This article contains slight spoilers for Gladiator (2000).

They say revenge is best served cold, to which that dish must be frozen when it lands by way of a late-arriving sequel. For years, Gladiator II languished in development hell while simultaneously appearing like the sequel that director Ridley Scott would never do. For it’s a risky endeavor to follow-up on a film as well received as Gladiator (2000). The original arrived at a time where it was long suspected that the era of Swords & Sandals epics was very much dead, but Gladiator defied the genre expectations of the time to craft a gritty and darker version of ancient Rome. In addition to Scott’s direction, the film’s success is partially owed to the performance of star Russell Crowe, who made his Maximus down to earth and realistic. A burly/mythic figure, but one you could almost touch through Crowe’s minimalist and relatable performance, despite the story’s outsized scope. As a result, the film was a box office hit as well as the most critically prolific of Scott’s career, earning Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor for Crowe.

But, as Joker: Folie à deux just recently demonstrated, even an Academy Award nominated movie can produce a batshit, nearly incomprehensible sequel. Gladiator II could have fallen into a similar trap; much of the issues regarding the early development of the sequel centered on how Russell Crowe could be brought back to reprise his role, after his story very much ended in the original. As justification for a return, Scott became obsessed with analyzing and studying Roman history centered on the afterlife, including reincarnation. This would have possibly been a tough sell for audiences, given the original’s grounded tone.

However, that pales in comparison to the most bizarre version of this movie’s history. Years ago, rocker Nick Cave was set to pen the screenplay for the sequel (for some strange reason), in which he essentially pitched to turn Maximus into some type of fusion between Judas and Wolverine (Yes, that Judas, and yes, that Wolverine). Cave pitched a treatment that featured, among many highlights, that Maximus would be responsible for the murder of Jesus Christ (Yep, him), would fight to stop Christianity before it ever takes off, and then would go on to pull a ‘Logan’ and live to participate in several famous wars, including World War II and Vietnam. To really put an exclamation point on the incoherent ramblings, the film would end with Maximus in the present day: working in the Pentagon. So we’ve gone from mythical duals to the death in the famed Colosseum… to the Pentagon. There’s thinking outside the box, and then there’s walking out of the box, getting in your car, hitting the highway, and flying off a cliff.

Luckily, the real Gladiator II won’t ask audiences to accept such cocaine-fueled fever dreams, but there’s still understandable skepticism on whether the sequel will be worth the trouble or the wait. In the film’s favor, Ridley Scott returns to the director’s chair. Now, it seems lately that Scott is in the ‘Martin Campbell’ phase of his career, where you don’t know if the director is giving you a great film or a stinker, but you do know there’s no in-between. Scott’s last two films were House of Gucci (2021) and Napoleon (2023). Which means… I guess we’re safe? Like, he got his bad movies out of his system, and that’s good news for Gladiator II? Nonetheless, the sequel also boasts a strong cast, starring Paul Mescal as Maximus’ son, Lucius, as well as Pedro Pascal, a returning Connie Nielsen, and the incomparable Denzel Washington. The synopsis for the movie is as follows and is noticeably more sane than previous scripts in this film’s history:

Years after witnessing the death of Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius must enter the Colosseum after the powerful emperors of Rome conquer his home. With rage in his heart and the future of the empire at stake, he looks to the past to find the strength and honor needed to return the glory of Rome to its people.

Now, did it really take them 20 years to come up with that? No offense, but that seems like the first idea you’d think up for a sequel; Maximus’ journey was motivated by revenge, and now history repeats with his offspring. I can’t say it’s particularly groundbreaking; if anything, its premise is potentially too similar to its predecessor, but that will be revealed in the execution. However, the reason why it has taken us so many years to come to a story they could have written on a napkin in 2001 is due to how franchises rely on the stars that made them famous. Crowe went from a well-respected actor to a superstar after Gladiator, and that level of fame can convince a producer that the best way to sell tickets is to stick with the big name. Look at that abomination of a last Indiana Jones movie and how the production is hamstrung by having to work around Harrison Ford’s age.

But at a certain point, as much as we may love the actors, a franchise has to move on from its core cast if it’ll remain fresh decades later; OR we could just retire some of these titles, but I’m working under the assumption of that’s not in the cards. Paul Mescal is a rising star, and this is his biggest movie to date; a chance to cement himself as an A-lister for years to come. Yet, given the story at play, I’m not counting out Russell Crowe showing up as a giant cloud in the sky to give a pep talk to his young lion. The latest (and potentially last) trailer has no Maximus, but it does have that signature bloody violence:

So there’s a lot going on here, some of which should give some folks some pause. For starters, blatant CGI and Ridley Scott haven’t historically been a great match, as the scenes involving the monkeys and the rhino look very much off. Yet, as previously alluded to, the biggest obstacles for Gladiator II may just be its similarities and shortcomings in the face of the original. Can Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger match the sniveling and conniving antics of Joaquin Phoenix? There’s two of them now! I guess that’s something. Denzel Washington’s story could prove to be a little convoluted, and the jury is still out on if Mescal will have comparable energy and screen presence to Russell Crowe’s commanding performance. Pedro Pascal is positioned as a rival, foil, but perhaps potential ally to Lucius. This is where I imagine much of the conflict will evolve, as Pascal’s Marcus Acacius shares many of the same enemies as Lucius, but they will start the story as foes.

Generally speaking, the production design looks vast but hardly breathtaking. A film like this is reliant on its visuals, yet there’s not much so far that I feel will stun audiences. Perhaps that’s just a result of a haphazardly edited trailer, and the final product will actually pay off decades of hype and imagination. Admittedly, Gladiator isn’t one of my favorite movies, but I can still appreciate its craftsmanship as well as the elements that spoke to audiences and made the film a classic. Gladiator II has a talented cast and crew going for it, but they’re up against some gargantuan comparisons and about 25 years of advancement in film. This means that the sequel can’t sneak up on audiences like the original; its expectations will be sky high, and it will be judged and graded harshly. But it is Ridley Scott, and you can’t count out that bloke until the film print goes up on the screen. If nothing else, this will be the next great experiment to test if these delayed sequels are worth the wait or another reminder that originality is king.

The colosseum reopens at last when Gladiator II hits theaters on November 22, 2024.