DUBAI: Fans of Egyptian Palestinian “Moon Knight” actress May Calamawy have taken to social media to complain after almost all her scenes were cut from Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator II,” while co-star Pedro Pascal seemed to wade into the online debate this week by sharing behind-the-scenes shots including the actress.
Pascal posted a series of photographs on Instagram taken on the film shoot in Morocco, including several snaps with Calamawy, after she was removed from all promotional material and largely removed from the film.
“Thank you for reminding people May Calamawy was in ‘Gladiator II.’ So sad how she’s been treated in this,” one user commented on his Instagram post.
The 38-year-old star played the dual role of Layla El-Faouly and Scarlet Scarab in Marvel series “Moon Knight” before being cast in the highly anticipated “Gladiator II,” a sequel to the Oscar-winning original released in 2000.
Her casting in the film was first announced in May 2023.
At the time, Deadline reported that Scott had cast Calamawy after a lengthy search, writing: “While many of the leading roles were straight offers, Scott wanted to do a similar search he did for the (Paul) Mescal part for the role that Calamawy ultimately landed.
“Given the importance of the character to the story, Scott wanted a thorough search, and following multiple auditions Calamawy landed the part,” Deadline added.
However, fans noticed that in the final cut, which hit cinemas last weekend, Calamawy is only seen in passing and she has no dialogue.
Scott has yet to comment on Calamawy’s removal from the two hour and 28-minute film, although her storyline may have not made it past the editing stage in order to trim the runtime.
Regardless, fans on social media are unhappy about the cuts.
“May Calamawy you will always be loved!!! They didn’t deserve you anyway,” one social media user wrote on X, while another posted: “You had May Calamawy … and you decided to cut her? This could’ve possibly been her breakout role!”
Calamawy also stars in upcoming crime mystery “The Actor,” alongside André Holland, Gemma Chan, Toby Jones and Tracey Ullman.
