"Are You Not Entertained?"
Nearly 25 years since Ridley Scott's Gladiator took the world by storm, winning Best Picture and grossing over $450 million, the director is back with a sequel starring Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, and Paul Mescal.
And it looks even more unhinged than anyone imagined.
Sea Battles And Rhinoceroses
The trailer for the long-awaited sequel has finally dropped, and it looked to be even bigger and more bombastic than the original. The trailer shows the colosseum flooded with water for a naval battle, and gladiators fighting an enormous, charging rhinoceros.
Paramount, Gladiator II (2024)
The Real Deal
The internet was quick to complain about typical Hollywood bloat, turning a historical story into something ridiculous and unrealistic with CGI. But these people clearly don't know much about Ancient Rome.
Ridley Scott has done his research, and these ridiculous moments from Gladiator II are actually based in historical fact.
Paramount, Gladiator II (2024)
Romans Loved A Good Spectacle
Romans loved a good spectacle—especially if it was related to warfare. All across the Roman Empire, staged naval battles called Naumachia. They used real ships, and crewed them with gladiators.
Paramount, Gladiator II (2024)
They Built Naval Arenas
Romans built many arenas specifically for naumachia, or would use large channels or reservoirs. But on occasion, including in the colosseum itself, Romans would flood their amphitheatres to host a naumachia.
Paramount, Gladiator II (2024)
They Built Special Ships
The arenas built for naumachia could not be deep enough to use actual Roman military vessels, so they built flat-bottomed replicas specifically for the spectacle.
Paramount, Gladiator II (2024)
They Did Reenactments
Romans loved to celebrate their accomplishments, so frequently at naumachia they would stage actual events—always a great Roman victory, of course.
They Were For Special Occasions
Naumachia were generally reserved only for special occasions. For instance, a naumachia was held in celebration of Julius Caesar's triumph in 46 BC.
Paramount, Gladiator II (2024)
They Were Absolutely Brutal
You might think that regular gladiatorial combat would be worse than a naumachia, but that couldn't be further from the truth.
The faked sea battles featured the lowest criminals and prisoners of war, and the fatality rates were much, much higher than regular combat.
Paramount, Gladiator II (2024)
They Really Did It In The Colosseum
There are at least two historical accounts of the Romans flooding the legendary Colosseum to host a Naumachia in the middle of the Eternal City.
Paramount, Gladiator II (2024)
They Probably Didn't Ride Rhinos
Romas loved to put all kinds of animals in the arena, including tigers, lions, elephants, and yes, rhinoceroses. However, there's no historical evidence that anyone ever rode a rhino.
But that doesn't mean these events weren't spectacular.
Paramount, Gladiator II (2024)
Animals Fought Each Other
Gladiators did occasionally fight animals, but it wasn't common. Usually, Roman crowds would watch animals fight each other, or special human warriors called bestiarii.
Paramount, Gladiator II (2024)
We'll Have To Wait And See
There's no evidence that Roman gladiators rode rhinos, so Scott is taking at least some creative liberties with his new film. We'll just have to wait and see what else he has in store.
