Ridley Scott Reminds Audiences to Forget One Common Misconception About Gladiator II

Regardless of its hip-hop heavy trailer and a rhino driving gladiator, Ridley Scott needs to remind followers that Gladiator II isn’t a fantasy. The upcoming sequel, which stars Paul Mescal as an aged up Lucius (initially performed by Spencer Deal with Clark), takes Scott again to historic Rome, 24 years after the unique film. In addition to telling a kick-ass story of a Gladiator rising up towards the rulers of Rome, Scott made Gladiator and Gladiator II to remind audiences that historic historical past is, properly… historical past.

Chatting with Total Film, Ridley Scott revealed a part of his motivation for returning after 20 years to direct Gladiator II. The director mentioned that, as a result of audiences see historical past introduced in films, its foundation in actuality turns into misplaced and distorted. In response to him, audiences then overlook that what they see in films like Gladiator truly occurred. “Individuals suppose that historical past is one thing that didn’t occur,” he defined. Whereas the Gladiator films function an anticipated quantity of Hollywood razzle-dazzle, Scott assured audiences that what they see in his historical-based movies is grounded in actual historical past. He continued:

“By God, this occurred many times… I attempted to deliver again a little bit little bit of that historical past right into a actuality, and never a fantasy.”

Whereas Ridley Scott goals to floor the upcoming motion sequel in actuality, the first trailer for Gladiator II was met with heavy criticism from followers. In addition to showcasing a bit an excessive amount of of the film’s plot, the trailer featured Kanye West and Jay-Z’s “No Church within the Wild,” which performed over photos of sandal-wearing gladiators combating in Historic Rome. Followers questioned why the music was used when it (hopefully) received’t seem wherever within the movie. Moreover, some followers referred to as out Denzel Washington’s accent within the trailer. The acclaimed actor, who performs slave proprietor Macrinus, selected to make use of his pure American accent in a film set properly over a millennium earlier than the nation is based.

Returning to the Colosseum Was a Dealbreaker for Ridley Scott

As you may count on from the title, photos of Russel Crowe’s Maximus Decimus Meridius standing within the Roman Colosseum have grow to be synonymous with Gladiator. For the unique film, Scott flew the manufacturing to Rome, using a mix of actual areas and units to deliver the Historic metropolis to life. Nonetheless, with the upcoming sequel, the director was pressured out of Italy by Roland Emmerich’s These About to Die sequence. In consequence, Scott’s manufacturing designers constructed gigantic units on the island of Malta. To audiences, Gladiator II that includes bloodthirsty fight within the Colosseum is a no brainer. However Scott revealed that, in the course of the sequel’s early growth, he thought-about abandoning the placement altogether.

“You undergo all of the questions,” Ridley Scott mentioned of the artistic course of for Gladiator II. The director was anxious about unnecessarily repeating the method of the primary film, and didn’t need Gladiator II‘s Colosseum scenes to really feel ripped off from Russel Crowe’s time as Maximus. Fortunately, Ridley Scott determined that there could be no level in making a sequel if it didn’t function the Colosseum. He defined:

“Can I’m going again to Rome? Can I’m going into the Colosseum once more? As a result of we did that with Russell [Crowe]. And the reply is: you higher be within the Colosseum as a result of it’s referred to as Gladiator. I don’t understand how you do it with out going again into the Colosseum, in any other case there’s no level in doing it.”