Fans of Gladiator II are scratching their heads over what happened to Palestinian-Egyptian actress May Calamawy’s role in the film. After her impressive turn in Marvel Studio’s Moon Knight, excitement was high when she was announced as part of the cast. But now that the film is out, many are left wondering why her scenes seem to have vanished.
When Calamawy was cast it was a big deal. Reports suggested she was supposed to have a significant role, Deadline even mentioned that director Ridley Scott had gone through a “thorough search” and multiple auditions to find her. There was also a pic released in July of Calamawy with the star of the film Paul Mescal.
Given the Roman Empire’s history in North Africa and Palestine, fans were eager to see her representation on screen.
However, once the film was released, it became clear to fans that Calamawy’s role is mostly non-speaking and background. It seems that she appears briefly as a companion to Denzel Washington’s character Macrinus, leaving many fans disappointed and questioning why her role was cut down so much.
The internet has been buzzing with opinions about this situation, including the theory that her scenes may have been cut due to her Palestinian heritage and how vocal she has been about Palestinian rights.
One user on X expressed concern: “This is extremely concerning. The racism and discrimination against Palestinians in Hollywood just for merely being Palestinian is rampant and needs to be addressed.”
But not everyone agrees that her ethnicity played a role in the cuts. Another user pointed out that several actors had scenes trimmed or removed, including Washington himself, who recently revealed that a scene featuring a kiss with another man was cut for because the powers that be “got chicken”.
“She was not the only actor in the film to have scenes cut or altered,” the X user noted. “Why are we making a scene out of this? This happens.”
Others suggested that the cuts were simply about keeping the film at a reasonable length. As one viewer put it, “The reason her scenes got cut was due to pacing; no studio wants a 3-hour-and-a-half (or more) cut because that means fewer showings — not because May Calamawy is Palestinian.”
Adding to the confusion, some fans speculated that Calamawy’s role had been replaced by Israeli actress Yuval Ronen. However, it seems both actresses were cast before filming began and follow each other on Instagram, which puts that theory to rest.
The reasons behind May Calamawy’s limited role in Gladiator II are still unclear, and neither Ridley or Calamawy have addressed the rumours as of yet, but we will be sure to keep you posted on all things Gladiator II!
Lead image: Getty Images/Gladiator II/ @lazzeykam via X
