It's been 24 years since the first "Gladiator"
movie, and it's clear from the trailer for the sequel that director Ridley Scott has been
coming up with new ideas over that entire time. After Pedro Pascal's General Acacius arrives in
Rome, he plainly lays out the state of the empire. "Rome has so many subjects. She must feed them." By this time in history, the Roman Empire
was a sprawling conglomeration of provinces that reached from northern Africa in
the south to the Atlantic in the west, Britannia in the north, and Parthia in the
east. Keeping things functioning over such a vast distance was a monumental task that
occupied much of the Roman emperors' time. Closer to home, managing Rome itself was
a massive undertaking on its own. By the time of "Gladiator 2," in the early 3rd century
C.E., higher estimates put the population of the urban center at upwards of a million people.
Feeding this mass of humanity was not easy. Grain shipments were perpetually arriving
from North Africa to keep the city fed. Not only did leaders have to
keep all those people fed, they also had to be entertained.
The Roman poet Juvenal wrote: "The people that once bestowed commands,
consulships, legions, and all else, now concerns itself no more, and longs eagerly
for just two things: bread and circuses!" The line references Roman citizens'
obsession with getting free food and having entertainment at all times. The source
of much of that entertainment? The Colosseum. Toward the end of the trailer,
Denzel Washington's character, Macrinus, makes a revealing
statement about his past. "I was owned. Now, I will control an empire." This is a reference to the wild
real-life story of the Emperor Macrinus. Macrinus was born in the Roman province of
Mauretania. His family was of equestrian status, which is a sort of second-class Roman aristocrat.
In essence, Macrinus wasn't as important or affluent as the elite Roman senatorial class, but
he grew up in a solid upper-middle-class family. He started as a lawyer before working his way all
the way up to the lofty position of praetorian prefect, a highly influential individual who
functioned as the head of the Emperor's personal bodyguard. Eventually, Macrinus assassinated
his own emperor and seized the throne. Macrinus may not be quite a rags
to riches story — even if the movie sounds like it may embellish his origin
with the whole "I was owned" bit. Still, he stands out as the first emperor of
sub-senatorial status to sit on the throne, which will give his rise to power
that much more of an epic trajectory. Toward the end of the trailer,
General Acacius is shown saying, "I will not waste another generation
of young men for their vanity." While the line is left unexplained,
this is likely a reference to the young emperors Geta and Caracalla. The
brothers are infamous in Roman lore for their mismanagement and selfish behavior.
This is borne out earlier in the trailer with Caracalla's response to Acacius'
concerns about keeping the Romans fed. "They can eat war." The historical fallout between the two
brother emperors is an important event in the Empire's fortunes, and culminated
in Caracalla murdering his brother. After this, historical records say Macrinus
began plotting against Caracalla. Looks like we're in for another tumultuous,
corrupt Roman emperor plotline, except this time, we won't be dealing with
Joaquin Phoenix's Commodus. We'll have double the trouble in the form of squabbling,
bloodthirsty, warmongering siblings. The "Gladiator 2" trailer is filled with
well-shot moments of spectacle that we've come to expect from Ridley Scott. However, one
particular set piece stands above the rest. In the first look at the epic, viewers see Paul
Mescal's Lucius fighting an unexpected foe: a gladiator atop a rhino. At
first, it's easy to think that this sequence is just a way to up the
ante from the previous film. However, many will be surprised to know that gladiators
were actually forced to fight animals. When it came to fights in the Colosseum,
some gladiators had no choice but to test their skills against hungry animals, though
not always. In most cases, animals would fight other animals for humans' amusement.
