Ridley Scott’s first Gladiator movie may not feature a show-stopping performance from Denzel Washington as a scheming, robe-swishing arms dealer, but the Best Picture winner does include a number of plot points that play a significant role in the long-awaited sequel.
Nearly 25 years after Scott’s Russell Crowe-led tale of Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius’ quest for vengeance against Joaquin Phoenix’s Commodus, the corrupt emperor who murdered his family and sent him into slavery, Gladiator II, now in theaters, follows the rise of a new warrior with a score to settle against the powers that be of Rome.
This time around, Paul Mescal takes the lead as Lucius Verus, the now grown son of Connie Nielsen’s Lucilla, who appeared as a child, played by Spencer Treat Clark, in the 2000 original.When we’re reintroduced to Lucius, he’s living under the alias Hanno in the North African kingdom of Numidia. But after a Roman invasion fleet led by Pedro Pascal’s General Marcus Acacius arrives to conquer Numidia, Lucius’ life is turned upside when his wife is killed in action and he’s shipped across the sea to be sold into slavery in Rome, an empire now ruled by nearly-mad brother emperors Caracalla (Fred Hechinger) and Geta (Joseph Quinn).
Gladiator II is set 15 years after the heartbreaking death of Maximus at the end of Gladiator and retroactively reveals that Lucius—who was believed by some Roman citizens to have been fathered by Lucilla’s late husband and, by others, her own brother, Commodus—is actually the son of Maximus himself. Despite their different upbringings, when Lucius is forced to fight for his life in the Colosseum, his true parentage shows!
“Maximus started as a leader in the Roman military who is facing off with an army of barbarians,” screenwriter David Scarpa said in the film’s production notes. “Lucius is a barbarian defending his home from the invading Romans. Maximus was loyal to [Emperor Marcus Aurelius]. Lucius hates Rome and everything to do with it. And yet both end up forced to kill or be killed for the amusement of the mob.”
We learn that, amid the power struggle that followed Maximus’ death, Lucilla spirited Lucius away from Rome out of fear that people would discover his true identity and try to kill him. However, Lucius feels as though he was abandoned and initially has no desire to embrace his heritage or claim his place as the rightful ruler of Rome.
When Lucius first sets foot in the arena as the champion of gladiator trainer Macrinus (Washington), his only goal is to exact vengeance on Acacius for the death of his wife and the enslavement of his adoptive people. To his surprise, Acacius is married to Lucilla—and in the grand scheme of things, he’s actually not so bad of a guy. However, by the time Lucius comes around on Acacius, it’s too late to save his stepdad from the wrath of Caracalla and Geta.
Acacius’ death propels Lucius to rise up against Macrinus, who is pulling the strings of the tyrant twins behind the scenes, and try to fulfill his father’s (and grandfather Marcus Aurelius’) dream of a better Rome. But while Gladiator II ends on a largely triumphant note, Scott has said he is already toying with the idea of a third installment.
“I’ve lit the fuse,” he told France’s Premiere magazine. “The ending of Gladiator II is reminiscent of The Godfather, with Michael Corleone finding himself with a job he didn’t want, and wondering, ‘Now, Father, what do I do?’ So the next [film] will be about a man who doesn’t want to be where he is.”