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One of Gladiator 2’s most challenging scenes was ‘over 20 years in the making’

Director Sir Ridley Scott reportedly wanted to include this shot in the first film.

He already worked with Sir Ridley on his 2023 historical drama Napoleon, where he ensured his perfect drilling of extras landed him the coveted job on Gladiator II – and also helped create a scene that the legendary British filmmaker hadn’t been able to include in the previous film. Pedro Pascal is General Marcus Acacius, a celebrated commander in the Roman Army – one of three separate forces shown (Picture: Aidan Monaghan/Paramount)While a military consultant can of course advise from a position of complete confidence when it comes to modern warfare – and even more recent history – Gladiator II takes us back to the AD 200s. Here, Sir Ridley wanted a group of Praetorians to walk from the edge of the ring in the Colosseum – an oval – with precision timing, finishing together on a mark to form a perfect circle around Mescal’s Lucius and his mother Lucilla (returning star Connie Nielsen), as they face their fate.

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