Starring: Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Connie Nielsen, Derek Jacobi
Story: Epic historical drama sequel directed by Ridley Scott and written by David Scarpa. Gladiator 2 (2024) continues the epic saga of power, intrigue, and vengeance set in Ancient Rome. Years after witnessing the death of the revered hero Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius (Paul Mescal) is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors who now lead Rome with an iron fist. With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, Lucius looks to his past to find strength and honor to return the glory of Rome to its people.
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Top Gladiator II Quotes
Arishat: Where you are, I am too.
Lucius: And where you are, I am too, forever.
Lucius: They have no lands but the ones they’ve stolen. Wherever they go, they leave destruction and call it peace.
Lucius: Today, we go into battle. Pray that your god is with you. If he is not, he is no god. We’ve nothing to fear. Where death is, we are not. Where we are, death is not. Stay together and listen for my commands. Your eyes up and your head out.
Jugurtha: [to Lucius] When I die, my ancestors will meet me in the next world. Who will meet you?
Jugurtha: [to Lucius] Do not let them change what you are.
Viggo: The arena is a sacred temple. For the bravest of you, the road to glory runs through the arena. The arena turns slaves into gladiators and gladiators into free men.
Macrinus: Violence is the universal language.
Macrinus: It is an art, choosing gladiators. Some choose entertainers. Some choose brute force. I choose rage.
Macrinus: [to Lucius] Crowd loves blood. And they love those who love blood as much as they do. And you, my friend, rage pours out of you like milk from a w***e’s tit.
Macrinus: [to Lucius] You do not fight for me. I put you in the ring, you fight or you die. The choice is yours.
Macrinus: [to Lucius] Use your rage in my service, and you will have his head ready for your sword. Serve me and I will serve you. Deny me, and you will die.
Lucius: “The gates of hell are open night and day. Smooth is the descent, and easy is the way. But to come back from hell and view the cheerful skies, in this the task and mighty labor lies.”
Lucius: Why does my past matter if it is my future to die for you in the arena?
General Acacius: I am not an orator or a politician. I am a soldier. I have seen bravery in men and women during war. And even once in this arena. So if you ask anything of the gods, ask for that same bravery. Because Rome needs it now.
Ravi: What we do in life echoes in eternity.
Lucius: I feel like I know those words.
Ravi: I can’t take credit. It’s written on one of the tombs. Over the bones of a gladiator.
Macrinus: [to Lucius] Rage. That rage is your gift. Like the great Achilles. Never let it go. It will carry you to greatness.
Lucilla: [to Lucius] You may think I have little worth. You may think I betrayed you. But I need you to know, if you will not have your mother’s love, then take your father’s strength. You need it. His name was Maximus Decimus Meridius. And I see him in you.
Lucilla: I would willingly give my life for Rome, but I will not give my son’s.
Ravi: [to Lucius] There is plenty of pain waiting for you in the next life. I don’t know why you are so greedy for it in this one.
Ravi: The odds are against you.
Lucius: The odds are always against me.
Lucius: This is about survival! Survive!
General Acacius: Everything is forgotten in time. Empires fall. So do emperors.
General Acacius: [to Lucius] Do what you must. But on my death, you have to know, I love your mother, Lucilla. And your father, Maximus. I would have died for him.
Lucius: You bought a gladiator, not a slave. My will is my own.
Macrinus: The greatest temple Rome ever built. The Colosseum. Because this is what they believe in. Power.
Lucius: Who are you? What was your name before you traded it for a Roman one?
Macrinus: You’ll never know.
Macrinus: I have a destiny. The gods delivered you to me. You will be my instrument.
Lucius: I will never be your instrument, in this life or the next.
Lucilla: Lucius. Never could have imagined the fates would lead us here. And yet here we are. Everything has brought us full circle.
Lucius: You sent me away and yet fate brought me back to the very ground where he died.
Lucilla: This ring belonged to my father. He gave it to your father, Maximus, as a token of trust. I gave it to Acacius for his valor.
Lucius: This ring belonged to my wife. I shall wear it next to yours.
Lucius: I am not afraid. I’ve become well versed in losing the things that I love.
Macrinus: “The best revenge is to become unlike the one who did the injury.”
Macrinus: I was owned by an emperor. Now I control an empire. Where else but in Rome can a man do that?
Lucius: Wood or steel, a point is still a point!
Lucius: There once was a time when honor meant something in Rome. In this Rome I no longer believe that exists. We must find it! And know this. Where death is, we are not. Where we are, death is not! By my sword. Strength and honor.
Macrinus: A man does not become emperor by bloodline alone. It must be taken by force and kept by force.
Lucius: You look to me to speak. I know not what to say other than we have all known too much death. Let no more blood be spilt in the name of tyranny. My grandfather, Marcus Aurelius, talked of a dream that would be Rome. A dream that my father, Maximus Decimus Meridius, died for. An ideal. A city for the many and a refuge for those in need. A home worth fighting for. A home that Maximus spent his life defending. That dream is lost. But dare we rebuild that dream together? What say you?
Lucius: [alone in the Colosseum] Speak to me, Father.