Gladiator II(2024)

16 years after the death of Marcus Aurelius, twin emperors Geta and Caracalla rule Rome with corruption. Lucius (Paul Mescal), son of Maximus and Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), is enslaved after Romans take his city and kill his wife Arishat (Yuval Gonen). After he is forced to fight as a gladiator, he catches the attention of stablemaster Macrinus (Denzel Washington), a former slave with plans to conquer Rome.

Lucius plans revenge against General Acacius (Pedro Pascal), Lucilla’s second husband, since it was under his command that Arishat was killed. Lucius demonstrates exceptional skill as a fighter in the gladiator games, with Lucilla attempting to reconnect with him after forcing him into exile. Meanwhile, Lucilla plots with Acacius and others to overthrow the emperors. One of Macrinus’s men tells him about the plot, leading to Lucilla and Acacius to be arrested.

Acacius is forced to fight against soldiers of the Praetorian Guard, killing them before facing Lucius. After seeing that Acacius is not as bad as he believed, Lucius chooses to spare his life, but Geta orders Acacius’s execution. This leads the citizens to start to turn against the emperors. Macrinus uses this as an opportunity to convince Caracalla to kill Geta, while plotting to use Lucilla as bait in the games as a ploy to kill Caracalla and take over the throne himself.

Lucius breaks out of his cell and leads the other gladiators to defend Lucilla, leading to a battle against the Praetorian Guard. A riot ensues as spectators are hit by arrows. Macrinus seizes the chance to kill Caracalla and then shoot Lucilla with an arrow before Lucius can save her. Lucius chases after Macrinus as the Praetorian Guard is set to face an army that Lucius called for help. Lucius fights Macrinus and kills him before convincing both armies to stand down and no longer shed innocent blood.

Lucius later goes to the arena to mourn his parents.