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‘Gladiator II’ Fact or Fiction: Did the Colosseum Actually Get Filled With Water and Sharks in Real Life?


Ridley Scott's "Gladiator 2" features a standout action set piece where the Colosseum is filled with water and sharks. Did that actually happen?

Ridley Scott ‘s “Gladiator II” is full of a memorable action scenes, from a bloody showdown featuring CGI baboons to Paul Mescal outsmarting a charging rhino in the Roman Colosseum. The gladiators enter the arena on a boat as a mock sea battle is staged, much to the delight of the sadistic emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger). Chris Epplett, a Greek and Roman history professor at the University of Lethbridge, told Vulture that he is not aware of sharks ever being put inside the Colosseum, although “there was a period when they could have flooded the floor of the arena.

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