Gladiator II
Warning: This article contains spoilers forGladiator 2.
The originalGladiatorwas a perfectly told standalone story that couldve stood on its own merits without a sequel.
But the ending ofGladiator 2sets up a more direct sequel to follow inGladiator 3.
It leaves Scotts Roman saga unfinished, withone more story left to tell.
Lucius is captured, sold into slavery, and forced to fight as a gladiator.
Macrinus seizes power and intends to rule Rome as a dictator.
Gladiator 2has a 75% fresh critics score on Rotten Tomatoes.
As the direct heir of Marcus Aurelius, its Lucius birthright to take the throne.
In the climactic showdown ofGladiator 2,Lucius brutally kills Macrinus and takes back the throne thats rightfully his.
Image via Paramount Pictures
This concludes the story at hand inGladiator 2, but it sets up a new story.
Both the first and secondGladiatormovies were revenge stories.
ButGladiator 3, following on from Lucius becoming the new emperor, presumably wouldnt be a revenge tale.
Theres plenty of history it could pull from, too.
It could focus on Lucius actually realizing the dream of Rome after its been crushed for two movies.
It could still potentially be a revenge story, but it would flip the usual dynamic.
In the first two films, the audience follows the protagonist on their quest for revenge.
A sequel toGladiatorhas been in development since as early as June 2001.
Scott ended up unwittingly spoilingGladiator 2when he teased the threequels story on the sequels press tour.
