Warning: This article contains spoilers for Gladiator II.Gladiator II takes a lot of creative liberty with its depiction of the ancient, later Roman Empire, but its confirmed sequel is poised to deviate further and further from the course of history. Ridley Scott Best Film Winner Gladiator it is by no means strictly historically accurate; Although Scott is known for his expansive, textured worldbuilding in the context of historical epics, he firmly decided that he was willing to change certain events for the sake of his story. Perhaps the biggest example from the first film is the public death of Joaquin Phoenix's Emperor Commodus, in contradiction to the historical figure's assassination.
Paul Mescal's Hanno/Lucius story is structured in the same way as Russell Crowe's Maximus narrative, with the aim of creating a film of incredible scale about “strength and honor.” Gladiator II sees Lucius, having left Rome and his mother Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) as a child, is brought back to the heart of the empire as an enslaved gladiator, seeking revenge against the Roman general Acacius (Pedro Pascal). Lucius discovers that fate is inevitable and he must help free Rome from tyranny which leads directly to how Gladiator IIThe ending of is the biggest derivation of the story so far.
Gladiator 2's ending makes Lucius realize Rome's dream and change history
Lucius changes the history of Ancient Rome by prematurely ending the regime of Macrinus
Lúcio and Lucila are among the historical characters of Gladiator IIalthough Lucilla was killed on her brother's orders when she was young, while Lucius died as a child, both before the age they are in this film. How Emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger) came to power is not described in Gladiator II; in real history, they inherited the throne from their father, who was the last in a succession of several emperors a year after Commodus' death. Without examining the details of their rule, the film accurately portrays them in power at this time.
Upon arriving in Rome after the conquest of Numidia and the death of his wife Arishat (Yuval Gonen), Lúcio discovers that Acacius, the man he wishes to see dead, is in fact his mother's new husband. Ultimately, Lucius does not kill Acacius and is later informed of the general's armies' plan to attack Rome and arrest the emperors. However, Denzel Washington's Macrinus conspires to turn the brothers against each other, helping Caracalla kill Geta and then killing Caracalla himself. After Macrinus kills Lucilla, Lucius kills Macrinus to prevent him from taking control of the entire Roman Empire.
Lucius convinces both armies to withdraw, imploring them to unite to make Rome better, aspiring to achieve the “Dream of Rome”.
In reality, the historical Macrinus succeeded Caracalla as emperor (after the latter ordered his brother's death) and ruled Rome for about a year; Lucius prevents this from happening. More dramatically, Lucius convinces both armies to withdraw, imploring them to unite to make Rome better, aspiring to achieve the “Dream of Rome” that Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris in Gladiator) conceived as the return of Rome to the status of a republic. Lúcio appears to be successful in his speech, which completely contradicts the real story, as the real Lúcio was dead at this time and no systematic seizures occurred.
Rome becoming a republic after Gladiator 2 would completely alter real history
Rome never became a republic again in real history after the time of Gladiator II
Gladiator IILucius' conclusion implies that Lucius will remain in Rome, likely as a significant political leader when there is a power vacuum to be filled following the deaths of all the other important royals in the film, and will help the Senate and people rebuild . Although he has regained his identity as the grandson of the last great Roman emperor, it is very unlikely that Lucius wants to be emperor. He would only like to see the people govern through the Senate and could follow in the footsteps of Maximus and Acacius by taking a position in the army.
However, a film focused on Lucius striving to achieve these goals rewrites history more than GladiatoI've done this before. Rome never again became a Republic after the defeat of Mark Antony and the rise to power of Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus in 27 BC the beginning of the Roman Empire. There were only more emperors in power until the fall of the empire in the 5th century. The Roman Empire is widely considered to have ended in 476 AD, after years of decline largely due to the empire becoming too large to administer (via TIME).
However, the film suggests that Lucius prevents this course of history from developing.
The empire ended up dividing into the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire, the latter surviving as the Byzantine Empire until the 15th century. Gladiator II emphasizes the decline of Rome, painting it as largely the result of the rule of the twin emperors, but alluding with some precision to the various economic, military, and governance factors that caused the gradual collapse of the empire. However, the film suggests that Lucius prevents this course of history from happening.
Which Gladiator 3 story should be based on the real story
The next gladiator movie could show another tyrannical emperor in power and Lucius' continued fight for the dream of Rome
Gladiator 3 could construct a substantial plot from the actual story, with the sole exception that Macrinus is dead and Lucius is still alive and a major player. Gladiator IIThe ending of may make it seem like everyone is on board with the Dream of Rome at the moment, but Lucius may face some resistance from Rome's nobility. All senators who supported Lucilla and the reform of the republic were killed in the Coliseum; What's left is a senatorial class that would probably include some people wanting to make a play for emperor.
The historical Macrinus was succeeded as emperor by Elagabalus, whose eccentric background would make him a fantastic character in a film. Elagabalus was Caracalla's cousin and became emperor while still a teenager; he is mainly remembered for many controversial sexual and religious activities. Gladiator 3 has a setting rife with the potential for historical religious conflict, as well as stories about the concerns that Acacius expresses in Gladiator II about Rome having “many subjects to feed,“as the empire would become too widespread to be sustainable.
Why Gladiator 3 Is Unlikely to Be Historically Accurate
Ridley Scott already has a story he wants for Gladiator 3 and will continue with it despite the story
However, Ridley Scott barely paid attention to the real story with Gladiator or Gladiator II; the real question is what he will change in the third film. Scott teased the film as comparable to The Godfather Part IIwith Lucius receiving”a job he didn't want” (through IndieWire). Lucius may have to become emperor in hopes of overseeing the reestablishment of the republic, what Marcus Aurelius once wanted Maximus to do as Lord Protector. Of course, Lucius would, at this point, be an entirely fictional Roman emperor, having never lived past childhood in real history.
If Lucius truly succeeds by the end of Gladiator 3 and Rome is once again a functioning democracy, all of ancient Rome would then be a fiction. There is some potential in terms of entertainment value through multiple story possibilities; The crux of the upcoming sequel is whether Scott wants Rome to be public again in his universe. Maximum, then Lúcio and many others die in these films for the idea of ​​Rome being better, but in the next film, even more than Gladiator IIwill reveal what kind of tragedy this was always meant to be.