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Gladiator II
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRidley Scott
Screenplay byDavid Scarpa
Story by
Based onCharacters created by David Franzoni
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyJohn Mathieson
Edited by
Music byHarry Gregson-Williams
Production
companies
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release dates
  • October 30, 2024 (2024-10-30) (Sydney)
  • November 15, 2024 (2024-11-15) (United Kingdom)
  • November 22, 2024 (2024-11-22) (United States)
Running time
148 minutes[1]
Countries
  • United States
  • United Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget$210 million[2]

Gladiator II is a 2024 epic historical action film directed and co-produced by Ridley Scott. It was produced by Scott Free Productions, Red Wagon Entertainment and Parkes+MacDonald Image Nation, and distributed by Paramount Pictures. Serving as a sequel to Gladiator (2000), the film was written by David Scarpa from a story he wrote with Peter Craig. It stars Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Lior Raz, Derek Jacobi, Connie Nielsen, and Denzel Washington.[3] Jacobi and Nielsen reprise their roles from the first film, with Mescal replacing Spencer Treat Clark. Mescal portrays Lucius, the son of Maximus and Lucilla, who becomes a gladiator after his home is invaded by the Roman army led by General Marcus Acacius. Lucius seeks revenge against Acacius and fights as a gladiator for Macrinus, a former slave who plans to overthrow the emperors Geta and Caracalla.

A sequel to Gladiator was discussed as early as June 2001, with David Franzoni and John Logan set to return as screenwriters. Over the next few years, Scott offered occasional updates, including the possible involvement of the original film's lead actor, Russell Crowe, along with plot ideas about the Roman afterlife and different historical time periods. Development was halted when DreamWorks sold the rights to the property to Paramount in 2006. The film was finally announced in 2018, and Mescal was cast in the lead role in January 2023, with a script by Scarpa. The rest of the cast signed on over the next several months. Filming took place between June 2023 and January 2024, with a five-month hiatus due to the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes.

Gladiator II had its world premiere in Sydney, Australia on October 30, 2024, and was released in Australia and New Zealand on November 14, 2024, in the United Kingdom on November 15, and in the United States on November 22. It received generally positive reviews from critics.

A sequel, Gladiator III, is in early stages of development.

Premise

More than two decades after the events of Gladiator, Lucius—the son of Lucilla and Maximus[4]—lives with his wife in Numidia. Roman soldiers led by General Marcus Acacius invade the city in Numidia, where Lucius (known as Hanno) lives. During the battle, his wife, Shirat, is killed, and Lucius is taken into slavery. He is bought by Macrinus to become one of his gladiators. A former slave himself, Macrinus plots to overthrow the young emperors Caracalla and Geta.[5][6]

