Paul Mescal Reimagines 'Gladiator II' as a Musical, Sings Elphaba's 'Defying Gravity' Battle Cry on 'SNL'

justjared.com:

Paul Mescal reimagined his blockbuster Gladiator II as a musical while hosting Saturday Night Live.

The 28-year-old actor took over the December 7 episode of the popular late-night show. In a skit, the show poked fun at the movie’s very respectable box office numbers and compared them to the success of the big-screen adaptation of Wicked and Moana 2.

Inspired by those movies, Paul and the rest of the SNL cast shared a fresh take on his movie as a musical with songs like “There’s No Place Like Rome.” Keep reading to find out more… The clip ended with Paul flying on a broomstick singing Elphaba’s iconic battle cry from “Defying Gravity.” The number was performed by Cynthia Erivo in Wicked.

The spoof comes after Wicked and Gladiator II arrived in theaters on the same day. The phenomenon was nicknamed Glicked by fans.