‘Gladiator 2’ Has the ‘Biggest Action Sequence I’ve Ever Done,’ Says Ridley Scott

Ridley Scott has delivered some epic battle scenes in his films, from the Battle of Kerak in 2005’s “Kingdom of Heaven” to the Battle of Austerlitz in 2023’s “Napoleon.” But his upcoming sequel to “Gladiator” features an action sequence that’s larger than anything he’s done in the past, according to the legendary filmmaker.

“We begin the film with probably the biggest action sequence I’ve ever done,” Scott told Empire in a recent interview. “Probably bigger than anything in ‘Napoleon.’” 

“Gladiator 2” stars Paul Mescal as Lucius, the son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) and nephew of Commodus, the original film’s antagonist played by Joaquin Phoenix. Set years after 2000’s “Gladiator,” the sequel sees Lucius living as a young adult in the northern African region of Numidia, where he was sent by his mother as a child. Events bring Lucius back to Rome as a gladiator, where he makes new enemies and reunites with his mother.

Although Scott didn’t share too many details about the opening action sequence in “Gladiator 2,” he did tease a moment where Mescal’s Lucius faces a rhinoceros in the Colosseum.

“Computerization and AI — you have to embrace it,” Scott said of building the computer-generated rhino for the scene. “I can have a computer read every molecule and wrinkle on a rhino and then cut it on a thick piece of plastic, absolutely as a rhino’s body, which is then tailored to a skeleton shape.”

He added, “I have this thing that can do 40 miles an hour, spin on the spot, wag its head and snarl. A two-ton rhino with a guy on its back! I mean, it’s a lot of fun.”

“Gladiator 2” premieres in theaters Nov. 22.