Ridley Scott explains what scene he regrets omitting inGladiator II. The 2024 historical epic continued the story of 2000’sGladiator, years after the death of Maximus, focusing mainly on his son, Lucius. Paul Mescal stepped up to play his son inGladiator II’s castwhich includes Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Fred Hechinger, and Joseph Quinn.Gladiator IIreceived decent reviews and a good showing at the box office. To date, it has grossed over $458 million, putting it as the no. 11 highest-grossing film of 2024 at the worldwide box office.
Speaking withGQ, Scott explains one cutGladiator IIscene he wishes could have made the final film. This scene would have involved aheated discussion between Geta and Caracalla about “who was conceived first.“He who was first conceived would be “more of an emperor than the other one,” according to what the pairing thought. The scene would have been a “detailed conversation about how.” Despite Scott enjoying some of the potential scene’s dialogue, it was scrapped. Check out the full explanation from Scott below:
We had a scene which I regret not doing. Which is kind of funny, because they’re constantly bickering about who was conceived first. Because who was conceived first is more of an emperor than the other one. So then this detailed conversation about how. He said ‘Well, if I was out last, I was conceived first.’ Think about that.
What This Would Have Meant For Gladiator II
Gladiator II’s Main Character Is Lucius
Geta and Caracalla, the bickerers in question, are the twin emperors inGladiator II. They are loosely based on real-life Roman figures, except in reality, these co-rulers were not twins. As it stands,the pair is painted as a fairly unstable duo, inspiring a revolution due to their warmongering tendencies. A verbal spat about who was more “kingly” due to who was first conceived may have emphasized this point, as it would have allowed the emperors to come up with ridiculous theories that further highlighted their unusual minds.
Gladiator 2 Ending Explained: Whose Hand Is That?
Gladiator 2’s ending is filled with epic action sequences, sword fights, and changing loyalties, as well as a familiar hand brushing fields of grain.
If it had been included in the film, it would mean thatGladiator IIwas choosing to emphasize more of the Geta and Caracalla lore. While their backstories are important, the more critical plot of their histories is the fact that they rose to power during Lucius' disappearance. This creates conflict in the film, as Lucius has a right to the throne. A “detailed conversation” implies a long dialogue scene, so including this scene between the emperors could have diverted attention away from Lucius too heavily.
Our Take On Gladiator II’s Scene Omission
Gladiator II Emphasized Its Spectacle
It makes sense whyGladiator IIultimately cut the scene between the emperors. After all, the movie has a 2-hour, 28-minute run-time, making it a challenge to sustain audience attention already. In that time,the film emphasized the spectacle of the set pieces and the battle sequences. Geta and Caracalla are interesting characters, so their conception debacle may have been an interesting watch, but the dialogue scene may not have been in the scope of whatGladiator IIwas trying to accomplish.
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.
