Gladiator 2 ending explained: Does Lucius die?

According to Ridley Scott, the director is already “playing” with a threequel – but he will Gladiator 2 Do you still have enough questions to be answered?

For many fans it’s a wonder we got one at all new movie in the Gladiator world, let alone a potential third. But if reports are to be believed, we won’t have to wait twenty years for the next one.

Nick Cave’s never-developed script follows Russell Crowes Maximus in the afterlife is unlikely to be the subject, but Paul Mescal’s Lucius has taken up the mantle for the freedom of Rome.

As expected, there’s a lot to explore in Scott’s sequel. But what happens at the end of Gladiator 2, and is three a crowd? Warning: major spoilers ahead!

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Before we get into the ending of Gladiator 2, let’s set the scene. About twenty years later the death of MaximusLucius (Paul Mescal) lives as an adult in Numidia. He has a wife of his own, and his family life reflects how we first met Crowe’s hero outside of warfare. Funnily enough, Lucius is also an army general.

We meet him as he takes on the Roman army, led by their general Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal). Numidia falls, people die – including Lucius’ wife – and the rest are transported to the Empire on ships. Here Mescal is taken from the slave traders and handed over to a certain Macrinus (Denzel Washington).

Macrinus has his own agenda: choose the best of the best gladiators, train them to fight, and then use them as tools to find his way to the throne. At the same time, Acacius returns home as a hero for the emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger). The people love him, but his leaders warn that Acacius must continue to conquer if he wants to be left alone.

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We are also reintroduced to Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), better known as Maximus’ lover and Lucius’ mother. She is now married to Acacius and largely keeps a low profile away from Geta and Caracalla. She still has allies like Senator Gracchus (Derek Jacobi) and tries to return to her son when she finds out he is now a Gladiator.

As expected, Lucius begins to work his way up the gladiator ranks and becomes more and more respected by his fellow slaves the more he fights. He bites a monkey to death in a mini-arena (where we see a number of Numidian soldiers die), he fights a man twice his size at a feast for the emperors, and he beheads a rival with a rhinoceros in the terribly Real Colosseum.

However, Lucius continues to make one thing clear. No matter how many others are left out, or how much grueling training he has to undergo (there are many), he will never act in Macrinus’ personal interests. At this stage, Macrinus cannot really estimate how seriously Lucius wants to commit himself to this.

*a lot* of people are getting killed

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This is a Gladiator movie, so halfway through our cast starts to die out. Lucilla and Acacius secretly try to overthrow Geta and Caracalla, tyrannical monsters. Their plans are thwarted before they can get off the ground, and Acacius is forced to fight Lucius as punishment.

So far, Lucius has taken Acacius as the enemy – after all, he killed his wife and most of his city. But here he realizes that Acacius is loyal to the beliefs of Marcus Aurelius. As Lucilla is forced to watch, this is somehow conveyed between the two, causing them to defiantly put down their weapons. Geta signals to the guards and Acacius is killed. The crowd turns against him, signaling the beginning of an uprising.

However, things remain frosty between Lucilla and Lucius. They talk about his father, and Lucius even gets his ring from the original film, but there’s still an overarching sense of distrust.

In the meantime, Geta is not doing much better. Macrinus massages the egos of absolutely everyone in the political sphere, and he has convinced Caracalla that his brother should be killed. After seeking some courage from his pet monkey Dondas, Caracalla beheads him while a crowd of angry Roman citizens rages outside. Geta is used as a sacrifice to calm people down, with Macrinus now in full control of Caracalla.

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The next day, Geta’s head is brought to the Senate as a warning. Macrinus draws closer to the throne, and no one can stop him. Caracalla calls him Second Councilor (with Dondas the monkey as First Councilor, of course), apparently unaware that he is being played.

It’s here that things step up a gear. All hell breaks loose in the Colosseum, with Macrinus exposed for the villain he really is after cunningly murdering Caracalla in plain sight. In fact, Macrinus is left as the new leader of Rome – let’s face it, Dondas can’t complain.

