Pedro Pascal’s Gladiator 2 role was an exciting bit of casting leading up to the movie, but it unfortunately ended up being a lot of wasted potential by avoiding a more complicated approach. Gladiator 2 was discussed as a possibility ever since the original Gladiator became a box office hit, a Best Picture winner, and a beloved classic. Given that Russell Crowe’s Maximus died at the end of the first movie, a lot of time was spent trying to figure out how to bring Maximus back for a Gladiator sequel before deciding to focus largely on new characters.

Along with roles for Paul Mescal, Joseph Quinn, and Denzel Washington, Pascal was cast in the blockbuster sequel as Acacius, a Roman general with strong ties to some of the original Gladiator characters who also finds himself in conflict with Mescal’s vengeful Lucius. Gladiator 2 was yet another huge project for Pascal that has helped him become one of the most in-demand actors in Hollywood. However, despite a solid performance from the star, the character of Acacius could have been so much more than how he ended up in Gladiator 2.

Pedro Pascal’s General Acacius Was An Unnecessary Character In Gladiator 2

Gladiator 2 Didn’t Need A Secondary Hero

Gladiator 2 is the story of Lucius, the son of Maximus and Lucilla (Connie Nielsen). At the beginning of the movie, he is living a simple life with his wife in Numidia, only for the Roman army to invade, resulting in Lucius’ wife being killed and him being sold into slavery as a gladiator. General Acacius is the man who leads the army into Numidia, thus becoming the subject of Lucius’s revenge.

However, the truth is that Acacius is not a bloodthirsty conqueror but rather a general who is being forced to carry out the whims of the corrupt emperors, Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger). Though he attempts to pull off a coup against the emperor brothers, he is foiled along with his wife, Lucilla, and forced to fight Lucius in the gladiator arena. But by the time this fight between the two leads occurs, Acacius has already become a fairly inconsequential character in the overall story.

While Acacius is the motivation for Lucius early on in the movie, he doesn’t have much to do in the rest of the story. He is presented as the secondary hero, a man who wants to live an honorable life and free Rome from corruption. Unfortunately, he is a rather ineffective hero in that sense, with him feeling like a puppet whose grand plan is quickly dashed.

The showdown between Lucius is robbed of any real excitement as it is just two heroic men facing off in a fight that ultimately means very little to where the movie is going. When Acacius is killed in the arena, his death doesn’t really impact the story either, nor does it offer any real change for Lucius, as the story had already shifted focus to Macrinus (Denzel Washington) as the true antagonist.

Denzel Washington Commands The Movie And Makes Pascal’s Character More Forgettable

Washington’s Macrinus Leaves Little Room For Anyone Else

The critical reception of Gladiator 2 was far more mixed than the acclaimed original movie. However, one aspect of the sequel that got nearly universal praise was Denzel Washington’s performance in Gladiator 2. The iconic actor is certainly the biggest name in the movie, and despite playing a supporting role, he ends up commanding the entire story. His character of Macrinus is by far the most complex and interesting, as he is a former slave who has managed to rise through the ranks and whose ambition is seemingly endless.

Washington gives yet another masterful performance, but it is almost to the movie’s detriment as Gladiator 2 becomes so consumed with Macrinus that it forgets about the story that it initially started with Lucius and Acacius. There is a point in Gladiator 2 when a scene cuts back to Lucius in the gladiator barracks, which I found jarring because the movie had been spending so much time with Macrinus that I sort of forgot who the actual protagonist was supposed to be. This is even more damaging for Pascal’s character.

As soon as Macrinus is introduced in the story (quite early on, by the way), Gladiator 2 seems to realize that Acacius is not as compelling as a secondary character and largely abandons him. Pascal has a presence in the movie that moves the plot along, but the audience doesn’t get a lot to invest in with his character. It feels as though Gladiator 2 is trying to rush the character to his abrupt and unsatisfying demise so that it can spend more time with Washington’s Macrinus.

