Gladiator III: what could happen in a new sequel, according to Roman history

How Gladiator II’s ending sets the stage for Gladiator III

While Gladiator II’s historical accuracy veers toward the realm of fantasy (mutant baboons and sharks in the Colosseum, anyone?) the movie is rooted in the real historical context of ancient Rome in the 3rd century AD. So how does it pave the way for Gladiator III?

By the end of Gladiator II, the Roman emperors Caracalla and Geta are both dead, Geta through the machinations of the Machiavellian Macrinus and Caracalla directly by his hand. For a very brief period, Macrinus succeeds them, before he himself is killed by Lucius – leaving Lucilla and Maximus’s son with the reins of power.

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Gladiator III: here’s what really happens after Macrinus dies, according to history

In real history, Macrinus rises to power following the death of Caracalla (which he is implicated in, he does not do the deed himself) and reigns as emperor for just over a year before being overthrown not by Lucius, but by Elagabalus.

The historical Caracalla was a violent and unpredictable emperor; he had his brother and co-emperor Geta assassinated in AD 211 so that he could govern alone.

In AD 216, he began a short-lived war against the Parthian empire, coming to a sticky end in AD 217 when he was assassinated by one of his own soldiers – possibly at the behest of Macrinus, who then succeeded him.

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Macrinus focused his attention as emperor on bringing stability back to the Roman empire by attempting to conclude the several wars it was waging, as well as instituting a series of fiscal reforms to consolidate the Roman economy.

However, conspiring against Macrinus were Caracalla’s female relatives. First was his mother Julia Domna, whom Macrinus had imprisoned, and later – and more significantly – his aunt, Julia Maesa.

It was Julia Maesa who spread the rumour that Elagabalus was Caracalla’s illegitimate child, positioning him as a potential emperor. Her plans culminate in the battle of Antioch, where the military forces of Macrinus and Elagabalus meet. Macrinus was defeated, and fled, before being captured and executed. He was replaced by the victorious Elagabalus, sometimes remembered as Heliogabalus.

Elagabalus’s reign was longer, but ended in similar fashion. Sensing that support for him was waning, Julia Maesa once again organised a plot to see the emperor replaced by her favoured choice.

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Elagabalus was assassinated and followed by Severus Alexander, who would himself be assassinated – and whose death instigated the Crisis of the Third Century between AD 235-284. This was a period of nearly 50 years marked by civil wars, inbound invasions and economic collapse.

The death of Caracalla, and Macrinus after him, set the stage for a Roman empire that would descend into chaos. Driven by the rapid turnover of emperors and competing factions fracturing the state, provincial governors and military leaders increasingly seized power, while external enemies exploited Rome’s internal divisions.

What could happen in Gladiator III?

If Gladiator III continues the story of the fictional Lucius while otherwise broadly following the real history of ancient Rome, it’s likely that Lucius will assume the position of Elagabalus and ultimately encounter the same challenges that faced the real Roman emperors and led into the Crisis of the Third Century.

Like, Elagabalus, Lucius is responsible for the death of Macrinus and assumes the position of emperor after him, with Lucilla (here taking on the role of Julia Maesa) having laid the groundwork.

Given that, it’s plausible that the fictional Lucius would face a similar fate to Elagabalus, and could soon discover that the reality of ruling the Roman empire in the third century AD was a far grimmer and more fragile affair than he bargained for.

Even if Lucius successfully cemented his reign and found initial stability, he would not have been able to escape the broader challenges facing the Roman empire and the causes of its inevitable decline and fall.

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For Lucius, the struggle to consolidate power would be immediate. From the threat of rebellion to the strain of frontier wars and economic hardship, Lucius would face the same pressures that plagued the emperors of the Severan dynasty.

The Roman empire’s ongoing wars would present themselves as Lucius’s most confronting and immediate challenge. Emperors were expected not only to maintain internal stability but also to defend the empire from external threats. At this time, Rome faced significant pressure from Germanic tribes along the Rhine and Danube, while the future Sassanian empire loomed as a growing threat in the East.

He would also be forced to deal with the Parthian war that Caracalla had reignited. Would he vie for peace, as the real Macrinus did, or continue the wars and place ever-greater pressure on the Roman coffers? Either option would bring the threat of internal plots to see him replaced as emperor.

His rise to power would have been just the beginning of a far more complicated and precarious story – one shaped by the same forces that would ultimately drive the empire into one of its most turbulent eras.

While the ending of Gladiator II presents Lucius as a triumphant, unifying figure for the Roman empire, history tells us that his reign would have been anything but easy.