Cast

  • Paul Mescal as Lucius Verus: The former heir to the Roman Empire and son of Maximus (the protagonist of Gladiator).[4] He lives with his wife in Numidia and has had no connection with his mother, Lucilla, for around 15 years.[7] He is taken prisoner by the Roman army after his home is invaded and is forced to fight as a gladiator. Lucius was portrayed by Spencer Treat Clark in Gladiator.
  • Pedro Pascal as Marcus Acacius: A Roman general who trained under Maximus. He leads an army to take over North Africa but refuses to send more men to fight for the emperors.[8] He is reduced to fighting as a gladiator in the Colosseum. According to Pascal, he is "a very, very good general, which can mean a very good killer", serving as a symbol to Lucius of everything he hates.[5]
  • Joseph Quinn as Emperor Geta (based on the historical figure Geta): The co-emperor of Rome alongside his brother, Caracalla. Director Ridley Scott described the pair as "damaged goods from birth" who are "almost a replay of Romulus and Remus",[5] with two other inspirations being the titular characters of the MTV adult cartoon Beavis and Butt-Head.[9] Careful not to copy Joaquin Phoenix's performance as Commodus from the original film, Quinn took inspiration from Philip Seymour Hoffman's Owen Davian from Mission: Impossible III (2006) and Gary Oldman's Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg from The Fifth Element (1997) for playing his character.[10] One inspiration for Geta's look was John Lydon.[9]
  • Fred Hechinger as Emperor Caracalla (based on the historical figure Caracalla): The co-emperor of Rome alongside his brother, Geta. He has a pet monkey and is less stable than his brother due to cognitive erosion in his brain.[11] Hechinger discussed with Scott about finding inspirations to build Caracalla's look from Sid Vicious,[12] with the monkey serving as another inspiration for the character's "crazed behavior".[11]
  • Lior Raz as Viggo: The trainer of gladiators for Macrinus. A former gladiator, Viggo is a "tough guy" who escorts the gladiators to their fights.[13]
  • Derek Jacobi as Senator Gracchus: A member of the Roman Senate who opposes the growing corruption of the Imperial Court. Jacobi reprises his role from the original film.[14]
  • Connie Nielsen as Lucilla (based on the historical figure Lucilla): Lucius's mother, who sent Lucius to Numidia after the death of Maximus to protect him from Rome's corruption. She associates with Acacius and watches Lucius fight in the Colosseum but initially does not recognize him as her son.[5] She is feared and exploited by those in power, such as the emperors.[14] Nielsen reprises her role from the original film.[5]
  • Denzel Washington as Macrinus: A former slave who plans to control Rome.[8] He keeps gladiators and teaches Lucius. He also works as an arms dealer, providing food and oil to the armies in Europe. Scott described him as "pretty fucking cruel" to the arena fighters,[5] with Washington adding that he "wants to be Emperor and he's willing to do anything to get there".[15] Scott also noted that Macrinus has a "twinkle" of bisexuality, describing him as a gangster who started as a prisoner of war, became a gladiator, and earned his freedom.[16] A scene involving Macrinus kissing another man was deleted from the film.[17]
  • Tim McInnerny as Senator Thraex: a gamblin-addicted, corrupt member of the Roman Senate who is manipulated by Macrinus.
  • Alexander Karim as Ravi: A former gladiator who earned his freedom and then chose to serve as a doctor to wounded combatants.[18]
  • Rory McCann as Tegula: the leader of the Praetorian Guard.
  • Alec Utgoff as Darius: a soldier in Acacius' troops.
  • Yuval Gonen as Arishat: Lucius' wife.[18]
  • Peter Mensah as Jubartha: a black Numidian chieftain who mentored Lucius, with whom he is later enslaved and forced to become a gladiator.[18]
  • Matt Lucas as the Master of Ceremonies.
  • Yann Gael as Bostar.

Production

Development

In June 2001, developments for a Gladiator (2000) follow-up began for either a prequel or sequel, with David Franzoni in early negotiations to once again serve as screenwriter.[19] The following year, a sequel was announced to be moving forward with John Logan serving as screenwriter. The plot, set 15 years later, included the Praetorian Guards ruling Rome, and an older Lucius—the son of Lucilla in Gladiator—searching for the truth about his biological father. Franzoni signed on as producer, alongside Douglas Wick and Walter Parkes.[20] In December 2002, the film's plot was announced to include prequel events regarding the parentage of Lucius, as well as sequel events depicting the resurrection of Maximus, the main character of the original film. The producers and Russell Crowe, who portrayed Maximus, collaboratively and extensively researched ancient Roman beliefs regarding the afterlife.[21] By September 2003, Ridley Scott announced that the script was completed, while confirming that the story would primarily center on Lucius.[22]

Ridley Scott returned to direct Gladiator II two decades after the original.

In May 2006, Scott stated that DreamWorks Pictures had wanted to make the sequel, but there were differing ideas for the story. Crowe had favoured a fantasy element in bringing Maximus back to life, while the studio were basing the film on Lucius as the son of Maximus and Lucilla. Scott also discussed the necessity of a more complex script with the corruption of Rome in the potential sequel.[23] During this time, Nick Cave was commissioned to write a new draft of the script. It was later revealed to be written under the working title of "Christ Killer". Cave described the plot as a "deities vs. deity vs. humanity" story. The story involved Maximus in purgatory, who is resurrected as an immortal warrior for the Roman gods. Maximus is sent back to Earth and tasked with ending Christianity by killing Jesus and his disciples, as Christianity was draining the power of the ancient Pagan gods. During his mission, Maximus is tricked into murdering his own son. Cursed to live forever, Maximus fights in the Crusades, World War II, and the Vietnam War; with the ending revealing that in the present-day, the character now works at the Pentagon. The script was rejected and scrapped.[24][25][26]

