The ending of Gladiator 2 has been announced: Will Lucius become emperor? full spoiler

Gladiator 2 Set 16 years after the events of the Oscar-winning first film and no less epic in scale, this time it follows the story of Paul Mescal’s Lucius, who appears as a child in the original film and is later played by Spencer Treat Clark.

We first meet Lucius, the son of Connie Nielsen’s Lucilla, far away from Rome, using the name Hanno and living a much less luxurious life in the African kingdom of Numidia, where he has lived since being sent away by his mother. Years ago.

But when his wife is killed and he is captured in the opening battle, this sparks a desire for revenge at any cost, and he soon returns to Rome to follow in Maximus’ footsteps.

It marks all sorts of political demonstrations and epic fights, including battles with monkeys, rhinos, and even sharks, as Lucius begins to rise through the ranks, eventually coming to an explosive conclusion.

Have you seen the movie and need a recap of these events? Read on for an explanation of Gladiator 2’s ending.

Gladiator 2 ending revealed – full spoilers for Ridley Scott’s sequel

Before diving into the events at the end of the movie, let’s recap the major developments leading up to the grand finale.

When we first meet Lucius (Paul Mescal), he is one of a number of troops defending a city in Numidia against an attack led by Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal), sent by the impetuous young emperors Caracalla (Fred Hechinger). ) and Geta (Joseph Quinn) to capture the city as part of the ongoing Roman expansion effort.

In the battle, Lucius’ wife is killed and Lucius is taken prisoner; This creates within Lucius a burning desire for revenge against Acacius.

What complicates matters is that Acacius was not particularly keen on the idea of ​​further Roman expansion and resented the demands of Caracalla and Geta, whom he saw as irresponsible rulers.

He prefers to see a return to the Roman dream once propounded by Maximus and before that by Marcus Aurelius, whose daughter Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) he was in a relationship with.

Meanwhile, after being captured, Lucius trains as a gladiator and proves to be particularly vicious and barbaric when he bites a baboon in the middle of a fight.

This instantly makes her fall in love with the influential, scheming Macrinus (Denzel Washington), who buys her to join his gladiator team; Lucius agrees to fight for Acacius on the condition that he gets the chance to kill him.

This chance comes sooner than expected. Increasingly at odds with the emperor’s demands for more violence and bloodshed, Acacius plans a coup with Lucilla and other allies, and when Macrinus and the emperors receive word of this, he persuades the former emperors to fight a duel in the Colosseum. Lucius against him (instead of killing him outright).

It is important to note that before this, Lucilla went to visit Lucius and attempted to make up for her long-lost son (while also informing him of his father’s identity) after recognizing him while watching an earlier fight involving rhinos. he’s having none of that.

Anyway, when it comes time for the duel, the two fight for a while and Acacius lays down his weapons and declares his love for Lucilla and respect for Maximus.

Lucius appears won over and refuses to kill him, much to Caracalla and Geta’s dismay; Caracalla and Geta demand that their former general be shot repeatedly with arrows by the guards, killing him.

This angers the crowd, who see Acacius as a great hero, and A rift develops between the emperors, which soon culminates in Caracalla killing Geta with the help of Macrinus, becoming sole emperor in the process..

In a gesture befitting his increasingly demented state, he makes his pet monkey his first advisor, but appoints Macrinus next in command, giving him even greater power and control.

Will Lucius become emperor at the end of Gladiator 2?

Caracalla and Macrinus still plan to kill Lucilla for her role in the planned coup, but the night before this is to happen, she visits Lucius again and gives him a ring that had belonged to her father. Lucius then asks an ally to take the ring to Acacius’ former forces, who are still loyal to their former general, and ask them to come and help.

Anyway, when it comes to Lucilla’s execution, she is placed on a boat inside the Colosseum and Lucius is tasked by the emperor to protect her against 10s of warriors – knowing that his chances of victory are slim.

But as Lucius has proven time and time again that he is not one to give up without a fight, he calls on the other gladiators to help him; This leads to chaos in which Caracalla becomes increasingly depraved. .

Realizing what a loose ball he has become, Macrinus shoots a bow at Lucilla and kills the emperor before escaping – clearly realizing how angry Lucius is at this.

Lucius chases after him and they are joined by Acacius’ men, setting the stage for a major battle between them and Macrinus, who can count on the support of Roman soldiers at the gates of Rome.

But before all-out war breaks out, Lucius and Macrinus face off in a duel; The former eventually gains the upper hand and strikes his opponent with a stone, killing him in the river.

Immediately following his victory, he delivers a speech to the watching soldiers, promising to rebuild Rome in the image of his grandfather Marcus Aurelius and father Maximus – presumably returning control to the Senate – while also honoring Acacius and Lucilla.

The film ends with him picking up some dirt from the ground in the Colosseum and looking up to his father in the sky for advice.

For this reason, Looks like Lucius is now essentially emperorSomething Ridley Scott alludes to may be the focus of his work. planned third movie.

“The ending of Gladiator 2 is about Michael Corleone finding himself in a job he doesn’t want and saying, ‘Now, Dad, what do I do?'” he told France. “It reminds me of The Godfather in that it wonders.” premiere magazine In September.

“So the next movie will be about a guy who doesn’t want to be where he is.”

We can’t wait to see what happens…

Gladiator 2 is now showing in UK cinemas.

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