But there were matches where humans battled animals in the Colosseum, which included bears,
rhinos, elephants, and surprisingly, giraffes. It also appears that there's a staged sea battle
in the long-awaited sequel. Early on in the trailer, the amphitheater fills up with water to
accommodate ships for some kind of naval battle. This sequence might seem a little bit ridiculous
and far-fetched, but it's actually inspired by real events and illustrates how impressive the
Colosseum was in terms of magnitude and scale. "The greatest temple Rome ever built." Colosseum ship battles, known as naumachia, were
staged spectacles that entertained the Roman masses. These events were mostly choreographed
and entailed less bloodletting than some of the other activities that took place at the time in
the arena. However, they still delivered visceral thrills and were considerably more ambitious
than the typical bloodsports of the time period. It's believed that Emperor Titus organized
the first naumachia in the Colosseum, and it required over 3,000 men and several ships to
bring it to life. That's quite an impressive feat, and "Gladiator 2" looks like it'll recreate
these historic events on an epic scale. While it's clear that "Gladiator 2" has its own
battles to fight, the shadow of Russell Crowe's Maximus still hangs over the characters
and the Colosseum they're battling in. "I never forgot it, that a slave could
take revenge against an Emperor." They're words that almost echo the same ones said
by Lucius' mother, Lucilla, in the original film "Today I saw a slave become more
powerful than the Emperor of Rome." It gives a strong indication
that history is repeating itself, and if that really is the case,
it would make sense that Lucius eventually rides out in the armor of
the original hero that he's inspired by. At one point in the trailer, Lucius is given
Maximus' ring before it cuts to the young hero in what might be the belly of the Colosseum.
Looking up at the armor worn by Maximus, along with his sword, we're given
what is most definitely Lucius' "suit up" moment. It'll certainly
make for a historic hype moment, but one thing that needs addressing is the person
that gives him all the gear in the first place. It's confirmed that Paul Mescal's sandal-wearing,
sword-swinging hero is Lucius, the son of Lucilla who returns in "Gladiator 2" seemingly no
better off than where she was 24 years ago. How did her darling son grow up to become the
war-torn hero he is now, fighting to the death in a stadium she tried to get rid of? More
importantly, will this new chapter really dare to use the same trick twice and have a
royal in the stands shocked to see someone thought to be dead actually alive and chopping
people's heads off to survive? Looks like it! The difference between this scenario and the
one from the original film, however, is that this discovery could stay secret between family,
unlike the original movie. You'll recall that after Maximus' still iconic reveal, both Commodus
and Lucilla immediately knew who had returned for vengeance. Could "Gladiator 2" see Lucilla play
dumb about who this up-and-coming champion really is to keep Marcus Acacius in the dark? If so,
then to those who are about to lie, we salute you. A Vanity Fair article about "Gladiator 2" reveals
that Lucilla sent Lucius to grow up in Numidia in Northern Africa, which was at the time outside
the bounds of the Roman Empire. Ridley Scott revealed to the magazine that the early sea
battle scenes in the movie take place there: “The film begins with the raiding party of the Roman fleet, which comes in from
the sea and decimates Numidia." Odds are this isn't the only battle
we'll be seeing as the movie progresses, and we have to wonder if the Romans'
biggest rivals from the time will appear: The Parthians. The heart of their
empire was in and around modern Iran, and it ran up against the far-eastern borders of
the Roman Empire. The Parthians were some of the only people in the ancient world that could
stand any chance against the Roman military. Parthia is the region where Caracalla
went to war during this period. It's also the setting for Macrinus' eventual
coup. As with "Gladiator," it looks like we'll have some knock-down, drag-out fights
outside of the Colosseum. It'd make sense if the place for some third-act
battling to go down was Parthia. There are many nods to the original "Gladiator"
throughout the trailer. The Colosseum scenes are particularly reminiscent of Russell
Crowe's glory days as Maximus. One scene in particular seems to be a clear callback. When
a Rhino lumbers out of the gates into the arena, we get a shot of Lucius shouting
to his petrified fellow fighters, "This is about survival. Survive!" From there, half a dozen gladiators, including
Lucius, face down the terrifying beast with its blood-stained horn. The hero shouts out tactics,
encouraging his cohorts to hold together until the animal charges and then split up and head for
the walls. While we won't know how the scene ends until the full film comes out in November 2024, we
do know how a similar scene ends in "Gladiator." Maximus and a group of rag-tag, under-equipped
gladiators are confronted by chariot-riding opponents armed to the hilt. They band
together, under Maximus' direction, and ultimately defeat their overpowered
enemies. The scene is a classic, and it already feels like Ridley Scott is trying
to channel that same mojo in the sequel.