Acacius’ Connection To Maximus Would Have Made Him A More Interesting Villain

A Corrupt Version Of Maximus Would Be An Ideal Villain

Another detail about Acacius in Gladiator 2 that is rather pointless is his connection with Maximus. Just before his death, Acacius reveals to Lucius that he served under Maximus and had enormous respect for the late general. It is a moment that is meant to connect the two men and show Lucius that he was wrong about Acacius all this time. The fact that Acacius immediately dies makes the moment feel more random than impactful and only strengthens the criticism leveled at the sequel that it was living in the shadow of Russell Crowe’s iconic character.

However, this connection was filled with potential had the movie decided to make Acacius the main villain of the story. As it stands, Acacius’s connection to Maximus makes him an honorable man who is trying to live up to the legacy of his former general. However, it is hard to imagine that Maximus would ever have bent to such corrupt rulers as Acacius did, nor would he have led his army to slaughter innocent people. As a result, Acacius comes off as a weak and ineffective hero.

What could have been more interesting is if Acacius was the one pushing to conquer other civilizations and if he was doing so through his warped admiration of Maximus. Acacius could have the same backstory as a man who was trained by Maximus and eventually became a general like him. However, instead of being a secondary hero in the story, he could have been portrayed as a misguided man who completely warped the ideals that Maximus stood for.

Maximus was a general who used his ability to inspire others in an attempt to overthrow a corrupt leader and give power back to the people. Gladiator 2 could have kept the plot about Acacius staging a coup, attempting to do the same thing Maximus did. However, his motivations could have been to install himself as the emperor, distinguishing himself from the noble and selfless motivations of Maximus.

Last summer’s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes did something similar with dealing with a legacy hero, as Proximus Caesar presents himself as a ruler who is continuing on the work of Caesar from the previous trilogy. However, he has corrupted those ideas into an excuse to conquer, kill, and imprison other apes, something Caesar would have stood against. Gladiator 2 missed a great opportunity to do something similar with Acacius and the legacy of Maximus.

Gladiator 2 makes it clear that the memory of Maximus is an overshadowing element, and the sequel unfortunately embraces that in the least interesting way possible by having Maximus’ son basically recreate his father’s story. However, had Acacius been a villainous mirrored version of Maximus, the story could have been about two men shaped by Maximus’ legacy, with one interpreting them in an honorable and heroic way while the other takes a darker path.

Pedro Pascal Suggests There Was More To Acacius’ Connection To Maximus Than We Saw

Was Acacius’ Backstory Cut From The Final Film?

The revelation that Acacius was trained by Maximus is presented like a third-act twist in Gladiator 2, which is puzzling as it was being openly talked about long before its release. Holding back on that information also robbed Acacius of some much-needed character development. This is strengthened by the fact that Pedro Pascal discussed the connection to Maximus in an interview before the movie’s release, where he suggests the original version of the movie explored this idea in greater detail (via Variety):

“This movie has an idenтιтy that is shaped by his legacy. It wouldn’t make sense for it not to… He describes Acacius as a fighter who learned from the best, so of course this code of honor is ingrained into his training and into his existence. But at the end of the day, he’s a different person. And that can’t change who he is. Maximus is Maximus, and that can’t be replicated. That just makes Acacius capable of different things.”

While the villainous approach for Acacius would still have been the most interesting option, Pascal’s comments at least suggest there was something more to his connection with Maximus than what the final cut provided. The idea that Acacius is trying to emulate Maximus but finds he is unable to is an interesting idea and helps to make him more of a tragic character. It would have been beneficial to the character to see him struggling with this rather than hiding this backstory.

Ridley Scott’s director’s cuts for Blade Runner and Kingdom of Heaven have shown he can improve a flawed movie with some more editing, so it is possible there could be a future version of Gladiator 2 that restores these elements of Acacius’ story. However, it still suggests Gladiator 2 was unsure how to use the character, as Acacius would still have come off as just another hero in the story who paled in comparison to Maximus.