After experiencing financial difficulties in the 2000s, DreamWorks Pictures—including the rights to Gladiator and the rest of the pre-2006 live-action film library—was sold to Paramount Pictures in 2006 and development on the sequel was halted.[27] Over the years, other attempts on a sequel script were made, but Scott felt that many writers "were afraid to take it on".[11] He also said that he and everyone involved in the original film were busy so no one thought about making a sequel, but as time passed, he noticed how well Gladiator aged to the point of seemingly having "taken a life of its own" that it made him feel that he owed the audience a continuation to that story.[11] In March 2017, Scott revealed that the difficulties of reintroducing Maximus had been resolved. The filmmaker expressed enthusiasm for the future of the project, while discussions with Crowe to reprise his role were ongoing.[28]

In November 2018, it was announced that Paramount was greenlighting the development of a sequel. Scott was in early negotiations to once again serve as director, with a script written by Peter Craig. Scott would also serve as producer alongside Douglas Wick, Lucy Fisher, Walter Parkes, and Laurie MacDonald, with the project being a joint-venture production between Paramount, Scott Free Productions, Red Wagon Entertainment, and Parkes+MacDonald Image Nation.[29] In June 2019, the producers revealed that the script took place 25 to 30 years after the first film.[30] The plot was reported to center around Lucius.[31] In April 2021, Chris Hemsworth approached Crowe with a proposal to become involved with the project, with the intention to co-produce the film. While working together on the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), the two actors shared additional ideas for the film.[32]

By September 2021, Scott stated that the script was once again being worked on with his intention being to direct the sequel upon the completion of production on Napoleon (2023).[33] In November, it was revealed that David Scarpa, who worked with Scott on Napoleon, was rewriting the script.[34] Scott stated in a 2023 interview that they had struggled for 10 months to write the script four years previously, until they revisited the idea of Lucius as the "survivor" of the original film.[35] According to Scott, the premise for the sequel began with the emperors Caracalla and Geta. He said, "After Commodus's death, there was a scramble for the chair, and out of that eventually came a man who became the father of the two princes...One of them was just this side of being dysfunctional, a lunatic. The other one tried to control his brother. So that state of constant disagreement and fluctuating personalities was where we began."[36]

Originally greenlit with a production budget of $165 million, the cost of the film increased to a reported $310 million by the time filming wrapped (though Paramount insisted the net cost did not exceed $250 million).[37] Additionally, Ridley Scott's desire to have a rhino battle in the original film, which went unrealized due to cost, was included in the sequel.[38][39][40][41] The production received nearly €47 million in film incentive rebates from Malta, setting a record the largest rebate issued for a film production in the European Union.[42]

Pre-production

Irish actor Paul Mescal at the screening of The Lost Daughter at the 44th Mill Valley Film Festival on 16th October 2021.
Pedro Pascal speaking at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con International in San Diego, California.
Denzel Washington in 2018
Connie Nielsen speaking at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con International in San Diego, California.
Sir Derek Jacobi - BFI Southbank - Sunday 13th November 2022
Joseph Quinn on the red carpet at the Big Screen Achievement Awards at the 2024 CinemaCon at The Colosseum Theater at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Fred Hechinger at the Sundance Film Festival in 2024
(Clockwise from top left) Gladiator II stars Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Connie Nielsen, Fred Hechinger, Joseph Quinn, and Derek Jacobi

In January 2023, Paul Mescal was cast in the film as the adult Lucius (originally portrayed by Spencer Treat Clark), while it was also reported that Arthur Max and Janty Yates, the production designer and costume designer of the original film, respectively, would also be returning to work on the sequel.[43] Scott was unaware of Mescal's fame until he watched his performance in the BBC Three/Hulu miniseries Normal People, which he came across in his need for a "bedtime story". Shortly after, the story for Gladiator II was completed, and Scott ultimately cast Mescal in the lead role after a brief Zoom call.[35][5][11] Austin Butler, Richard Madden and Miles Teller had also been considered for the lead role.[44] Mescal was chosen after Daria Cercek and Michael Ireland had seen his performance in the West End revival of A Streetcar Named Desire, claiming that the "ladies in the audience [had been] very vocal" when he had taken his shirt off.[45] Having seen the original film when he was 13 with his father, Mescal was invited for breakfast by Lucy Fisher and Douglas Wick, who informed him about the sequel's casting, proceeding to tell Scott about his physical capabilities due to playing Gaelic football in his youth while Scott found a striking resemblance to Richard Harris, who played Marcus Aurelius in the original film, so he opted to cast Mescal despite his newcomer status under the pretext he launched careers likewise for Sigourney Weaver and Brad Pitt when he cast them in his films Alien (1979) and Thelma & Louise (1991) respectively. To prepare for the role, Mescal didn't get in touch with Crowe to avoid audiences thinking the film will define his career, trained physically, ate sweet potato and ground beef to put on 18 pounds of muscle and remembered Roman history he studied at school,[46] in addition to practice fighting choreography, horse training and sword fighting.[11]

