Before Gladiator II’s release, there was skepticism about whether the sequel would be as good as the first. After all, Ridley Scott is known for his inconsistency and, Napoleon, his most recent historical film, wasn’t what fans of the Emperor’s exploits had hoped for. Thankfully, Scott has proved that he’s still got it. Both fans and critics have largely praised the follow-up, though it remains to be seen whether the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences will shower it with Oscars as was the case with the first film.
Gladiator 2 is the follow-up to Ridley Scott’s award-winning film Gladiator from 2000. Scott returns to direct the sequel, with Paul Mescal staring as Lucius, alongside Denzel Washington and Joseph Quinn as the villain Emperor Geta. Gladiator 2 had been stuck in development hell for years before a script written by David Scarpa finally moved forward.
- Release Date
- November 22, 2024
- Cast
- Paul Mescal , Pedro Pascal , Denzel Washington , Connie Nielsen , Joseph Quinn , Fred Hechinger , Derek Jacobi , May Calamawy , Peter Mensah , Matt Lucas , Alexander Karim , Tim McInnerny , Lee Charles , Chidi Ajufo , Alfie Tempest , Riana Duce , Chi Lewis Parry , Paul Candelent , Hadrian Howard , Alexander Simkin , Mikhail Basmadjian , Matthew Charlery-Smith , Maxime Durand , Lior Raz
- Runtime
- 148 minutes
Like the original Gladiator, the sequel boasts a wide assortment of real and fictional characters. This is hardly surprising, considering Scott always aims to make proper blockbusters rather than something close to a documentary. Even for the characters based on real-life figures, their fates don’t necessarily align with their namesakes. This isn’t necessarily bad, since the lives of some real people from Ancient Rome were less exciting. The movie justifiably gives them better arcs and bumps up their personalities.
Warning: This article contains serious spoilers for Gladiator II, now playing in theaters.
5 Lucilla
Connie Nielson reprises her role in Gladiator II as Emperor Marcus Aurelius’s daughter Lucilla. After the death of her lover Maximus (Russell Crowe) in the first movie, she marries General Acacius (Pedro Pascal). She later learns the gladiator, Lucius (Paul Mescal), is her long-lost son.
The Screen Lucilla Lives Longer Than the Real One, but Suffers Pretty Much the Same Fate
The real Lucilla was executed at the age of 33 under the orders of her brother, Commodus, for plotting to overthrow him. Here, we see a middle-aged Lucilla who remarried after the death of her first lover, Maximus. Her presence creates room for a beautiful mother-son arc that helps drive much of the plot in the film’s second and third acts.
Still, the screen version of Lucilla suffers the same fate as her real-world counterpart. She gets captured and executed (by Macrinus in the Colosseum) for plotting with her husband, Acacius, to overthrow the two emperors. Another major difference between the two versions is that the real Lucilla actually got to enjoy power as she was married to Emperor Lucius Verus. The highest the character rises in Ridley Scott’s alternate history is becoming the wife of a general.
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4 Jugurtha
Fans of TV shows about Ancient Rome will be overjoyed to see Peter Mensah in Gladiator II. Famously known for playing the gladiator trainer Oenomaus in Spartacus, he appears briefly in the Ridley Scott movie as Jugurtha, a Numidian chieftain who mentored Lucius after the protagonist was exiled from Rome. After General Acacius’ Roman army raids Numidia, Jugurtha and Lucius are enslaved and forced to become gladiators. However, Jugurtha refuses to defend himself against vicious monkeys in the arena, resulting in an early death.
The Best Parts of Jugurtha’s Story Get Trimmed
History buffs might frown at how Jugurtha gets treated in the movie, considering how malicious he was in real life. In the film, he is portrayed as more of a victim. He does good by mentoring a refugee (Lucius), only to get captured and forced to fight for Rome’s entertainment.
