Warning: This article contains spoilers forGladiator 2.
The final scene ofGladiator 2leaves the door open forGladiator 3, and Ridley Scott has already discussed some of his tantalizing ideas for the potential threequel. The originalGladiatorwas a perfectly told standalone story that could’ve stood on its own merits without a sequel. The only reason to make a sequel was that the first film thematically explores the concept of legacy and the implications of today’s actions on tomorrow (“What we do in this life echoes in eternity”).Gladiator 2is only tangentially connected to the original, retroactively revealing thatLucius Verus was fathered by Maximus.
But the ending ofGladiator 2sets up a more direct sequel to follow inGladiator 3. It leaves Scott’s Roman saga unfinished, withone more story left to tell. InGladiator 2, Lucius lived up to Maximus’ legacy and liberated Rome from its evil overlords, but there’s still a long way to go to restore the broken dream. Based on the setup atthe end ofGladiator 2and Scott’s idea forGladiator 3,a possible third movie will bring the story full circle and make the trilogy a complete saga.
Gladiator 2 Sets Up Lucius Ruling Rome In Gladiator 3
Lucius Is The New Emperor By The End Of Gladiator 2
In its first half,Gladiator 2is a more or less straightforward rehash of the original movie. Lucius is captured, sold into slavery, and forced to fight as a gladiator. Just like Maximus before him, he rises through the ranks, becomes a champion who inspires the people of Rome, and all the while quietly plots to exact revenge for the loved ones he’s lost. But in its second half, whenDenzel Washington’s Macrinusreveals his true plan to usurp the emperors,Gladiator 2becomes its own thing. Macrinus seizes power and intends to rule Rome as a dictator.
Gladiator 2has a 75% “fresh” critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes.
As the direct heir of Marcus Aurelius, it’s Lucius’ birthright to take the throne. In the climactic showdown ofGladiator 2,Lucius brutally kills Macrinus and takes back the throne that’s rightfully his. This concludes the story at hand inGladiator 2, but it sets up a new story. Getting Lucius to his rightful place on the throne is a good start, but Rome is still far away from the utopia that his grandfather envisioned. Now, Lucius will have to overcome impostor syndrome, fix Rome’s institutional problems, and fend off his own usurpers.
Gladiator 3 Would Be A Very Different Kind Of Story
Gladiator 3 Wouldn’t Be A Revenge Story
If Scott does makeGladiator 3, it’ll be a very different kind of story. Both the first and secondGladiatormovies were revenge stories. In the first one, Maximus pursues vengeance against Commodus for the deaths of his family, and in the second one, Lucius pursues vengeance against Acacius for the death of his wife. ButGladiator 3, following on from Lucius becoming the new emperor, presumably wouldn’t be a revenge tale. Instead, it could focus on Lucius actually realizing the dream of Rome after it’s been crushed for two movies. There’s plenty of history it could pull from, too.
It could focus on Lucius actually realizing the dream of Rome after it’s been crushed for two movies.
It could still potentially be a revenge story, but it would flip the usual dynamic. In the first two films, the audience follows the protagonist on their quest for revenge. Lucius killed a lot of people inGladiator 2, and he’ll surely have to make some tough decisions as the new emperor. There will undoubtedly be someone out there who wants to kill Lucius, soGladiator 3could be a revenge story from the revengee’s perspective. Realizing the dream of Rome might be harder than it seems, and there might be some Romans who disagree, so there’s plenty of conflict.
What Ridley Scott Has Said About Gladiator 3
Scott Has Already Started Writing Gladiator 3
In the months leading up toGladiator 2’s release,Scott revealed that he’s already working on a script forGladiator 3. He saidhe already has eight pages of a threequel written, and that this opening is “the beginning of a very good footprint.” Scott added that if there’s aGladiator 3, it likely wouldn’t “go back into the arena,” suggesting it would move away from gladiators altogether.
A sequel toGladiatorhas been in development since as early as June 2001.
Scott ended up unwittingly spoilingGladiator 2when he teased the threequel’s story on the sequel’s press tour. He comparedGladiator 2toThe Godfather, with Lucius ending up with “a job he didn’t want,” and suggested thatGladiator 3would follow in the footsteps ofThe Godfather Part II, as that job becomes his moral downfall. Scott is already working on a newAliensequel, a Bee Gees biopic, and a bunch of other projects, so it could be a while beforeGladiator 3gets off the ground (if it ever does).
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.
