Can Ridley Scott conjure magic for the mob a second time? "Gladiator 2" may be the sequel no one asked for, but we have a feeling it's going to blow everyone away. Here's why.
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00:00Can Ridley Scott conjure magic for the mob a second time?
00:03Gladiator 2 may be the sequel no one asked for, but we have a feeling it's gonna blow
00:08everyone away.
00:09Here's why.
00:10Good writing is the backbone of any movie.
00:12All too often, sequels are rushed into production to capitalize on the success of the first
00:17film.
00:18Obviously, this didn't happen with Gladiator, since it's been over two decades.
00:22But it's also clear that the decision to return to the world wasn't based solely on studio
00:26pressure and ticket sales.
00:28Ridley Scott has clearly invested a lot of time in making sure the script for Gladiator
00:322 is right where he wants it.
00:34In fact, he already scrapped another attempt to make the sequel four years before the current
00:38project because the story wasn't there yet.
00:41Scott explained his first attempt at Total Film, saying that the first writer, Peter
00:45Craig, was very good, and a personal friend.
00:47But they couldn't get their heads around the right idea for a sequel, so after ten months,
00:51they pulled the plug.
00:52Eventually, Scott and company gave it another go, and apparently found an angle that resonated.
00:57This time, they brought on David Scarpa, who has worked on multiple projects with Scott.
01:01David Franzoni, who helped write Gladiator, also has a writing credit on the film, as
01:06does Craig.
01:07A creative team that is willing to spend so much time wrestling with the script is a sign
01:10that we can expect a solid final product when this thing finally reaches the public.
01:15History buffs
01:16History buffs tend to have a love-hate opinion of Gladiator.
01:18It takes a lot of artistic license with the facts, but at the same time, it recreates
01:23fascinating historical locations on a scale few other films have.
01:27Gladiator starts in Germania, on the northeastern borders of the Roman Empire.
01:31We see Hispania for a few minutes before the narrative moves even further south to North
01:35Africa.
01:36Finally, the story moves to Rome, and it remains there till the end of the film.
01:40This is plenty of world-building already, but it also leaves the doors wide open for
01:44the sequel to expand, especially when you're talking about something as big as the Roman
01:48Empire.
01:49What do they care about Germania?
01:50They care about the greatness of Rome.
01:52Gladiator tied to that empire and its client state stretched north to south from modern
01:56Britain to the Sudan, and east to west from Morocco to Azerbaijan.
02:01It was absolutely massive, and contained countless different cultures, most of which didn't make
02:06it into the first movie.
02:07Based on promotional footage and interviews, we already know that we're going to return
02:11to North Africa and the province of Numidia.
02:14Historically, Emperor Caracalla and Macrinus also journey to the eastern limits of the
02:19Roman Empire, where they tangle with the Parthians, an empire roughly situated near
02:23modern Iran.
02:25Suffice it to say, there's a lot more of this massive Roman world to explore, and even using
02:29a fraction of the potential could make the Gladiator sequel feel ten times bigger than
02:34its predecessor.
02:36The historical parallels of Gladiator 2 have exciting potential, but there's another aspect
02:41to Ridley Scott's period piece that will likely amplify the enjoyment the fictional element.
02:46Gladiator is rife with incidents and characters that bend the truth.
02:50That's not a criticism.
02:51Most of the historical inaccuracies in Gladiator make the movie better.
02:55Commodus dispatching his father with a hug, for instance, instantly positions him as pure
02:59villain.
03:00His own death in the arena is more epic than his historical fate.
03:03Heck, the invention of Maximus was a major reason for the movie's appeal.
03:07We could see similarly interesting historical fiction in Gladiator 2.
03:11For example, Senator Gracchus was invented for the first film, and was clearly inspired
03:15by a number of famous Roman senators.
03:17Gracchus is returning for the sequel, and his position of power — especially after
03:21Maximus instructs him to restore the Roman Republic — could significantly impact the
03:25storyline.
