24 YEARS HAVE passed since Ridley Scott’s Gladiator came out and changed the movie world for the next two decades—and counting. The action-packed blockbuster not only made the historical epic cool again (inspiring movies like Troy, Alexander, and even several other Scott-directed films as well in the following years), but won several Oscars, including Best Picture for the movie itself and Best Actor for star Russell Crowe, who was quickly enshrined as one of the film industry’s most beloved and bankable leading men.
Now, in 2024, Scott is returning to the world of one of his most famous films, releasing Gladiator II with an (almost) entirely new cast. Crowe’s heroic Maximus and Joaquin Phoenix’s sadistic Commodus are gone, their impact and presence instead looming over a story that’s led by Paul Mescal’s Lucius—a character we last saw in the original film as an innocent child.
Gladiator II is a sequel, but in many ways comes in the mold of many of the “legacy sequels” that we see today; stuff like Star Wars: The Force Awakens tries to tell its own story while still featuring all sorts of references and callbacks to the original films that fans hold so important. Only a couple characters from the original Gladiator return, but that movie’s presence is felt all over Gladiator II.
As you get ready for Scott’s return to the Roman Colosseum, you’re probably wondering how much of Gladiator II calls back to the original Gladiator, and also which—if any—of the movie’s characters are based on figures from real-life (because, don’t forget, Marcus Aureleius, Commodus, and Lucilla are all based on true people from Roman history, and figured prominently into the original Gladiator).
Keep reading and we’ll fill you in.
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Which Gladiator II characters are returning from the original Gladiator?
Lucius (Paul Mescal)
After figuring into the original Gladiator film as a child (played by Unbreakable star Spencer Treat Clark), Lucius becomes the protagonist of the second film (and now played by ascending star Paul Mescal) in Gladiator II. His mother is Lucilla, and while his father’s identity did not figure into the original Gladiator, the GQ cover story on Mescal confirms that his father is revealed to be Russell Crowe’s Maximus in the second film.
Lucilla (Connie Nielsen)
Lucilla, who was the daughter of Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris), the sister of Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), and the mother of Lucius in the original Gladiator, returns for Gladiator II.
Senator Gracchus (Sir Derek Jacobi)
The only other character to properly return from Gladiator in Gladiator II is Senator Gracchus, who was a key ally to Maximus and Lucilla against Commodus in the original film. It’s interesting that part of Maximus’s motivation in the first movie was making sure Marcus Aurelius’s wish of turning Rome back into a republic led by a senate would come true, and it seemingly will at the end of the movie—only for Gladiator II to center once again on Rome as ruled by a pair of sadistic emperors.
Are any Gladiator II characters based on real people?
Lucilla (Connie Nielsen)
Lucilla, who was featured in Gladiator, is once again based on the real Roman Empire figure Lucilla. In reality, she didn’t live past her early 30s, when her brother, Commodus, ordered her death following a failed coup and assassination attempt. Obviously, Gladiator has strayed from this.
Macrinus (Denzel Washington)
Denzel Washington brings all of his one-of-a-kind charisma and craft to Gladiator II to play Macrinus, written here as a former slave-turned-slave owner with some major, ambitious plans. He’s a key ally of Lucius, and has plots to take the existing empire down one piece at a time. He’s based on the real Roman Empire figure also named Macrinus.
Emperor Geta (Joseph Quinn)
Joseph Quinn is without question one of the industry’s most exciting young actors, and here he plays the villainous co-Emperor Geta, who’s based on a real figure from Roman history named Geta. After Emperor Septimius Severus died, he intended for his sons—Geta and Caracalla—to rule together. But that didn’t quite go according to plan.
Emperor Caracalla (Fred Hechinger)
Fred Hechinger, who many have likely seen in season 1 of The White Lotus, plays the other co-Emperor, Caracalla. Caracalla is also based the real figure named Caracalla, and was anointed as co-Emperor (along with Geta) after their father, Septimus Severus, died. It did not go well from there.
