Ridley Scott’s upcoming historical opus Gladiator II is one of the highly anticipated movies of 2024. With an astonishing cast and sky-high budget, the movie is expected to stand tall at the box office. However, ahead of the release of the Gladiator II, the epic has recently got the tag of historical inaccuracy. Dr. Shadi Bartsch, a classics professor at the University of Chicago, holds degrees from Princeton, Harvard, and UC Berkeley and has authored several books on ancient Rome, has recently called the movie “bulls*it” for the inaccurate depiction of historical events in the movie.
Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II Has Historical Inaccuracies, Says Historian
The Rhino scene from Gladiator II. Image Credit: Paramount Pictures
Dr. Shadi Bartsch does not have many good words for Ridley Scott’s 150-minute epic Gladiator II— a sequel to the original 2000 movie which earned astonishing accolades starring Russell Crowe, and Joaquin Phoenix. The historian slammed the highly anticipated movie despite the warm reception the movie has received after its initial screening. Gladiator II has some scenes that do not go along with the historical authenticity, like the scene in which a flooded Colosseum is filled with sharks— Dr. Bartsch called it, “Total Hollywood bullshit,” (via The Hollywood Reporter).
“I don’t think Romans knew what a shark was,” she added explaining the scene but asserting that naval battles were held in the arena. Dr. Bartsch found fault in another scene in the movie where rhinos were charging into the Colosseum. She said that it was not entirely inaccurate but not the way the movie was presented. “Martial wrote a poem in 80 A.D. about a rhinoceros tossing a bull up to the sky,” she said of the scene. However, Scott’s movie shows a two-horn breed and the historian stated that it should have been a one-horned breed. Further, the historian noted that there’s no evidence that gladiators rode them as opposed to Scott’s movie.
In another scene, a Roman noble is shown sipping tea in a café, reading the morning newspaper but it is far from historical accuracy as the event takes place 1,200 years before the invention of the printing press. “They did have daily news — Acta Diuma — but it was carved and placed at certain locations,” Bartsch said of the scene. “You had to go to it, you couldn’t hold it at a café. Also, they didn’t have cafes!” she added.
Ridley Scott Teased Gladiator III
Ridley Scott, Pedro Pascal, and Paul Mescal in Gladiator II. Image Credit: Paramount Pictures
Despite historical inaccuracies, Gladiator II has reportedly gotten positive reactions after the early screening of the movie. Notably, Scott also faced historical inaccuracies allegations with his previous movie Napoleon. In his chat with Premiere magazine, Scott has teased that he already has an idea for the third installment of the franchise. “I’m already toying with the idea of Gladiator 3. No, seriously! I’ve lit the fuse,” Scott told the outlet in September.
“The ending of Gladiator II is reminiscent of ‘The Godfather,’ with Michael Corleone finding himself with a job he didn’t want, and wondering, ‘ Now, Father, what do I do? ‘ So the next [film] will be about a man who doesn’t want to be where he is,” he added.
In a recent interview with Jake Hamilton, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker said that Gladiator III would be the definitive end to the movie series. “This is chapter 2 of three, who knows where it’ll go because nothing is impossible and we ended on a question. The question is a big question because he’s in denial of anything that represents the Roman Empire which was evil and leave it there where does he go next,” Scott said.
Gladiator II stars Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Lior Raz, Derek Jacobi, Connie Nielsen, and Denzel Washington.
Gladiator II opens on November 22.
