Warning: this article contains spoilers Gladiator 2.
The final scene of Gladiator 2 leave the door open for Gladiator 3and Ridley Scott has already discussed some of his tantalizing ideas for the potential trio. The original Gladiator was a perfectly told standalone story that could have 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 2 it is only tangentially connected to the original, retroactively revealing that Lúcio Vero was the son of Máximo.
But the end of Gladiator 2 sets up a more direct sequence to follow Gladiator 3. This leaves Scott’s Roman saga unfinished, with one more story to tell. In Gladiator 2Lucius lived up to Maximus’ legacy and freed Rome from its evil masters, but there is still a long way to go to restore the shattered dream. Based on the configuration at the end of Gladiator 2 and Scott’s idea for Gladiator 3, a possible third film will bring the story full circle and make the trilogy a complete saga.
Gladiator 2 has Lucius ruling Rome in Gladiator 3
Lucius is the new emperor at the end of Gladiator 2
In its first half, Gladiator 2 it is a more or less direct repetition of the original film. 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 at the same time quietly plots revenge on the loved ones he has lost. But in the second half, when Denzel Washington’s Macrinus reveals his true plan to usurp the emperors, Gladiator 2 it becomes its own thing. Macrino takes power and intends to rule Rome as a dictator.
As the direct heir of Marcus Aurelius, it is Lúcio’s birthright to assume the throne. In the climactic confrontation of Gladiator 2, Lucius brutally kills Macrinus and retakes the throne that is rightfully his. This concludes the story in question in Gladiator 2but it sets up a new story. Bringing Lucius to his rightful place on the throne is a good start, but Rome is still far from the utopia his grandfather imagined. Now, Lúcio will have to overcome the impostor syndrome, solve 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 Gladiator 3it will be a very different kind of story. Both the first and second Gladiator the films were revenge stories. In the first, Máximo seeks revenge against Cômodus for the death of his family, and in the second, Lúcio seeks revenge against Acácio for the death of his wife. But Gladiator 3after Lucius became the new emperor, it probably wouldn’t be a revenge story. Instead, it could focus on Lucius actually achieving Rome’s dream after being crushed by two films. There’s a lot of history he could draw from as well.
It could focus on Lucius actually realizing the dream of Rome after being crushed by two films.
It could still potentially be a revenge story, but it would change the usual dynamic. In the first two films, the audience follows the protagonist on his quest for revenge. Lucius killed many people in Gladiator 2and he will certainly have to make some difficult decisions as the new emperor. There will undoubtedly be someone out there who wants to kill Lucius, so Gladiator 3 Could be a revenge story from the avenger’s point of view. Realizing Rome’s dream may be more difficult than it seems, and there may be some Romans who disagree, so there is a lot of conflict.
What Ridley Scott Said About Gladiator 3
Scott has already started writing Gladiator 3
In the months leading up Gladiator 2release, Scott revealed that he is already working on a script for Gladiator 3. He said he already has eight pages of a threequel writtenand that this opening is “the beginning of a very good catch.” Scott added that if there is a Gladiator 3It probably wouldn’t be.”return to the arena,”Suggesting that he would move away from gladiators completely.
Scott ended up unintentionally ruining Gladiator 2 when he teased the trio’s story on the sequel’s press tour. He compared Gladiator 2 to The godfatherwith Lucius ending with “a job he didn’t want,” and suggested that Gladiator 3 would follow in the footsteps of The Godfather Part IIas this job becomes his moral downfall. Scott is already working on a new Foreigner sequel, a Bee Gees biopic and several other projects, so it could be a while before Gladiator 3 leaves the ground (if that happens).