‘Gladiator II’ is “total Hollywood bullshit”, says top historian

A top historian has dismissed the upcoming Gladiator II as “total Hollywood bullshit”.

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A feature by The Hollywood Reporter published today (October 30) makes a bid to separate the historical accuracies of the upcoming epic from its wilder sequences – like the use of sharks in a flooded Colosseum, which had already garnered praise (and disbelief) from viewers upon its reveal in the film’s trailer.

Dr. Shadi Bartsch, a classics professor at the University of Chicago – and author of several books about ancient Rome – called it “total Hollywood bullshit.”

“I don’t think Romans knew what a shark was,” she said, although adding that naval battles were held in the arena.

On the use of rhinos in the Colosseum, Bartsch notes that a poem was once written in 80 A.D. “about a rhinoceros tossing a bull up to the sky”, although not of the same breed as the one in the film, which is directed by Ridley Scott. There’s also no evidence that gladiators rode rhinos, she clarified.

Another Gladiator II scene shows a Roman noble sipping tea in a cafe while reading the newspaper – which, as The Hollywood Reporter noted, would be an anachronism as the printing press would not be invented until 1,200 years later.

“They did have daily news — Acta Diuma — but it was carved and placed at certain locations,” Bartsch added. “You had to go to it, you couldn’t hold it at a cafe. Also, they didn’t have cafes!”

The Hollywood Reporter reached out to Scott about this, to which he replied that historical nitpicking doesn’t bother him with this film – nor with his 2023 biopic Napoleon, which starred Joaquin Phoenix in the titular role. “By the time you get to 2024,” he said. “it’s all speculation.”

In NME‘s review of Napoleon, Lou Thomas writes: “Scott has teased a four-hour version of Napoleon that will eventually be available to stream on Apple TV+ and, on the basis of the terrific entertainment he’s already served up, it’ll be a doozy. In the meantime, the details of historical truth be damned: this mighty adventure should be seen on the biggest screen possible. Charge on horseback to the multiplex to savour it.”

Gladiator II, which stars Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn and Connie Nielsen (who returns as Lucilla from the first film), recently had its first screening, earning rave reactions from those in attendance.

Gladiator II will be released in cinemas on November 15 in the UK, and November 22 in the US.

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