Fans Cast Paul Mescal as Hercules After His Gladiator Musical Sketch on Saturday Night Live

Did Paul Mescal just audition for Disney’s live-action remake of Hercules in front of a live studio audience?

On December 7, the internet boyfriend-turned-action star flexed his theater kid muscles while hosting Saturday Night Live. In the most notable sketch of the evening, Mescal and the rest of the SNL cast turned Gladiator II into a musical, complete with original music. Well, at least until the end of the sketch, when the 28-year-old actor flew away from the Colosseum on a broom, finishing off “There’s No Place Like Rome” with Elphaba’s famous riff from “Defying Gravity.”

“Gladiator II was a hit, earning over $300 million world wide. But then we saw the massive success of Moana 2 and Wicked,” the trailer’s narrator explained. “So after some rushed reshoots, Gladiator II is now a musical.” You can watch the full sketch here:

Listen, it’s all fun and games until you’re unironically vibing with the Gladiator musical—or, even better, fan-casting Paul Mescal in a live-action remake of Herculeswhich is exactly what’s going down on TikTok. “He would eat up a Disney prince role tbh he’s got the voice,” one commenter pointed out in SNL’s comment section, unaware that others had a very specific role in mind.

“That’s our live action Hercules for Disney,” the top commenter wrote, receiving over 20,000 likes. Another replied, “I can’t believe they already released the audition tape that got him the live-action Hercules role.”