Ridley Scott explains what scene he regrets omitting in Gladiator II. The 2024 historical epic continued the story of 2000’s Gladiator, years after the death of Maximus, focusing mainly on his son, Lucius. Paul Mescal stepped up to play his son in Gladiator II‘s cast which includes Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Fred Hechinger, and Joseph Quinn. Gladiator II received decent reviews and a good showing at the box office. To date, it has grossed over $458 million, putting it as the no. 11 highest-grossing film of 2024 at the worldwide box office.

Speaking with GQ, Scott explains one cut Gladiator II scene he wishes could have made the final film. This scene would have involved a heated discussion between Geta and Caracalla about “who was conceived first.” He who was first conceived would be “more of an emperor than the other one,” according to what the pairing thought. The scene would have been a “detailed conversation about how.” Despite Scott enjoying some of the potential scene’s dialogue, it was scrapped. Check out the full explanation from Scott below:

We had a scene which I regret not doing. Which is kind of funny, because they’re constantly bickering about who was conceived first. Because who was conceived first is more of an emperor than the other one. So then this detailed conversation about how. He said ‘Well, if I was out last, I was conceived first.’ Think about that.

What This Would Have Meant For Gladiator II

Gladiator II’s Main Character Is Lucius

Geta and Caracalla, the bickerers in question, are the twin emperors in Gladiator II. They are loosely based on real-life Roman figures, except in reality, these co-rulers were not twins. As it stands, the pair is painted as a fairly unstable duo, inspiring a revolution due to their warmongering tendencies. A verbal spat about who was more “kingly” due to who was first conceived may have emphasized this point, as it would have allowed the emperors to come up with ridiculous theories that further highlighted their unusual minds.

If it had been included in the film, it would mean that Gladiator II was choosing to emphasize more of the Geta and Caracalla lore. While their backstories are important, the more critical plot of their histories is the fact that they rose to power during Lucius’ disappearance. This creates conflict in the film, as Lucius has a right to the throne. A “detailed conversation” implies a long dialogue scene, so including this scene between the emperors could have diverted attention away from Lucius too heavily.

Our Take On Gladiator II’s Scene Omission

Gladiator II Emphasized Its Spectacle

It makes sense why Gladiator II ultimately cut the scene between the emperors. After all, the movie has a 2-hour, 28-minute run-time, making it a challenge to sustain audience attention already. In that time, the film emphasized the spectacle of the set pieces and the battle sequences. Geta and Caracalla are interesting characters, so their conception debacle may have been an interesting watch, but the dialogue scene may not have been in the scope of what Gladiator II was trying to accomplish.

Source: GQ