'SNL' re-imagines 'Gladiator II' as a musical

There's no place like Rome.
 By 
Chance Townsend
 on 
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Paul Mescal hosting Saturday Night Live this week? You just knew they were going to take a stab at Gladiator II.

Cue the faux trailer for Gladiator II: The Musical. Eager to cash in on the massive success of Wicked, the reimagining is a frantically reshot Gladiator II as a full-blown musical. Don’t worry, though, as the narrator reassures us: it’s still the same "violent, historical epic" you’ve been waiting for — just with an extra "50 minutes of songs."

The real MVP here? SNL’s Bowen Yang, who gets to flex the fact that he’s involved in both Wicked and this satirical mash-up. Go get that coin, king.

Topics SNL

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Chance Townsend
Assistant Editor, General Assignments

Chance Townsend is the General Assignments Editor at Mashable, covering tech, video games, dating apps, digital culture, and whatever else comes his way. He has a Master's in Journalism from the University of North Texas and is a proud orange cat father. His writing has also appeared in PC Mag and Mother Jones.

In his free time, he cooks, loves to sleep, and greatly enjoys Detroit sports. If you have any tips or want to talk shop about the Lions, you can reach out to him on Bluesky @offbrandchance.bsky.social or by email at [email protected].


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