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‘Gladiator II’, Ridley Scott’s sequel to his 2000 epic historical film, is slated to release on Friday, November 22nd in the U.S. and a week earlier in New Zealand, Australia and the UK.
The Original Movie
I rewatched the original movie as part of Bryant Park Movie Nights, an outdoor event in New York City sponsored by Paramount+ (the rights to ‘Gladiator’ were sold to Paramount in 2006, one reason development on the sequel was halted).
At various turns in the movie – Maximus gaining the upper hand in a fight, a popular line being delivered – a crowd of a thousand strangers would cheer and holler. Historical epics are films with the highest of stakes, torture or death to the protagonist or their family. Their storylines are primal and visceral. When an older woman passing through the park asked me what the film was about before the film began, I put some thought into my second answer (my first led to her thinking it was an Italian film). I told her that it was a “revenge story”.
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The original wasn’t without critics. A notable one being Roger Ebert, another being Russel Crowe himself (at least during its development). But it was well-acclaimed by its Hollywood peers, sweeping the Oscars in 2001 by winning in five categories and being nominated in another seven.
Gladiator arguably jump-started the historical epic genre, with ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ (2005), ‘Troy’ (2004), and ‘300’ (2006) releasing shortly after. Ridley Scott is now in his mid-80’s, but having recently directed two Alien sequels, ‘House of Gucci’, ‘The Martian’, and the historical epic ‘Napoleon’, just to name a few, he has not slowed down and seems more than up to the task.
What Can We Expect?
In the world of Gladiator, at least two decades have passed since Maximus (played by Russell Crowe) and his antagonist Commodus (played by Joaquin Phoenix) have died toward the end of the first film.
Returning from the first movie is Connie Nielsen, playing Lucilla, who is still a prominent noblewoman in Rome. Her son, Lucius, who appeared in the first film, has grown up. But sometime in his early youth, he was sent away to Numidia, present day North Africa. Lucius (played by Paul Mescal) is thrust into the world of the Colosseum and gladiators after his adopted homeland is besieged by Rome. Presumably, he is taken as a slave.
Warning. Some spoilers from the trailer have revealed that Lucius is indeed Maximum’s son, which was never confirmed in the first film. Lucius is slated to inherit his father’s legacy as a gladiator, and presumably as a leader in the arena.
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But Lucius is different from his father. He is much younger than Maximus was in the first film. And he is much angrier. Lucius never understood why he was sent to Numidia. He also doesn’t share his father’s years in the field as a general or a soldier. Revenge is likely to play a role in the sequel, but Lucius’s journey will likely be different, more individualistic. “Rage is your gift” as Denzel Washington’s character says to Lucius. We can’t imagine those same words being said to his father, Maximus.
There are several potential antagonists in ‘Gladiator II’. Marcus Acacius (played by Pedro Pascal) is a Roman general we see in the trailer fighting in the arena against Lucius. Marcus Acacius led the siege against Lucius’s homeland so he is a likely object of Lucius’s hatred.
Denzel Washington plays an ambitious powerbroker named Macrinus, who wants to use Lucius to overturn the established order, presumably for his own ends. Macrinus seems to be in the center of the political drama, pulling its strings. He also holds the key to Lucius’s freedom. In some sense, he is an antagonistic reincarnation of Proximo in the first film (played by the late Oliver Reed), who only sought glory in the arena for himself or by proxy.
Finally, there is the two co-ruling emperors. The Roman Empire is not in a hopeful state as it was at the end of the first film. It is decadent and sadistic as seen in the emperors played by Fred Hechinger and Joseph Quinn who wage unnecessary wars to conquer new territory like Numidia. They are Emperor Caracalla and Emperor Geta, respectively. Macrinus seeks to overturn these two.
We are likely to see new twists on the gladiator battles in the arena. There are going to be mock naval battles in the colosseum (which were real and called naumachia). Trailers also show Paul Mescal facing a mounted rhinoceros, a sequence Scott had wanted to film in the original but had to abandon due to budgetary constraints. I’m sure we can expect other visual spectacle.
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Original Conceptions for the Sequel
Originally, a sequel was planned with Russell Crowe reprising his role in the sequel. But in this conception, this required an overt introduction of an afterlife. Scott has stated in an interview that Maximus would return in the spirit of a living warrior. Although the first film does portray a version of Elysium, or the afterlife, these are dream-like sequences born from Maximus’s dying moments. Introducing the afterlife as an overt setting would change the sequels genre away from historical epic, something investors in the sequel shied away from.
Although the sequel that was produced stayed grounded in its historical epic roots, it seems like ideas carried over. Lucius, in a grounded sense, represents his father returning to life. Additionally, the trailer features a hellish river battle scene in what looks like Rome, reminiscent of an original conception of Maximus in the afterlife on the river styx.
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‘Gladiator II’ and ‘Wicked’ Release
‘Gladiator II’ will release on November 22nd on the same day as ‘Wicked’. Some commentators have dubbed the duel-release as Glicked or Wickiator, which may not stick as well as Barbenheimer did. Either way, we are going to see two new releases of drastically different tones and styles. Unintuitively, this might help the two releases.
‘Gladiator II’ supposedly cost over 300 million USD to make, but it’s expected to be one of the biggest releases of the year. Its filming was interrupted in 2023 by the SAG-AFTRA strikes.
We are excited to see this long awaited and costly development pull off into a fantastic movie-going experience. Very few know exactly what is in store for us, but I think we can expect revenge, families torn apart, arena battles, and various players fighting for their own ideal of what Rome should be.
By Tim Spross
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Tim Spross is a writer based in New York City. He believes storytelling allows us to live multiple lives and supercharges an empathy for different perspectives and cultures. He is especially interested in how cinema and stories relate with dreams, the subconscious, and our innate desire for myths. Tim is attracted to The Hollywood Insider’s mission to spread positivity, education, and dialogue through its publication, and he wants to explore ideas together with its readers, helping himself and others to develop new perspectives.
Tim Spross is a writer based in New York City. He believes storytelling allows us to live multiple lives and supercharges an empathy for different perspectives and cultures. He is especially interested in how cinema and stories relate with dreams, the subconscious, and our innate desire for myths. Tim is attracted to The Hollywood Insider’s mission to spread positivity, education, and dialogue through its publication, and he wants to explore ideas together with its readers, helping himself and others to develop new perspectives.
