When Gladiator 2 was first announced, you'd be forgiven for having wondered whether its predecessor needed a sequel in the first place. The first one is, after all, the self-contained story of a fallen Roman general (Russell Crowe) who seeks revenge, ascends through the Colosseum to come within stabbing distance of the emperor (Joaquin Phoenix) who betrayed him and his family, kills the emperor, and dies — roll credits. Hardly the sort of film that screams follow-up. Nevertheless, we live in an era dominated by sequels, prequels, reboots and spin-offs; it was probably inevitable, then, that one of the defining blockbusters of the 2000s would eventually get the sequel treatment.


Well, Gladiator 2 is actually pretty good, even if it is a stealthy quasi-remake, with Paul Mescal shuffled in for Crowe as another avenging blood-fighter who uses the Colosseum to gain proximity to the elites who wronged him. (Mescal's character, Lucius, also turns out to be the son of Crowe's Maximus, and there are plenty of easter eggs linking the two.) It also feels relatively self-contained: by the end of the film, Lucius has emerged victorious over the twin emperors (Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger) whose army destroyed his hometown and murdered his wife, and following the reveal that Rome is his blood right as Maximus' descendent, he sees off Denzel Washington's Macrinus, who sought the throne for himself.


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GLADIATOR II TRAILER 


It finishes with the armies of Rome pledging fealty to Lucius as their new leader. He surveys the landscape with hope in his eyes, the sun casting new light on the Roman Empire, the dream of Marcus Aurelius finally achieved. Roll credits. End film. Fin. Cue that song from the original Gladiator and a shot of a hand in a wheat field. A satisfying finale, two decades in the making…


Or not. In the press rounds for Gladiator 2, director Ridley Scott confirmed that he is “toying with the idea” of a third film to follow directly after Lucius' presumed ascent to the emperorship; the model he has cited is The Godfather Pt. II, which famously picks up after Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) is newly crowned Don following his father's death. “The ending of Gladiator 2 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 [film] will be about a man who doesn't want to be where he is,” Scott told Premiere magazine (per Variety).


Ugh. Now, look: there's every chance that I'm being a curmudgeon, and there are those out there who see the point of a Gladiator 3. Perhaps there is more meat on the bone. Scott's evocation of The Godfather Pt. II, universally considered to be one of the greatest sequels ever, is at least a little attention-grabbing, if not exciting in and of itself. But do we need another chapter in a story that didn't really need continuing in the first place? Gladiator 2 is a good time at the multiplex; it also does very little to meaningfully evolve on its predecessor so much as it borrows its blueprint. At worst, the connecting tissue feels forced, at best unnecessary — like the fan-serving reappearance of Maximus' armour and sword.


But hey. Maybe it'll be fun! (Besides which: I have a little hubris, but not the inflated sense of self to be able to blog at Ridley Scott, with my whole chest, about what he should or shouldn't do.) And we'd never turn up our nose at the chance to see Mescal put more Roman legionaries to the sword. Final point: reports have it that Scott at some point wanted Gladiator 2 to be a musical, so maybe — just maybe — that'll be the route he takes for the third one. Now that we'd be first in line for.