03:26The fight of Rome, I leave to you."
03:32Macrinus is another interesting one.
03:33Denzel Washington's character appears to be named after the first equestrian, basically
03:38a member of the upper-middle class to become emperor.
03:41Historically, that makes Macrinus an overachieving lawyer.
03:44In the Gladiator 2 trailer, Macrinus says he was once owned.
03:48If the line implies that he was a slave, that would be a rewrite clearly targeting a more
03:51dramatic and compelling rise to power.
03:54In other words, the world has plenty of documentaries about Rome.
03:57If inventing a few plot elements makes for a better story, Gladiator 2 will be all the
04:02better for it.
04:04Gladiator ends with the death of Commodus, and hope for a return to the Roman Republic.
04:08By the time we pick up the story decades later in Gladiator 2, Rome is ruled not by one,
04:13but by two emperors.
04:15This new royal blood takes the form of Caracalla, played by Fred Hechinger, and Geta, played
04:19by Joseph Quinn.
04:21These imperial leaders aren't the most famous emperors in Roman history, but they're remembered
04:25as decadent, spoiled brats with no inhibitions.
04:28In their historical narrative, they come to power early as co-rulers.
04:33Within a year of the death of their father, Septimius Severus, Caracalla strangles his
04:37brother right in the arms of their mother.
04:40Caracalla rules solo for a while, until he's assassinated by a rogue officer while sending
04:44to nature's call on the side of the road.
04:46The leader of the coup is none other than a fellow named Macrinus.
04:49The historical aspect of the Geta and Caracalla reign is dramatic enough, but if you toss
04:54them into a story that, based on Gladiator, will loosely follow the historical narrative
04:58at best, chances are these siblings will stoop to the lowest levels of horror and depravity.
05:03Scott gave a hint of that when he explained,
05:05"...Caracalla and Geta are twins and are definitely damaged goods from birth."
05:10Anyone can draw a political parallel with any movie if they try.
05:13Nevertheless, certain stories lend themselves to the practice more than others, and Gladiator
05:172 is definitely one of them.
05:19Ridley Scott has drawn direct attention to the connections between the cutthroat world
05:22of ancient Roman culture and politics and the atmosphere he sees currently.
05:26He told Vanity Fair,
05:27"...the leadership is in total chaos.
05:29We have demagogues — that's a good word.
05:31The people who are in charge are out of their minds, and everyone is too afraid to contradict.
05:36That's familiar ground right now."
05:38In the same interview, Paul Meskell also spoke to the political struggle in the film, and
05:42the will not just to survive, but to win, both in and out of the arena.
05:46He said,
05:47"...where's the space for humanity?
05:48Where's the space for love, familial connection?
05:51And ultimately, will those things overcome this kind of greed and power?
05:54Those things are oftentimes directly in conflict with each other."
05:57The fight between power and the people, politics and humanity — these are themes that are
06:01likely to resonate with audiences as they head to theaters this November.
06:05"'Cause this is what they believe in — power."
06:08Both Lucius and his mother, Lucilla, are very loosely based on historical characters.
06:13Lucilla was indeed Commodus' sister, but in the real story, she is killed by her brother
06:17when he discovers her plotting against his life.
06:19One of her children is also named Lucius, but he doesn't appear to have lived past youth.
06:24That means when Gladiator 2 begins decades after Commodus' death, both characters will
06:28be firmly in historical fiction territory.
06:31The question is, where will their stories go next?
06:33As far as Connie Nielsen's character is concerned, the historical Lucilla remarried a Roman general.
06:38This could be the inspiration for Pedro Pascal's General Acacius, who functions partly as a
06:43love interest for Nielsen's character.
06:45What her role is in a Roman world that has moved past the reigns of her father and brother,
06:49though, remains to be seen.
06:51When it comes to Paul Mescal's Lucius, that's where Scott is likely to have some real fun.
06:55Lucius is already historically altered in the sense that he probably died in childhood.
