Ridley Scott breaks silence on Paul Mescal being fired from ‘The Dog Stars’

Ridley Scott has responded to reports that he fired Paul Mescal from The Dog Stars for not being “masculine” enough in Gladiator II.

The 2024 sequel to the Oscar-winning 2000 historical drama saw Mescal step into the shoes of Russell Crowe as a man seeking revenge by becoming a gladiator in Rome’s Colosseum.

Despite being a box office success, making $462million and having an 80 per cent “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes, many considered the original better than the sequel.

According to a new report from Puck’s newsletter What I’m Hearing, writer Matthew Belloni writes that Ridley Scott blamed Mescal for the film’s response, claiming he was not “masculine” enough for the part.

The disappointment allegedly led to him being replaced on Scott’s new movie The Dog Stars by Jacob Elordi.

Now, a representative for Scott has denied the claims, saying that Mescal didn’t appear in the movie as filming clashed with another of his projects.

In a statement to Entertainment Weekly, a representative said of the reports, “Not true. Ridley loves Paul and was excited to work with him on Dog Stars after having [enjoyed] such a great collaboration on Gladiator II.”

They further added, “Sadly, Paul’s rehearsal schedule for another film prevented him from ultimately doing Ridley’s film. While he was disappointed to lose Paul, he was thrilled to get the chance to work with Jacob, who was excellent in the role.”

At the time, reports stated Paul Mescal’s commitment to Sam Mendes’ forthcoming four-part biopic of The Beatles prevented him from working with the filmmaker again. Mescal is slated to play Paul McCartney in the films, which are scheduled for release in April 2028.