The Gladiator II Trailer's Most Ridiculous Moment Is Historically Accurate

24 years after Russell Crowe delivered entertainment in the Roman Colosseum in Ridley Scott's Best Picture-winner "Gladiator," the director is back with a sequel that will be hitting theaters in November. We finally got a look at the "Gladiator II" trailer today and to say that it looks wild would be an understatement. Scott has upped the action while assembling a stellar ensemble cast led by Paul Mescal ("All of Us Strangers"), Pedro Pascal ("The Mandalorian"), and Denzel Washington ("The Equalizer").

While Scott clearly isn't going for overall historical accuracy here, these films are based loosely on what happened in Ancient Rome during these storied gladiator battles. The trailer features some particularly wild moments, including a rhino being let loose in the arena. But the wildest moment comes early when the arena is flooded to simulate a navy battle, with huge war ships and dozens of men duking it out for the Romans to watch.

The footage makes it clear that Scott made the most of the outrageous budget for "Gladiator II," as this sequence looks like true blockbuster magic. The filmmaker clearly did his research and, even if he cherry-picked what parts of history he wanted to honor and which ones he wanted to change for the sake of a narrative, this is indeed something that the Romans witnessed, or at least some version of it. This wild bit is based in fact despite seeming like a fantastical work of fiction.

These staged naval battles were known as naumachia. They used real ships and gladiators and, in and amongst many spectacular Roman blood sports, this may well have been the most excessive of them all. According to the official website for The Colosseum in Rome, these types of staged battles were usually held in arenas specially constructed for this purpose, or large channels or man-made bodies of water. On some occasions though, they were indeed held in Roman amphitheaters.

The rare Roman amphitheater naumachia appears to be what Scott is going for in "Gladiator II," a movie he finally decided to make after more than 20 years. The website also explains that these especially over-the-top battles were often held on special occasions:

"Naumachia were reserved for special occasions, such as the commemoration of Julius Caesar's triumph in 46 BC. Participants were often prisoners of war or criminals condemned to death, and the battles were much bloodier than gladiatorial combat and fatality rates much higher."

The Roman Colosseum held at least two such battles near the date of its inauguration. According to the Roman history website Maria Milani, gladiators were typically placed in flat bottomed boats, which were meant to mimic ancient Roman ships. It was also common to stage a recreation of a historical event from Roman history. So there is plenty of historical precedence for what Scott is doing in the film, and there are many ways he could go with it. Maybe he is going to use it as an excuse to stage a bloody historical battle. Either way, this is a situation where truth is stranger than fiction.

What's wild to consider is that we've only seen roughly three minutes worth of footage from the film, and that has already provided us with some incredible stuff. What more could Scott have in store for us? Using history as a guide, there is quite a bit more mind-blowing material the filmmaker could pack into this long-awaited sequel, and we've already seen bits and pieces of it in the trailer.

Yes, Russell Crowe's Maximus fought dangerous tigers in the original "Gladiator," but Scott is taking things up a notch here. We already saw a rhino in the footage. Real Roman gladiators hardly ever battled animals in the arena, as such fights were often reserved for special combatants known as bestiarii, per History. But again, Scott isn't necessarily going for historical accuracy here. There were examples of animals fighting other animals in the arena, perhaps most famously an elephant duking it out with a rhino. So, maybe there are even more dangerous beasts in store? The pages of history are ripe with fuel for this cinematic flame, to be certain.

David Scarpa ("Napoleon") wrote the script for the film, working from a story he cooked up with Peter Craig ("The Town"). The cast also includes Connie Nielsen reprising her role as Lucilla, as well as Joseph Quinn ("Stranger Things"), Fred Hechinger ("Thelma"), Lior Raz ("The Crowded Room"), and Derek Jacobi ("The King's Speech").

"Gladiator II" hits theaters on November 22, 2024.