The rulers only want to conquer more territory, with little concern about the consequences of it.
Acacius, as seen in the trailer forGladiator II, warns them: “Rome has so many subjects.
She must feed them.”
However, the Roman Empire would eventually collapse, in part, because of overexpansion.
Acacius is absolutely right: the Roman Empire will eventually cease to exist.
If everything that Geta and Caracalla do is for an immortal legacy, it is ultimately meaningless.
How Much Does Acacius Actually Believe In Rome’s Future In Gladiator 2?
However, Acacius is a pessimistic voice in all this.
Acacius himself has little dialogue in the movie explicitly about this theme.
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.
