Director Ridley Scott May Have Spoiled Gladiator 2’s Ending

When the production for “Gladiator II” was announced, most fans of the first film were pretty excited. 2000’s “Gladiator” is widely hailed as one of the best historical epics of its time, telling a classic hero’s journey about a betrayed Roman general rising through the gladiator ranks to avenge his wife and child. From the lovely Hans Zimmer score (where you can see the blueprints for the “Pirates of the Caribbean” soundtrack) to Joaquin Phoenix’s delightfully villainous performance, this movie was an instant classic. The fact that it’s taken 24 years for a sequel to release is pretty strange by modern Hollywood standards.

But as the first few trailers have come out, the excitement for “Gladiator II” has abated a bit. Fans are concerned that the trailers do the classic Hollywood mistake of giving way too much of the movie’s plot away, an error made worse by how the story that’s been over-revealed doesn’t seem that promising. It’s hard not to wonder if making a sequel to such a perfect, self-contained film was a mistake.

Adding further concern is something directly Ridley Scott said in a recent interview about the upcoming sequel. “I’m already toying with the idea of ‘​​Gladiator 3,'” he told the French magazine Premiere. “No, seriously! I’ve lit the fuse […] The ending of ‘Gladiator II’ is reminiscent of ‘The Godfather,’ with Michael Corleone finding himself with a job he didn’t want, and wondering, ‘Now, Father, what do I do? ‘ So the next [‘Gladiator’ film] will be about a man who doesn’t want to be where he is.”

This seemingly all but confirms that Paul Mescal’s character, Lucius, will become the Emperor of Rome at the end of “Gladiator II.” At the very least, we know he’ll survive his gladiator struggles and enter some sort of position of power. This not only takes a bit of tension out of the viewing experience for a lot of fans, but it implies that the second movie won’t be the self-contained epic journey the first movie got to be.

Mescal himself confirmed there was truth to Scott’s comments, telling Premiere, “Yes, Ridley spoke to me about it, but only yesterday! So I’m waiting to see what’s going to happen, but I’m interested, of course. But we can’t rush anything. The story has to hold together.”

Another reason these quotes are a bit concerning for “Gladiator” fans is that it indicates the franchise is committing a familiar mistake. A couple of decades ago, both “The Matrix” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” started off with a widely-praised standalone movie. Each of the original films in these franchises wrapped everything up in a neat little bow, offering (as far as the critics were concerned, at least) no real reason for a follow-up story besides more money for the studio. But not only were both movies quickly given a sequel, the studios behind them also greenlit two sequels, filmed back to back, retroactively turning the first movie into the start of a trilogy. 

The results in both cases were mixed. I personally love all the “Matrix” sequels, for instance, but I’m definitely the minority there. Those first two sequels to both “Matrix” and “Pirates” were widely criticized for being too convoluted for their own good, with the middle installments in particular bashed for being more focused on setting up the third film than being a proper movie in its own right. While the “Pirates” and “Matrix” series’ reputations both declined throughout the 2000s, “Gladiator” stood tall; it was the big blockbuster film that totally could’ve fallen into the same trap, but wisely chose not to. Now fans are wondering if the property is indeed making the same mistake, just on a 20-year delay.

Adding to the fan concern is Ridley Scott’s questionable record recently. Although “The Last Duel” was awesome and his recent “Alien” movies were underrated, “House of Gucci” and “Napoleon” left a lot to be desired. Sure, Scott is comparing “Gladiator II” and a potential “Gladiator 3” to the “Godfather” movies, but can he still make movies at that level of quality?

Then again, Scott has long made clear that he doesn’t care about the haters and will continue doing his thing regardless of what people on the internet have to say about his work. (See also: His message to the “Blade Runner” critics of the world.) Given how often his movies are panned on initial release and then positively re-evaluated over time, we can understand the hostility. Will Ridley Scott prove the naysayers wrong with “Gladiator II” come November 22, 2024? We’ll just have to wait and see.