In March 2023, Barry Keoghan entered negotiations to join the cast in the role of Emperor Caracalla while Denzel Washington joined the cast.[47][48] Regarding Scott and his brother Tony as "great filmmakers" who never miss, Washington accepted the role out of interest to work with the inspirational Scott brother again after their previous collaboration in American Gangster (2007).[15] Additionally, John Mathieson was set to return as cinematographer for the film.[49] In April 2023, it was announced that Connie Nielsen and Djimon Hounsou would reprise their roles as Lucilla and Juba respectively, while Joseph Quinn was added to the cast as Emperor Geta.[50][51] In May 2023, Pedro Pascal, May Calamawy, Lior Raz, Derek Jacobi, Peter Mensah and Matt Lucas joined the cast of the film, with Fred Hechinger entering negotiations to play Caracalla after Keoghan had to drop out over scheduling conflicts. Jacobi reprises his role as Senator Gracchus from the first film.[52][53] Similarly to Mescal, Pascal underwent intense gladiator training for his role, which he found challenging, but deemed the experience "the most exciting" of his career due to growing up with Scott's films.[11] In December, Hounsou announced that, despite initially being involved, he would not be returning for the sequel due to scheduling conflicts.[54] Calamawy dropped out and was replaced by Yuval Gonen.[18]

Filming

Production was expected to begin in May 2023, with Ouarzazate, Morocco set as a filming location.[55] Set construction began in the city in April.[56] Filming began in June 2023 with additional filming locations planned for Malta, which stood-in for ancient Rome, and the United Kingdom over the following four months,[57][58] with few early sequences being shot at Morocco before flying to Malta to shoot the rest of the film. Mescal felt some nerves over shooting in the assembled Colosseum and shooting scenes with Washington.[46] An accident involving fire during filming on June 7 injured six crew members.[59] Filming was suspended in July due to the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes.[60] For a fight sequence, a rhinoceros was created via 3D printing controlled by radio remote, but filming the scene took two or three days and affected Mescal's physicality due to the temperature.[11] Filming resumed on December 4 in Malta,[61] and wrapped on January 17, 2024.[62] Filming also took place on the South Downs at Devil's Dyke, Sussex in June 2024.[63]

Funding

In August 2023, the Times of Malta reported that the government of Malta was due to pay €46,653,961 to the subsidiary company of Paramount Studios producing the film, and "breaks the record for the biggest state aid to cinema in the EU."[64]

Music

Main article: Gladiator II (soundtrack)

In January 2024, it was reported that Harry Gregson-Williams was composing the score for the film, taking over from Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard who scored the first film.[65] Zimmer decided not to return because he did not want to repeat his work from the first film. In an interview with Curzon, he said that the film was "in really good hands" with Gregson-Williams, who had started his career as Zimmer's assistant.[66]

Gregson-Williams wrote 100 minutes of original score for the film, and used some of Zimmer and Gerrard's musical cues from the first film.[67]

Release

Gladiator II is scheduled to be released internationally, including the United Kingdom, on November 15, 2024, and later in the United States and Canada on November 22, by Paramount Pictures. Universal Pictures declined to co-finance the sequel or distribute it overseas as it had the first film, leaving only Paramount as the worldwide distributor.[68][69] In Australia and New Zealand, Gladiator II was released earlier on November 14,[70] following the film's world premiere in Sydney on October 30.[71] It was previously scheduled for a global release on November 22.[72]

On July 1, 2024, it was announced that the film's release date would be shared with the first of the two-part film adaptation of the musical Wicked (from Universal), whose date was moved from November 27 to avoid competition with Moana 2. This sparked speculation on whether pitting the two films together could lead to a scenario similar to the Barbenheimer phenomenon, which was a result of Barbie and Oppenheimer both being released on July 21, 2023.[73] On July 10, 2024, Mescal called the double release "Glicked" and voiced his support for the two films to be shown as a double feature, saying "It would be amazing 'cause I think the films couldn't be more polar opposites and it worked in that context previously. So, fingers crossed people come out and see both films on opening weekend".[74]

Much like the original film, Gladiator II was given a R rating by the Motion Picture Association due to "strong bloody violence".[75] Unlike other past films of his, Scott has stated that Gladiator II will not receive a director's cut, as he has earned the right to have his final cut and removed some scenes during filming so he didn't need to do so after finishing the film.[76]

