Gladiator II: historians on the fate of the real Roman royalty featured in the film

Denzel Washington plays Macrinus in the film. Landmark Media/Alamy Stock Photo by Stephan Blum, University of Tübingen and Michael La Corte, University of Tübingen Warning: this article contains spoilers for Gladiator II. Twenty-four years after Gladiator, Ridley Scott has returned with a sweeping sequel to his epic tale. Thanks to cutting-edge CGI, Rome’s grandeur – and its downfall – have never looked so breathtaking. Gladiator II picks up years after the original film, taking place during the reign of the co-emperors Caracalla (played by Fred Hechinger) and Geta (Joseph Quinn) in the early 3rd century AD. The film follows Lucius (Paul Mescal), the son of Russell Crowe’s Maximus (protagonist of the first Gladiator movie). Now an adult, he’s been living in the ancient northwest African kingdom, Numidia, under the guise of a new identity to escape Roman politics. Connie Nielsen as Lucilla and Joseph Quinn as Caracalla.& TCD/Prod.DB/Alamy Stock Photo When Roman forces, led by Tribun Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal), invade Numidia, tragedy strikes. Lucius’s wife is killed and he is captured. Purchased as a slave by the Roman Macrinus (portrayed masterfully by Denzel Washington), Lucius is transported to Rome. There he is forced into the brutal world of gladiatorial...