(**WARNING: Contains major spoilers for Gladiator 2**) Fans of the original Gladiator film have been waiting a long time for a follow-up – 24 years, in fact – but finally, it's arrived in UK cinemas. Gladiator 2 is set 16 years after the events of the Oscar-winning first film and is no less epic in scale, this time following the story of Paul Mescal's Lucius – who appeared as a boy in the original film, then played by Spencer Treat Clark. The son of Connie Nielsen's Lucilla, we first meet Lucius a long way from Rome, going by the name Hanno and living a far less luxurious life in the African kingdom of Numidia, where he has been living since he was sent away by his mother many years ago.
However, when his wife is killed and he's taken captive in an opening battle, it kicks off a desire for revenge at any cost – and soon he's back in Rome looking to follow in the footsteps of Maximus. Cue all sorts of political grandstanding and epic fights – including battles with monkeys, rhinos and even sharks – as Lucius begins to climb the ranks, eventually leading to an explosive conclusion. Seen the film and need a recap of those events? Read on to have the Gladiator 2 ending explained.
Gladiator 2 ending explained – Full spoilers for Ridley Scott's sequel Before we dive headfirst into the events at the very end of the film, let's recap the important developments that happened on the way to the grand finale. When we're first introduced to Lucius (Paul Mescal), he's one of .