Paul Mescal turned his movie Gladiator II into a musical during his hosting appearance on Saturday Night Live this weekend – and fans are all saying the same thing.

The 28-year-old Irish actor is the leading man of the blood-soaked new historical epic, with a cast that includes Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal.

However, in one of the sketches on Saturday Night Live this weekend, Paul and longtime show cast member Kenan Thompson put a goofy spin on the storyline.

The premise of the skit was that Moana 2 and Wicked: Part One have proven to be such monster successes that Gladiator II might also get a publicity boost if it were a musical. 

‘After some rushed reshoots,’ 50 minutes of songs have been added to the movie – a sly nod to the lengthy two hour and 40 minute running time of the Wicked film.

Saturday’s sketch allowed Paul to show off his singing skills to full advantage – and fans have gone wild over his impressive crooning and dancing.

Paul Mescal turned his movie Gladiator II into a musical during his hosting appearance on Saturday Night Live this weekend – and fans are all saying the same thing

The sketch begins with an indirect swipe at Wicked, as Kenan sings a song called No Place Like Home, a reference to the famous phrase ‘no place like home’ from The Wizard Of Oz.

Gladiator II: The Musical apparently promises to be the ‘same violent epic that audiences have been raving about,’ only with nearly an hour of songs attached.

Gazing at his sword, Paul’s character Lucius sings wistfully: ‘They look at me and all they see is a killing machine, but they don’t know that far below I’m so much more than I seem.’ 

He then ventures out into the arena and bursts into a dance number, whirling through the choreography with impressive dexterity.

A pull-quote from the film’s director Ridley Scott appears, revealing: ‘I was not told about this,’ as another interтιтle says the songs are by Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda. 

Paul, who acted in a school production of The Phantom Of The Opera whilst growing up, also proved himself to have serious vocal chops.

In a parting sH๏τ at the Wicked movie, Lucius flies off on a broomstick at the end of the sketch, tweaking the Broadway musical’s leading character Elphaba. 

In one of the sketches on Saturday Night Live this weekend, Paul and longtime show cast member Kenan Thompson put a goofy spin on the storyline

The sketch begins with an indirect swipe at Wicked, as Kenan sings a song called No Place Like Home, a reference to the famous phrase ‘no place like home’ from The Wizard Of Oz

The premise of the skit was that Moana 2 and Wicked: Part One have proven to be such monster successes that Gladiator II might also get a publicity boost if it were a musical

A pull-quote from the film’s director Ridley Scott appears, revealing: ‘I was not told about this,’ as another interтιтle says the songs are by Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda

Gazing at his sword, Paul’s character Lucius sings wistfully: ‘They look at me and all they see is a killing machine, but they don’t know that far below I’m so much more than I seem’

Saturday’s sketch allowed Paul to show off his singing skills to full advantage – and fans have gone wild over his impressive crooning and dancing

Read More Paul Mescal promotes his upcoming hosting debut on Saturday Night Live alongside musical guest Shaboozey

Fans flew into a frenzy on X, formerly Twitter, where one exclaimed: ‘PAUL THE TRIPLE THREAT MESCAL’ and another wrote: ‘I should’ve known paul mescal can sing.’

One fan gushed: ‘paul mescal singing a gladiator musical sketch on SNL is everything i needed,’ and another wrote: ‘YALL I WANT TO SEE PAUL MESCAL IN A MUSICAL NOW.’

‘PAUL MESCAL SINGING ON SNL??? GLADIATOR THE MUSICAL,’ exclaimed one viewer as another squealed: ‘PAUL MESCAL MUSICAL ERA AAAAHHHHHHHHHHH’.

‘Paul Mescal said I am a theatre kid FIRST and FOREMOST! #SNL,’ one wrote proudly, and another breathlessly remarked: ‘paul mescal on broadway i’m ready for you.’

Still another wrote that the sketch inaugurated ‘paul mescal’s troy bolton era,’ name-checking the Zac Efron character in High School Musical.

Directed by Ridley Scott, who also made the previous movie, Gladiator II bowed in theaters the weekend before Thanksgiving but was beaten by Wicked at the box office.