Gladiator 2’s Cut Character Risked Spoiling Denzel Washington’s Character Twist
Warning: this article contains spoilers for Gladiator 2Months after its extremely successful theatrical and VOD releases, Gladiator 2 is finally streaming on Paramount+, available for anyone with a subscription to watch. The film is the continuation of Ridley Scott's 2000 historical epic, telling the story of Maximus' son, Lucius Verus, as he makes his way through the Roman Gladiatorial arena to earn his freedom and exact revenge. Gladiator 2 had a solid cast, but one actor who was confirmed early on in the film's development was entirely missing from the final product, prompting a lot of questions.
The central positive strewn throughout all of Gladiator 2's reviews was the excellent performance by Denzel Washington, who played a Roman bureaucrat named Macrinus, scheming his way behind the scenes before eventually becoming the final antagonist of the film. The cut character was set to be played by May Calamawy, and even if she appears in Gladiator 3, her lack of screentime in this film remains a disappointment. However, based on a deleted scene that features her, it is possible that her character could have actually made Macrinus' ending in Gladiator 2 less interesting.
Gladiator 2's Cut Fortuna Scene Would Have Spoiled Denzel Washington's Villain Character Twist
It Would Have Revealed Too Much Too Early
The Gladiator 2 deleted scene that features May Calamawy's character Fortuna involves her visiting Lucius when he is being kept in his cell beneath the Colosseum. She reveals that she was sent by Macrinus to seduce Lucius in order to gain information about his true identity, as well as the fact that she is a slave, who was sold to Macrinus along with her mother. If this scene was in the movie, then it could very well spoil Macrinus' eventual evil turn, as this would certainly paint him in a darker light than he had been up until that point.
Revealing that he enslaved multiple women, and was completely fine sending them to seduce his other slaves, would absolutely tip the audience off to how evil the character was.
Obviously, Macrinus was never portrayed as a true good guy, clearly having his own agenda that didn't necessarily have the best interests of Rome in mind, but whether he would end up helping or hindering Lucius in the end remained a question throughout the whole film. However, revealing that he enslaved multiple women, and was completely fine sending them to seduce his other slaves, would absolutely tip the audience off to how evil the character was, making the moments when he completes his villainous turn less exciting.
How Macrinus' Villain Twist Became A Highlight Of Gladiator 2
Denzel Washington's Turn To Evil Is The Best Part Of The Film
Marcinus' plan in Gladiator 2 was very complicated and always going on in the background of the film, so seeing him finally bring his scheme center stage and execute it was absolutely one of the best parts of the sequel. Seeing Denzel Washington finally let loose and go full villain in his performance was a big factor in making his part in the film so great, and if Gladiator 2 had shown his more corrupt side earlier, it probably wouldn't have hit quite as hard.
Gladiator II
- Release Date
- November 22, 2024
- Runtime
- 148 minutes
- Director
- Ridley Scott
- Writers
- David Scarpa, Peter Craig, David Franzoni
- Prequel(s)
- Gladiator
Cast
Lucius Verus
Marcus Acacius
Gladiator 2 is the follow-up to Ridley Scott's award-winning film Gladiator from 2000. Scott returns to direct the sequel, with Paul Mescal staring as Lucius, alongside Denzel Washington and Joseph Quinn as the villain Emperor Geta. Gladiator 2 had been stuck in development hell for years before a script written by David Scarpa finally moved forward.
- Main Genre
- Adventure
- Studio(s)
- Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, Scott Free Productions, Red Wagon Entertainment
- Distributor(s)
- Paramount Pictures
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