Warning: Full spoilers comply with for Gladiator II in addition to historical Roman historical past circa 200 CE.
Ridley Scott’s historic motion movie Gladiator II has arrived, and as with the 2000 unique starring Russell Crowe, the “historic” a part of the brand new film results in plenty of questions – amid the sword fights and bizarre monkey assaults and Colosseum shark-tanking and so forth.
Look, I solely acquired a B-minus in my History of the Roman Empire class in school (or was it a C-minus?), however I do have Google. I’m additionally an enormous Derek Jacobi fan (even when this film shouldn’t be). So I’m gonna do my greatest to resolve how traditionally correct, or not, Gladiator II is.
Was Lucius Verus a Gladiator? Related: Was Lucius Verus Even Real?
Paul Mescal stars as Lucius Verus, the previous inheritor to the throne. Lucius was performed by Spencer Treat Clark within the first movie, the place he was depicted as possibly being the love youngster of Crowe’s Maximus Decimus Meridius and Connie Nielsen’s Lucilla. This parentage is confirmed in Gladiator II, the place we additionally be taught that the character was compelled to enter hiding after the demise of Maximus on the finish of the primary film.
As the grandson of the late Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris), nephew of Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), and son of Lucilla, Lucius is a prince of Rome. In the brand new movie he returns to Rome all grown up and now a gladiator, identical to Maximus, ultimately enjoying a key function in liberating the Empire from the unjust rule of not one, not two, however three villainous emperors and/or usurpers. Like his grandfather, and his father, Lucius desires Rome to serve the folks as soon as once more fairly than the corrupt elite.
As far as historical past goes, we all know that Lucilla did have a son named Lucius, the results of her marriage to her father’s co-emperor, Lucius Verus – after whom their son was named, after all. (Maximus is a fictional character, and there’s no indication that Lucius’ parentage was in query.) But the boy died at a younger age. Which, hey, come to consider it, can be what most individuals thought occurred to Mescal’s model of Lucius within the motion pictures. Of course, in Gladiator II we be taught that Lucius had snuck off to North Africa and brought the title Hanno, solely to return years later as a bad-ass gladiator. Unfortunately, the real-life Lucius Verus wasn’t so fortunate.
Were There Actually Awful Twin Emperors?
There had been positively twin emperors! But it appears as if one dealt with the terrible facet of issues greater than the opposite. Joseph Quinn performs Emperor Geta whereas Fred Hechinger performs Emperor Caracalla in Gladiator II, a pair of fairly loathsome ruling-class elites who appear to have nothing higher to do than stage wars from afar and watch gladiators kill each other.
History tells us that the brothers served as co-emperors with their father, Septimius Severus, and upon his demise they shared the throne as twin emperors for lower than a yr. An extended-standing rivalry between the 2 got here to a head (ahem) when Caracalla ordered Geta murdered by the Praetorian Guard, with Geta dying in his mother’s arms by some accounts. In the brand new movie, Hechinger’s Caracalla and Denzel Washington’s character Macrinus ordering the execution of Lucilla and the senators who plotted in opposition to the emperors appears to be a particularly scaled-down rethinking of the marketing campaign of terror that Caracalla enacted in opposition to his lifeless brother’s followers. Some 20,000 folks had been mentioned to have been killed in consequence. This additionally included Caracalla ordering a damnatio memoriae – the erasure of Geta from the general public report, destroying photographs, statues, inscriptions, and many others. that featured his brother. He’d in all probability be fairly bummed to listen to that the long run Human Torch is enjoying Geta in a blockbuster Marvel film.
While Gladiator II depicts Caracalla being murdered himself not lengthy after his brother, in actuality he reigned for one more six years, when certainly he was assassinated by one in every of his troopers… on the behest of the praetorian prefect Macrinus.
And What About Lucilla’s New Husband, Pedro Pascal’s Marcus Acacius?
Marcus Acacius, performed by Pedro Pascal, is an invented character, and a damned good man. Even although he works for the gross twin emperors, he and his spouse, Nielsen’s Lucilla, are secretly plotting to overthrow the pair. Of course, their plan goes awry and they’re each executed in consequence, however hey, at the least they tried.
Historically, Lucilla did remarry, to a navy man and politician named Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus. Interestingly, whereas the film model offers us a extra heroic partner for Lucilla in Pascal’s Acacius, who’s her associate within the scheme to overthrow Geta and Caracalla, in actual life Pompeianus didn’t take part in his spouse’s plot to assassinate the emperor (and her brother) Commodus (performed by Joaquin Phoenix within the first movie). As punishment for the failed try, Commodus banished Lucilla and later had her killed, however Pompeianus was spared. (And a long time later, Lucilla’s son Lucius Aurelius Commodus Pompeianus was killed by Caracalla. These freaking guys!)
This is fascinating in that Lucilla survives the terrible reign of her brother in Gladiator I, just for her to be executed for the tried assassination of the emperor(s) in Gladiator II… bringing her historic arc kind of full circle, albeit a bit later than the way it performed out in historical past.
Did Macrinus Become an Emperor of Rome?
He certain did. As performed by Denzel Washington, Macrinus is the true villain of Gladiator II, manipulating everybody round him in order that he can obtain vengeance in opposition to the empire that he so hates. A former slave who served beneath Marcus Aurelius, he has apparently been plotting in opposition to Rome for many years.
He doesn’t actually turn out to be emperor within the movie, because it’s not till the climax of the story that he murders Caracalla after which makes an attempt to flee the town (solely to wind up face-to-face with Lucius Verus, who takes him out by severing his arm throughout a struggle in a river). Essentially, the accelerated timeline of Gladiator II doesn’t give Macrinus an opportunity to say the throne, however this additionally form of matches his character, as he appears extra curious about getting the town to destroy itself than he does in ruling it.
As for the historic Macrinus, he was the primary emperor to not come from the elite class. Some versions of his early life story truly say he was a gladiator earlier than turning into educated and ultimately rising via the ranks of presidency. Like the film model, he did efficiently plot to kill Caracalla, however whereas Washington’s Macrinus does the deed himself (with a sharp factor to the ear!), in actuality he had a soldier stab the emperor to demise. And not like the Washington model, it appears Macrinus was completely happy to rule Rome fairly than let it destroy itself. With the military’s backing, he named himself emperor, and there was nothing the Senate may do to cease him.
His reign did not final lengthy, although. A little bit greater than a yr later, a rise up (led by Caracalla’s aunt and her teenage grandson, Elagabalus, who was rumored to be Caracalla’s illegitimate son) resulted in his being overthrown. Macrinus was executed, however we’re unsure if it was in a river or if it concerned having his arm lower off first.
So Who Should Be Emperor by the End of Gladiator II?
Hmm. It’s a bit unclear the place issues are going by the top of the movie. Lucius Verus is alive and definitely has a declare to the throne, however historical past tells us that the true Lucius didn’t attain maturity. Instead, Elagabalus turned emperor in 218 CE at round age 14. He lasted virtually 4 years, however that’s a complete different messy story that culminates in him and his mom being killed by his personal Praetorian Guard.
Sounds like we’ve acquired a top level view for Gladiator III already.
Talk to Scott Collura on Twitter at @ScottCollura, or take heed to his Star Trek podcast, Transporter Room 3. Or do each!
