The cast of Ridley Scott‘s upcoming epic sequel, Gladiator 2, continues to grow, but the cast also lost an Academy Award-nominated actor.

Deadline reported that Gladiator 2 has lost Barry Keoghan, who's coming off an Oscar-nominated performance in The Banshees of Inisherin. This was due to scheduling conflicts that forced him to step out of the project. In his place, The White Lotus alum Fred Hechinger is now in negotiations to play Emperor Geta.

Jeff Sneider of Above the Line revealed the role that Keoghan left Gladiator 2 in favor of. He will star in a film called Bird directed by Andrea Arnold.

In addition, May Calamawy, Lior Raz, Derek Jacobi (who's reprising his role from the previous film), Peter Mensah, and Matt Lucas have all joined the cast per Deadline's report.

Even without Keoghan — whose presence will be missed — Gladiator 2 has a loaded cast with Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, and a returning Connie Nielsen. David Scarpa is writing the script, and Ridley Scott will return to direct the feature.

The first Gladiator was a smash hit all around, grossing over $460 million and getting 12 Oscar nominations. A sequel over two decades later is always risky, but the combination of a young A-list cast and a returning Ridley Scott makes it an exciting prospect.

Barry Keoghan is a rising star and had an amazing 2022. In addition to his Oscar-nominated role in The Banshees of Inisherin, he appeared in The Batman as The Joker and will likely return in the sequel. He has also had roles in the MCU (Eternals) and David Lowery's fantasy epic, The Green Knight.

Gladiator 2 is scheduled to be released on November 22, 2024.