In the underbelly of the arena, Lucius begins to gather the other gladiators to do battle with the powers that be. We’ve seen quite a few flashbacks of Maximus so far, but his legacy now takes on a whole new meaning.

In the end it’s Lucius versus Macrinus

The Gladiator 2 ending sees Lucius faces Macrinus in a final battle, during which Macrinus is killed in a nearby stream. The armies of Rome agree to stop fighting, while the new leader Lucius is left alone to emancipate the slaves.

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This is what happens on the surface. Using Maximus’ ring (we see Lucilla giving it to him in the trailer), Lucius manages to reach Acacius’ army on the outskirts of the city. There are about 5,000 soldiers present, and they have been called in to help and essentially overthrow Macrinus.

Without opposition, Macrinus can gather his own 5,000 soldiers to try to intercept them. It is now a three-way battle between the two armies and Lucius’ gladiators. However, there’s a catch: Lucilla is tied to a pole in the middle of the Colosseum as bait, while more Macrinus henchmen are on their way to kill her.

Only defectors like Gracchus are ready to defend her, so Lucius must fend them off before he can join either army. As you can imagine, absolute carnage ensues, killing everyone except Lucius himself. Just as he is about to untie her, Lucilla is killed with an arrow, leaving Lucius crying over her death… just a few feet away from where he saw his father die.

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Yet this is only half the battle. Lucius must suck it up and head to the outskirts of Rome where both armies are about to meet. Macrinus leads his troops, while Lucius intercepts the others. Before any blood can be shed, Lucius tries to talk to Macrinus one-on-one.

While Lucius lobbies for Rome’s freedom, Macrinus is having absolutely none of it. There’s only one thing left to do: be the last man standing. Both armies watch as the pair wage an epic battle in a nearby stream, with Lucius emerging victorious.

Macrinus gets his hand cut off before drowning, forcing Lucius to address both armies. He calls for an end to all fighting, for the emancipation of the slaves, and basically for everything Marcus Aurelius has tried to change since the beginning of the first film.

Fortunately, they all agree, and the realm is at peace… for now.

Is there a post-credits scene?

No, there is no post-credit scene in Gladiator 2. However, fans will likely talk about the final shot seen in the film.

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As the sequel winds down, the parting shot shows the hand of an unnamed person floating through a field of golden wheat. Fans will likely recognize this as Maximus watches from the afterlife (think Nick Cave’s vision of what that could have been), perhaps at peace in knowing that the “prophecy” has been fulfilled.

However, this is not confirmed and remains ambiguous. What we know for absolute sure is that it is not Crowe himself, even though it is implied that it is Maximus. We see numerous flashbacks to him throughout the film, but all of this footage comes from the original.

Aside from the obvious reasons, it’s a sensible move. Lucius not only honored his father in spirit, but physically used both the ring and Maxmius’ armor to win his own battle. Maximus’ legacy is an essential part of the plot, and it’s a fitting send-off to assume he’s finally at peace.

Will there be a Gladiator 3?

Nothing is confirmed at this stage – but as we’ve already mentioned, Gladiator 3 isn’t something Scott has ruled out.

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According to the French magazine Premiere Scott explained “I’m already toying with the idea of ​​Gladiator 3. No, seriously! I lit the fuse. The ending of Gladiator II is reminiscent of “The Godfather,” in which Michael Corleone is given a job he didn’t want and wonders, “Now, father, what do I do?” ‘ So the next (film) will be about a man who doesn’t want to be where he is.

Given what we just saw, this route makes the most sense. It is now Lucius’s sole job to rebuild Rome – and if the Year of the Five Emperors is anything to go by, someone else will likely come out of the woodwork to challenge his leadership.

Other possible alternatives could be a prequel that follows the earlier reign of Marcus Aurelius before his death in 180 AD, or that follows Maximus as he rises through the ranks to become a general.

Gladiator 2 hits theaters on November 15 in the UK and November 22 in the US. Catch up with film locations, why the sequel is hatedAnd when it takes place.

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