Gladiator IIis finally out in theaters, and Ridley Scott’s newest Roman Epic is bigger and bolder than the original 2000 film in more ways than one. The most significant difference in scale comes from the gladiatorial battles that Lucius (Paul Mescal) finds himself in; whether it’s fighting against baboons or a naval battle within the Colosseum, it all feels incredibly entertaining andpossibly historically inaccurate. In the case of the maritime fighting scene, which sees the Colosseum flooded with water and filled with sharks while two ships battle, one key aspect of it is primarily fictitious regarding the practicality and knowledge of the Romans at the time.
In an interview withBusiness Insider, Alison Futrell, an associate professor of Roman history at the University of Arizona, surprisingly revealed that most of thewater fight inGladiator IIis historically accurate. However, when it comes to the inclusion of the sharks in the scene, which snatch up gladiators who fall off the boats left and right, it isn’t something that could practically happen, as the historian would detail:
“Maybe smaller sort of quasi-miniaturized boats that give the flavor of warships and that maybe accommodate greater visibility for the specifics of the combat too. Because there are fans who want to really see what kind of fighting is going on there. There are encyclopedists from antiquity who talk about sea creatures, and they’re aware of shark-like things.
But they knew about them as a draw and did make some effort at certain points in time to make them a kind of show in some ways. Probably not sharks, specifically, and only rarely orca. They’re challenging to work with.”
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Given that theoriginalGladiatormovieis filled with its own historical discrepancies but still received critical acclaim and even won Best Picture at the Academy Awards, it’s clear that accuracy isn’t everything. Still, it’s impressive that Director Ridley Scott and the rest of the production team behind the sequel stayed as true to history as they could have while still being an entertaining blockbuster.
The recreation of naval warfare in the Colosseum can be traced back to Julius Caesar’s rule in Rome, in what was referred to asNaumachia. Featuring a form of entertainment in the arena that was never touched upon in the firstGladiatorfilm helps the sequel stand out even more despite its one glaring inaccuracy.
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While sharks were not put into the Colosseum to make the battles more entertaining, the reason for Scott’s inclusion of the animals iswhat makes theGladiatorfilms so compelling. They are a mix of fact and fiction, cementing the story with a historical foundation and taking creative liberties to help make it more engaging for audiences. In the case of the sharks, the animals emphasized the already chaotic state of the Naval battle and added a sense of stakes that made viewers feel that Lucius was in danger from more than just his human opponents. Regardless of inaccuracies, the boat fight in the Colosseum is a clear highlight ofGladiator II.
Gladiator II
Gladiator 2 is the follow-up to Ridley Scott’s award-winning film Gladiator from 2000. Scott returns to direct the sequel, with Paul Mescal staring as Lucius, alongside Denzel Washington and Joseph Quinn as the villain Emperor Geta. Gladiator 2 had been stuck in development hell for years before a script written by David Scarpa finally moved forward.