Marketing

Footage of the film screened at the CinemaCon 2024 in Las Vegas included scenes of Joseph Quinn as Geta dressed in a white toga and laurel-leaf crown dramatically plunging his thumb downward to note the fate of defeated gladiators, with Nielsen in the background.[58] In June of that year, Scott showcased an extended clip of the film featuring Denzel Washington, Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen, and Quinn.[77]

A poster for the film was released on July 8, 2024, with a trailer released the following day.[78] The trailer would also reportedly be attached to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), which was released on July 26, 2024.[79] Jennifer Ouellette of Ars Technica said the trailer indicated the film "promises to be just as much of a visual feast, as a new crop of power players (plus a couple of familiar faces) clash over the future of Rome".[80] Rather than using an orchestral score, the first trailer used "No Church in the Wild" by Jay-Z and Kanye West which caused a backlash among film fans.[why?] Some justified this choice of music by citing the trailer for the first Gladiator which had used "Bawitdaba" by Kid Rock.[81] Screen Rant criticized how the second trailer spoiled the plot twist of Maximus being Lucius's father; while a common fan theory since the first film's release, Adam Bentz found it questionable to reveal in a trailer, as it could have been emotionally impactful for audiences like it was for Mescal when he found out his character's relationship with the original's protagonist.[82]

On the first day of the 2024 NFL season, Paramount Pictures and Pepsi announced a campaign cross-promoting the film with the soft drink's sponsorship of the National Football League. A series of advertisements featured football stars Josh Allen, Derrick Henry, Justin Jefferson, and Travis Kelce as "Gridiron Gladiators", with Megan Thee Stallion appearing as Empress Megan.[83]

On October 4, 2024, Japanese professional wrestling promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling announced that the movie would sponsor that year's King of Pro-Wrestling event on October 14, which is slated to be the first since 2019.[84]

On 1 November 2024, at Lucca Comics & Games 2024, to promote the film in Italian cinemas, Francesco Totti played a Roman centurion.[85][86]

Reception

Box office projections

In the United States and Canada, Gladiator 2 is projected to gross $42–47 million in its opening weekend, per Quorum, with Boxoffice Pro estimating between $60–80 million. It will compete with Universal's Wicked, in a release that has been compared to 2023's Barbenheimer to their contrasting target audiences.[87][88]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 75% of 122 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The website's consensus reads: "Echoing its predecessor while upping the bloodsport and camp, Gladiator II is an action extravaganza that derives much of its strength and honor from Denzel Washington's scene-stealing performance."[89] Rotten Tomatoes also reported that critics praised the action, performances, story, and visuals, but some argued that "plot-wise it's actually too similar to its predecessor".[90] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 67 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[91]

Early reactions from the film's first screening at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles on October 18, 2024 were positive. Critics praised Scott's direction, the set pieces, battle sequences and Mescal's and Washington's performances, mentioning that Scott and Washington could be nominated for the Academy Awards, but a few felt the film lacked an "emotional punch" when compared to the original film.[92][93][94] Film critic Scott Menzel deemed the film Scott's best since The Martian (2015), a "big, bloody and bad ass action spectacle" that builds upon the original film's legacy.[92]

Historical accuracy

The real-life Macrinus was a praetorian prefect of Berber descent from North Africa who became Roman emperor in 217 AD after conspiring against Caracalla and having him murdered.[95] The character of Lucilla is also based on a real historical figure. The real-life Lucilla was the daughter of Marcus Aurelius and the wife of Lucius Verus. One of their sons was named Lucius Verus.[96]

There is no historical record of a Roman general named Marcus Acacius.[97]

The opening scene is showing Lucius and his wife tending to a pumpkin field, but pumpkins were introduced to the old world only after the discovery of America.

Possible sequel

In September 2024, Scott revealed that he was developing a script for a third film, and that the realization depends on the reception for the second installment. Titled Gladiator III, the plot was stated to follow the continuing adventures of Lucius Verus. Likening the ending of Gladiator II to The Godfather Part II (1974), the filmmaker stated that the next movie would explore the character's realization that he is now tasked with a continuing reputation that he does not want.[98][99] Scott later stated that the movie is in early stages of development and intended to be the next project he works on,[100] though the following month he stated to The New York Times his next project after Gladiator II will be a Bee Gees biopic.[16]

References

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