYUK/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – After US President Donald Trump hailed the “great progress” made during a meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he was set to meet Trump on Monday at the White House.
“There were many, many points that we agreed on, most of them, I would say, a couple of big ones that we haven’t quite gotten there, but we’ve made some headway,” Trump told reporters during a joint press conference after the meeting.
Many observers noted, however, that the subsequent press conference was a relatively muted affair compared to the pomp and circumstance of the red carpet welcome, and the summit produced no tangible progress.
Trump and Putin spoke briefly, with neither taking questions, and offered general statements about an “understanding” and “progress.”
Putin, who spoke first, agreed with Trump’s long-repeated assertion that Russia never would have invaded Ukraine in 2022 had Trump been president instead of Democrat Joe Biden.
Trump said “many points were agreed to” and that “just a very few” issues were left to resolve, offering no specifics and making no reference to the ceasefire he’s been seeking.