Gladiator IIis being viciously picked apart by historians before the movie has even come out. The film is a long-awaited sequel to Ridley Scott’s historical epicGladiator, which was originally released in 2000. Its story focuses on Lucius, the son of Russell Crowe’s former character Maximus, who died at the end of the first movie.Gladiator IIfeatures a talented leading castincluding Pedro Pascal, Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, and Joseph Quinn. It is set for release on November 22.
Weeks before the movie has even gotten a chance to release,The Hollywood Reporterreveals thathistorians are already criticizing the content ofGladiator II. The criticism includes words from classics professors such as the University of Chicago’s Dr. Shadi Bartsch, who called the movie “Total Hollywood bullsh*t.“The professor also points out a wild inaccuracy involving a Roman person reading the newspaper while sipping tea in a café. Bartsch points out that they had “daily news” but it was carved into stone, and the Romans also “didn’t have cafés.”
What These Complaints Mean For Gladiator II
This Could Hurt Gladiator II’s Box Office Chances
Because the movie has not yet been released, these historical complaints have been hedged merely against theGladiator IItrailersand other initial clips. The fact that Bartsch was able to draw out such glaring inaccuracies based on only this content is not a good sign for the full film. With a run time of nearly 2.5 hours,Gladiator IIhas a long time to maintain its historical moments. If even the initial glimpses are not accurate, it is unlikely that Scott has made a very historically accurate film at all.
Ridley Scott’s 8 History Movies, Ranked Worst To Best (Including Napoleon)
Ridley Scott is well known for creating sensational fictional stories along with a long list of historical epics and action films he directed.
This could be a harbinger of doom forGladiator II’s box office. Made on a massive budget estimated at anywhere between $165 million and $300 million,Gladiator IIis one of the most expensive movies of the year. As such, it will need to see huge box office returns to recoup its production costs alone. Already, it faces a box office battle againstWickedduring its opening weekend, and the musical movie has ranked above it in some predictive surveys. If word of mouth spreads news of the historical inaccuracies, it could hurtGladiator II’s box office.
Our Take On The Gladiator II Inaccuracies
These Inaccuracies Seem Glaring
Scott has been known to have historical inaccuracies in his films before, butGladiator II’s foibles seem especially flagrant. The events of the film came over a millennium before the invention of the printing press, so including a newspaper shows a fairly blatant disregard for historical fact. In the case ofNapoleon, Scott was fairly dismissive of factual complaints about the film. It will be interesting to see whether the director mirrors this strategy when it comes to responding to theGladiator IIcriticism.
Gladiator II
Cast
Gladiator 2 is the follow-up to Ridley Scott’s award-winning film Gladiator from 2000. Scott returns to direct the sequel, with Paul Mescal staring as Lucius, alongside Denzel Washington and Joseph Quinn as the villain Emperor Geta. Gladiator 2 had been stuck in development hell for years before a script written by David Scarpa finally moved forward.
