Paul Mescal reacts to clash of 'Gladiator II' & 'Wicked' in cinemas

After a highly-publicized Barbenheimer competition, Paul Mescal is excited to match the similar hype of Oppenheimer and Barbie with his Gladiator II and Wicked, releasing on the same day.

"Wickdiator doesn't really roll off the tongue does it? I think my preference would probably be Glicked," the 28-year-old named the trend about the movies that are coming out on Nov. 22.

Taking into account the Barbenheimer craze, Paul hoped to copy such phenomena with Glicked.

"If it has a similar effect to what it did for Barbie and Oppenheimer, it would be amazing, 'cause I think the films couldn't be more polar opposites and it worked in that context previously," he told ET. "So fingers crossed people come out and see both films on opening weekend."

Paul meanwhile acknowledged the long-lasting legacy of Ridley Scott's original film amid the making of the sequel.

"It's a film that lots of men my age and dads can quote religiously. It's just been in the cultural zeitgeist for 20 years and there's not a lot of films that have done that, especially in this genre," he continued.

"So there's a healthy amount of pressure but there's also a healthy amount of confidence from he people who made the film."