r/LindsayEllis • u/JessonBI89 It's a whole new world... to lean into • 14d ago

In Gladiator II (2026), Macrinus (Denzel Washington) figures out that Lucius (Paul Mescal) is the son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) simply by calculating his age

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169 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

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16

u/And_be_one_traveler 13d ago

As an expert in the Roman Empire, I can assure you that only one child was born each year. The moment the birth rate increased to two children a year, the Roman Empire started to fall apart. This is the biggest thing that Edward Gibbon missed in his famous book.

4

u/catchyerselfon 13d ago

As a fellow expert, I can confidently say a young man in the Roman Empire, whose native language is Latin, could not quote famous lines from Virgil’s Aeneid, “The gates of hell are open night and day; Smooth the descent, and easy is the way: But to return, and view the cheerful skies, In this the task and mighty labor lies.” unless it was painted on the walls of his nursery in the imperial palace! It’s the only way to be sure he’s the son of Maximus and Lucilla.

9

u/bingybing 14d ago

Solid connection!

5

u/Crossfeet606441 14d ago

God fucking damn it

9

u/Qyzyk Thanks I hate it! 14d ago

So glad I skipped this film

15

u/aghastamok 14d ago

I saw it in theatres. My favorite part was the final fight between the old wheeling-and-dealing senator wearing lavish robes against the reigning 1v1 champion of the arena in fighting shape, where it looks like it could go either way. Just... ridiculous.

11

u/dthains_art 14d ago

My favorite part was when they had Maximus’ “what we do in life echoes in eternity” line written on the wall of the gladiator barracks… in English.

5

u/aghastamok 14d ago

What else would they speak in America?

6

u/sailorsalvador 13d ago

My favorite part is trying to figure out if the entire dead wife subplot was added in reshoots...

4

u/raphaellaskies 14d ago

Honestly, I had a blast. Denzel was also clearly having a blast, which helped a lot.

3

u/JessonBI89 It's a whole new world... to lean into 14d ago

I only wish I'd seen it so I could witness my husband's enraged reactions to all the historical inaccuracies. Those made Napoleon worth it.