The real Jugurtha wasn’t so nice. He was selfish, so much so that he murdered his two adoptive brothers, Hiempsal and Adherbal, before taking control of Numdidia. His decision to kill Adherbal angered Rome because the man was seen as the best person to rule over the territory. Rome thus invaded, resulting in the lengthy Jugurthine War.
As is the case in the movie, Jugurtha was captured, though he wasn’t murdered by monkeys as seen on screen. Given how stubborn he had been, his capture was a big deal, so he was paraded through Rome before being thrown into the Tullianum prison, where he was strangled to death. This is the point where Scott deserves credit, since “murder by monkey” is way more… well… cinematic. Are we not entertained?
3 Emperors Geta and Caracalla
The sequel introduces us to the twin rulers, Emperors Geta and Caracalla. Each is incompetent, dumb, and unlikable, hence prone to manipulation. A fallout eventually happens between the two, causing Caracalla to turn against Geta, and kill him with the aid of Macrinus.
Geta’s Death Was More Dramatic in Real Life
The film slightly adheres to real life regarding the two rulers. Though not twins (Caracalla was older), they were both sons of Emperor Septimius Severus, who intended for them to rule together, but they proved incapable of governing Rome jointly, culminating with the murder of Geta.
The choice to have Macrinus kill Geta in the movie is far removed from history, but it’s essential since it paints the Denzel Washington character as a proper schemer, and helps him look more formidable as a villain. The real Geta was killed in more dramatic fashion by centurions. By the time the murder happened, the relationship between him and Caracalla had gotten so bad that the two couldn’t be in a room together. Caracalla thus tricked his mother into organizing a peace meeting with his brother, depriving Geta of his bodyguards. He then had him murdered in her arms.
2 Lucius Verus II
Paul Mescal plays Lucius in Gladiator 2, taking over the role from Gladiator‘s Spencer Treat Clark. Here, Lucius’ mother, Lucilla, sends him away from Rome to protect him. He settles in Numidia and gets married, only for his life to be disrupted when Roman troops led by General Marcus Acacius invade. Captured, he is forced to become a gladiator, but the odds soon turn in his favor.
Toying with the Lineage
The real Lucius Verus II was the son of Lucilla and Emperor Lucius Verus, who briefly ruled Rome alongside Emperor Marcus Aurelius, not Maximus (a fictional character), as purported in the movie. Mescal’s version of Lucius also gets a significant age boost. Lucius Verus II, along with Emperor Lucius Verus and Lucilla’s other children, died young. He never went into exile nor became a gladiator.
Does the change help? Certainly. Without it, a new protagonist without a proper backstory would have to be created. Or maybe we would have gotten Russell Crowe back in the initial abandoned plot that involved exploring the afterlife.
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1 Macrinus
In Ancient Rome, gladiators could earn their freedom and even establish their own Ludus. Such is how fate initially plays out for Macrinus (Denzel Washington) in Gladiator II. He buys the protagonist, Lucius, and shapes him to be one of his key fighters. He also harbors dreams of becoming Emperor and is willing to do anything to make it happen. Macrinus manipulates Caracalla into killing Geta, but is stopped by Lucius before he manages to take power for himself.
Big Dreams, Bad Moves
Washington’s Macrinus never becomes Emperor, but his mannerisms echo that of the real-life character. So does his history. Macrinus was of African origin, born in Caesarea (modern-day Cherchell, Algeria) to a family of Berber origins. Macrinus served as Emperor Caracalla’s chief aide but later conspired against his boss and had him murdered in a bid to ascend the throne. Because of the forceful manner in which he had taken over power, he was looked down upon by senators. His tendency to appoint minorities in senior positions also earned him more enemies.
Macrinus’ biggest mistake was decreasing the pay of new army recruits. The move caused his popularity to decline, and he was later captured while trying to flee and murdered. His head was then sent to his successor, Elagabalus. While the end of his journey makes for intriguing reading, it is less fascinating compared to what we see in the movie, where he is subjected to the film’s most iconic death. As he is trying to flee, he is pursued by Lucius, who cuts off his hand before delivering the killer blow.