Warning: this article contains spoilers for Gladiator 2Gladiator 2is one of the biggest movies of the year, and even in a year as stacked as 2024, the legacy sequel has been able to stand out as a solid continuation of the 2000 historical epic. While the film isn’t perfect,Gladiator 2has received great reviewsfrom critics and audiences. Still, one of the biggest points of conversation around the film is how similar the plot is to the original movie and how similar the main characters in the film are.
Gladiator 2’s charactersare all well-defined and interesting in their own right, and the main character Hanno, aka Lucius Verus Aurelius, played by Paul Mescal, has several striking similarities to Maximus, the protagonist from the originalGladiator. While this makes sense in the film, asLucius is secretly Maximus' son,telling the same story with essentially the same character could have ruined the film. Thankfully, theGladiator 2doesn’t stay exactly the same as the original, and there is one moment where that divergence begins.
Gladiator 2 Stops Being A Remake After The Death Of Pedro Pascal’s General Acacius
The Character And His Death Are Unique In The Franchise
One of the biggest plot points from bothGladiatormovies is the main character’s quest for revenge after the death of their families. Maximus concentrated on Emperor Commodus, while Lucius' quest for vengeance was initially focused onPedro Pascal’s General Acacius. However, while this was one of the biggest similarities between the movies,Acacius' death at the end of this plot thread was whereGladiator 2stepped into entirely new ground.Maximus' journey ended when he got his revenge, whereas Lucius decided to forego revenge entirely in favor of the larger threat.
Gladiator 2 Shows How Easily Maximus Could’ve Been A Villain In The First Movie
Pedro Pascal’s complicated Gladiator 2 character, Roman General Acacius, proves that Maximus could actually be viewed as a villain in the first movie.
By refusing to kill Acacius, Lucius set the plot into an entirely different motion, where, instead of trying to get revenge for the death of his family, he attempted to retake Rome and turn it into a better place for everyone.Lucius' enemies became the Roman Elite and Macrinus, as he tried to gain control to simply maintain the status quo. Though Maximus did have a greater purpose in inspiring the people of Rome, the originalGladiatorremained a revenge story throughout. In contrast, theend ofGladiator 2transcended that to become about Lucius himself fixing the Roman Empire.
How Lucius' Fight With Acacius Flips The Original Gladiator
Acacius Is Very Different From Commodus
Thefinal fight inGladiatorwas Maximus against Commodus, the man responsible for the death of his family. It was a brutal encounter that ended with Maximus killing Commodus before succumbing to his own injuries and dying, having finally completed his journey.Gladiator 2obviously had a very different take on the protagonist’s revenge-fueled battle since Acacius eventually surrendered, and Lucius decided not to kill him.This fight was not the end of Lucius' journey; it is really just the beginningof Lucius accepting his role as the face of the dream of Rome.
Commodus, on the other hand, was the film’s representation of the Empire, and Maximus killing him would potentially allow Rome to actually change, even if he weren’t around to see it through.
The most important distinction between Commodus and Acacius was that Acacius was never the real antagonist, seeing as Commodus was the ultimate villain of the first film. Acacius was simply a pawn ofGladiator 2’s emperorsand the Empire as a whole. By the time of their battle,Lucius knew that killing him would be pointlessand allowed the Empire to continue as it had been. Commodus, on the other hand, was the film’s representation of the Empire, and Maximus killing him would potentially allow Rome to actually change, even if he weren’t around to see it through.
How The Lucius vs. Macrinus Shift Improved Gladiator 2
Macrinus Is The Most Interesting Part Of The Film
After Acacius' death, the sequel pivoted to positioningMacrinus asGladiator 2’s central villain, a move that made the film a much more interesting affair during the final act. The most obvious positive of the shift was that it felt different from the first film. Repeating plot points from the original movie was mostly fine, but keeping a very similar story structure throughout the entire movie would have felt too repetitive. The originalGladiatorhad a very clear distinction between the heroes and the villains of the story, butMacrinus offered a shade of gray toGladiator 2.
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Macrinus was also simply a great, interesting character, and being able to see more of Denzel Washington’s excellent performance made the movie that much better. The film has its critics, but Macrinus has been generally agreed upon as one of the best parts ofGladiator 2.His slow rise to power throughout the film, culminating in his final bid for control of the Empire, is one of the most entertaining parts of Ridley Scott’s long-awaited sequel.
Gladiator II
Cast
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.
