Gladiator IIproducer Douglas Wick reveals how advancements in CG technology benefited the sequel. Wick was a producer on the originalGladiatordirected by Ridley Scott. 24 years later, both Wick and Scott returned to bringGladiator II’s storyto life as itfollows the journey of Lucius Verus (Paul Mescal), who is the son of Maximus Decimus Meridius(Russell Crowe) and Lucilla (Connie Nielsen). As a gladiator fighting in the Colosseum, Lucius will be faced with new threats, including a rhinoceros.
While speaking withGamesRadar+,Wick explained how CG technology enabled a rhinoceros, a shark, and a dozen baboons to be part ofGladiator II’s Colosseum battles. He details how he and the rest of the creative team wanted to incorporate a rhinoceros into the firstGladiator, but were unable to do so because of the high CG costs at the time, and the impracticalities of filming with a live rhinoceros.Gladiator IIused a combination of real animals and CG to create sequences that were not possible in the original movie. Check out Wick’s comments below:
CG allowed us to do things we couldn’t do on the first. We wanted to have a rhinoceros on the first movie. I remember talking to the trainers because it was too expensive to do it just with CG, and they explained, among other things, that once you’ve got a rhino moving, you couldn’t stop it.
What This Means For Gladiator II
Lucius Will Face More Deadly Spectacle Than Maxiumus Did
As teased inGladiator II’s trailer,Wick’s comments confirm that the sequel will feature even more spectacle than in the first movie. While Maximus faced a tiger in the gladiatorial arena, he was primarily confronted with human opponents. His son, Lucius, will face even more insurmountable odds, as he not only has to contend with fearsome human opponents, but will also have to survive a ferocious rhinoceros, 12 carnivorous baboons, and a shark during a water battle.
6 Biggest Characters Missing From Gladiator 2
Despite being a direct sequel, Gladiator II’s cast is missing several important surviving characters from the original 2000 film.
The amplified spectacle speaks to the rule ofGladiator II’s Emperor Geta(Joseph Quinn) and Emperor Caracalla (Fred Hechinger), who distract the masses from Rome’s corruption and other problems with the entertainment of increasingly brutal gladiator battles. Lucius first needs to fight the animal threats and other gladiators in the Colosseum, but then he will need to confront the larger threats of the corrupt emperors and General Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal).Lucius has an arguably even more difficult path than his father didto achieving his goal.
Our Take On Douglas Wick’s Comments
Gladiator II Now Has An Advantage Over Its Predecessor
While there is skepticism aboutGladiator IIand whether it can do more than retread the footsteps of the original story, Wick’s comments highlight at least one area where the sequel will be substantially different. The progress made in CG technology will make the battles in the Colosseum even more riveting to watch, allowingGladiator II’s charactersto contend with forces that were impossible to actualize in the previous movie. The increased spectacle is one of the biggest draws toGladiator IIand its hopes of being a worthy sequel and a box office hit.
Gladiator II
Cast
Gladiator 2 is the follow-up to Ridley Scott’s award-winning film Gladiator from 2000. Scott returns to direct the sequel, with Paul Mescal staring as Lucius, alongside Denzel Washington and Joseph Quinn as the villain Emperor Geta. Gladiator 2 had been stuck in development hell for years before a script written by David Scarpa finally moved forward.
