Paul Mescal as Lucius with a purple sky behind him in the Colosseum in Gladiator 2
Gladiator II producer Douglas Wick addresses why Lucius Verus chooses to stay in Rome at the end of the sequel. Lucius was born in Rome and is descended from several notable Romans, with his parents being Maximus Decimus Meridius and Lucilla , and his grandfather being Marcus Aurelius . However, Lucius spent most of his life in Numidia and did not embrace his heritage until Gladiator II's ending.
Besides the idea of Lucius as the lost prince, it was someone who hated everything about Rome, making the movie a homecoming. We know enough about movies to know that the more they’re about family, the more solid you are. We then talked for a long time about what the ending of Lucius’s journey would be. He’d return, he’d possibly reunite with his mother, but would he burn down the Colosseum and leave? And many of our breakthroughs were visual because Ridley thinks visually.
✕ Remove Ads What This Means for Gladiator III Lucius Is Now The Future Of Rome Close Lucius' ending sets up a very different story from Gladiator and Gladiator II. Scott has begun writing Gladiator III, which would not be a revenge story like its predecessors. He has discussed how the second movie ends with Lucius getting "a job he didn't want" and a third movie would explore this further as Lucius navigates the challenges of leading Rome.
Posts ✕ Remove Ads Not only would Lucius need to accept in Gladiator III that he is Roman, but he would need to accept the reality that he is now a Roman politician. Both Gladiator movies are political, and Wick emphasizes how the choice to make Macrinus the ultimate villain of Gladiator II provides timely political commentary.
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