07:00This frees up Mescal's version of the character to be whatever Scott needs him to be, positioning
07:04him to carry on the mantle of the heroic but made-up Maximus without any historical restrictions.
07:10The original Gladiator was almost perfectly cast.
07:13It featured both A-list actors and up-and-comers that included the likes of Richard Harris,
07:17Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, and Jaimon Honsu.
07:20And Gladiator 2 is just as full of talent.
07:23The film is packed with major actors who have well-established careers, including Pedro
07:27Pascal, Joseph Quinn from Stranger Things, and A Quiet Place Day One, and the legendary
07:32Denzel Washington.
07:33At the center of it all is Paul Mescal as Lucius, the movie's protagonist and a character
07:38who was a child in the first film.
07:40Mescal is not widely known to mainstream audiences yet, with his highest-profile roles coming
07:44in independent films like All of Us Strangers, Aftersun, and The Lost Daughter, and the 2020
07:49miniseries Normal People.
07:51In fact, it was the latter, a romantic drama set in a small-town island, that got Mescal
07:55handpicked for the role in Gladiator 2.
07:57Ridley Scott told Vanity Fair,
07:59"'Watching a TV show that's not really my kind of TV show almost four years ago, I said,
08:03who's this guy?
08:04I met with him and he said, of course I'd love to do it.
08:07And that was it.
08:08We were away and running with the ball.
08:09He was a special find.
08:10He was absolutely perfect."
08:12One of the biggest things Gladiator 2 is going for is that Ridley Scott is on board to direct.
08:17Whatever the overall final product may be, at least there's an industry veteran overseeing
08:21the production who has already left a trail of popular films in his wake.
08:25Gladiator 2 also marks the first time Scott has helmed a direct sequel in one of the multiple
08:29popular movie franchises he's created over his career.
08:32The 86-year-old director has been at the helm of numerous iconic franchises, including Alien
08:37and Blade Runner, as well as historical epics like Black Hawk Down, Kingdom of Heaven, and
08:42Napoleon.
08:43But he wasn't able to initially return for the sequels to Alien and Blade Runner, even
08:46if he did eventually find his way back to making more Alien movies.
08:49In an interview with Vanity Fair, Scott explained that he didn't love missing out on either
08:53of those sequels, saying,
08:55"...I should have done the sequels to Alien and to Blade Runner.
08:58You change over the years.
08:59At that time, I didn't want to go through it again."
09:01He added that his relative lack of leverage in 1980s Hollywood prevented him from returning
09:06to those fledging franchises.
09:08Now that he probably has as much leverage as anyone in Hollywood, he finally has the
09:11chance to helm the follow-up to one of his most famous films.
09:14You can bet he'll pour everything into making it perfect.
09:17Finally, say what you want about some of Scott's movies, but there's no denying that he makes
09:22films on a grand scale.
09:23Theator was filmed on immense sets with thousands of extras in a way that captured the grit
09:28and realism of the era, at least enough of it to immerse the audience in the action.
09:32Maybe it's an old-school way of thinking, but green screens and digital sets still haven't
09:36quite managed to create as immersive an experience as pouring hundreds of millions of dollars
09:40into intricately crafted full-size sets, where every spray of sand and bead of sweat speaks
09:45of reality.
09:46Scott may not capture historical authenticity, but he does capture cinematic authenticity.
09:51Even though almost 25 years have passed between Gladiator and now, one thing that hasn't changed
09:56is Scott's approach to filmmaking.
09:58We haven't seen any behind-the-scenes glimpses into the filmmaking process for Gladiator
10:022 yet, but it's a good sign that many of the cast interviews hint at the same sheer scale
10:07of filmmaking Scott is known for.
10:09"...because this isn't gonna happen again."
10:10"...For anyone?
10:11I mean, no one makes movies like that."
10:13"...No."
10:14It's a fair bet that Gladiator 2 will at least blow everyone away with spectacle alone, and
10:18as long as everything falls into place, it's guaranteed to be an enthralling experience.