More news about Gladiator 2 has been released, with the sequel definitely sounding like it will make up for Ridley Scott’s $220 million Napoleon failure. Despite Ridley Scott being one of the most acclaimed filmmakers of all time, the director’s track record isn’t perfect, with Napoleon being a major recent blemish on his fantastic career. The upcoming film Gladiator 2 features a lot of parallels to Napoleon, and while this could be scary after the film’s $220 million failure, Gladiator 2 is already shaping up to be in a much better position than Scott’s most recent film.
Gladiator 2 is finally on the way, with the upcoming sequel to the beloved 2000 Ridley Scott movie being one of the most highly anticipated movies of 2024. Although 2000’s Gladiator was a massive success, it has taken over two decades for Ridley Scott to return to the world of Gladiator. Now that Gladiator 2 is happening, however, there are a lot of questions surrounding the film, such as how it will handle the loss of Russell Crowe’s Maximus. However, details regarding Gladiator 2 are finally starting to be released, with the film shaping up to be something incredibly exciting.
Gladiator 2 Sounds Incredible Based On The CinemaCon Trailer
Here’s What’s In The Trailer
A trailer for Gladiator 2 has been revealed at CinemaCon 2024, giving viewers a first look at the exciting upcoming film. Although the Gladiator 2 trailer hasn’t been released to the public yet, attendees of CinemaCon 2024 have managed to give some incredibly detailed descriptions of what was seen, giving the impression that the film will truly be incredible.
According to CinemaCon 2024 attendees, the Gladiator 2 trailer heavily focused on Denzel Washington’s character, who turns out to be a former slave with a grudge against the emperors of Rome. Because of this, Washington’s character decides to recruit a gladiator named Lucius. Lucius (played by Paul Mescal) is the nephew of Commodus who decides to renounce his nobility due to his idolization of Maximus in the original film. Thus, the two work together to challenge the Roman Empire and take down the two new emperors.
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Some exciting action is shown off in the first Gladiator 2 trailer, with one of the highlights being a clip of Mescal’s Lucius facing off against a white rhino. Lucius can also be seen fighting baboons in the Colosseum, proving that exciting animal battles will be a repeated trend in the film. The trailer then shows Pedro Pascal’s Gladiator 2 antagonist as he is crowned and then faces off with Lucius, with the film painting him as a stand-in for Commodus. Lucius then quotes Maximus at the end of the trailer, saying “What we do in life, echoes in eternity.”
Gladiator 2 Will Have Scenes That Directly Compare To Napoleon
Such As Massive Naval Battles
Gladiator 2 has already been heavily compared to Napoleon since the first trailer was released at CinemaCon 2024, as the two Ridley Scott films seem to be pretty similar. Gladiator 2 has been described as being much bigger than the original film, with it featuring massive action setpieces. These consist of war scenes as well as a naval battle, showing that Gladiator 2 will be featuring some set pieces that exist on a massive scale. Thus, it is hard not to compare Gladiator 2 to Napoleon when thinking about the similarities between the two Scott movies.
Napoleon is a film that featured several massive action set pieces that consisted of war scenes and naval battles, with these being prominently featured in the film. Although Napoelon‘s $220 million failure wasn’t due to epic scenes like these, they definitely played a role in ballooning the budget, with this being a fear that some have about Gladiator 2. Both movies are period pieces that hope to capture similar audiences by using similar tricks, with Gladiator 2 possibly being able to redeem Napoleon by being an even bigger success.
Why Napoleon Divided Critics & Disappointed At The Box Office
The Film Was A Commercial Flop
Napoleon was a film that divided critics and disappointed at the box office, and here are some of the key reasons why the film was such a failure. Several flaws in Napoleon became sticking points for critics, with Napoleon‘s lack of historical accuracy causing all kinds of discourse. On top of that, Napoleon‘s incredibly long runtime made the film a slog to get through for some, with many critics wishing that the movie was slightly shorter. The tone was also pointed out as being inconsistent, with this further hurting the critical reception of Napoleon.
Napoleon was a massive box office bomb for a lot of reasons, but the poor critical reception was definitely one of them. The mixed reviews caused many audience members to not care about the film, leading to less ticket sales. On top of that, Napoleon‘s R-rating and long runtime made audiences even less enthusiastic to see the film, hurting the box office returns even more. Napoleon was also released at a time when movie theaters were incredibly crowded with popular films, causing many viewers to pick other titles over the Ridley Scott historical epic.
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Why Gladiator 2 Can Work When Napoleon Didn’t
It Has A Lot More Going FOr It
Although Gladiator 2 is facing some of the same challenges that Napoleon did, there are several reasons why Gladiator 2 can work when Napoleon didn’t. Firstly, Gladiator 2 doesn’t claim to tell a true story, meaning that the historical accuracy claims won’t be a problem for the film like they were for Napoleon. On top of that, Gladiator 2 is an original story, meaning that it doesn’t have to worry about cramming as much stuff in as Napoleon did, with its bloated runtime still only scratching the surface of many aspects of the titular historical figure.
The biggest reason that Gladiator 2 could work when Napoleon didn’t, however, is that Gladiator 2 is already part of a pre-existing franchise. While Napoleon is a recognizable name, the original Gladiator is a well-known movie that is synonymous with quality. Because of this, Gladiator 2 is already being set up as a blockbuster movie, with it being able to rely on the franchise name in order to succeed. That paired with the film’s massive star power means that Gladiator 2 could easily be a big success, working where Ridley Scott’s Napoleon didn’t.
