Warning! This article contains spoilers for Gladiator II.
Gladiator IImaintains an air of ambiguity surrounding Macrinus' name, making it hard not to wonder if the mystery holds any narrative significance.Directed by Ridley Scott,Gladiator IIintroduces Macrinussoon after Lucius and his fellow men get enslaved by the Romans. While Lucius battles feral baboons and even kills one after biting its arm, stablemaster Macrinus watches him from the stands and decides to put his money on him.
Although Macrinus (Denzel Washington) initially promisesLucius (Paul Mescal)to help him kill Acacius, the two characters later become enemies when Macrinus rises in the ranks. In its 148-minute runtime,Gladiator IIportrays everything from Marcinus' overarching purpose to his underlying plan to exact revenge on Rome. However, it avoids revealing his real name. As trivial as this little detail — or its lack thereof — may seem in the movie, it seems to hold immense significance in the story.
What Is Macrinus' Real Name?
Macrinus is a fictional character in Gladiator II
Like the firstGladiatorfilm, Ridley Scott’sGladiator IIis not based on real historyand only borrows a few names and facts from real historical events. Owing to this, it would be fair to call the movie fictional. Since, like allcharacters inGladiator II, Denzel Washington’s Macrinus is also fictional, it is hard to determine his real name because the movie never mentions it. However, it must be noted thatMacrinus' character is based on a real historical figure: Marcus Opellius Macrinus.
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Ridley Scott’s Gladiator is a widely loved classic, but why did the epic never get a sequel - and what was the scrapped plan for Gladiator 2?
Marcus Opellius Macrinus was a Roman emperor who reigned supreme from April 217 to June 218. However, long before he became the emperor, he served as Emperor Caracalla’s praetorian prefect. Like the movie’s Macrinus, the real historical figure later conspired against Caracalla and had him murdered before becoming his successor on the throne. The few parallels between the Denzel Washington character and the real Roman emperor suggest that the movie adopts some historical facts but mostly remains fictional in its portrayal.
Why Macrinus Keeps His Name Secret
He Wishes To Keep His Past Hidden
Macrinus seems to intentionally keep his name a secret inGladiator IIbecause he wants nothing to do with his old identity. By keeping his name hidden, he shields himself from his past and effectively hides his motive of exacting revenge on Rome. He carries himself with immense pride and honor, but it is all a means to distance himself from his dark past. His new identity serves as a psychological armor inGladiator IIthatnot only helps him detach himself from who he used to be but also allows him to quietly nurse his desire for vengeance.
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Running Time
2 hours 30 minutes
The movie confirms that he, too, was once Emperor Marcus Aurelius' slave and suffered many atrocities under his rule. He despised the late emperor and wanted to watch the Roman Republic crumble before his eyes. However, he kept his purpose shrouded by hiding his name until the right opportunity came along and gave him the chance to execute his plan. To his dismay, before he achieves his dream of bringing Rome down inGladiator II, Lucius overpowers him and takes over as Rome’s new leader.
Gladiator II
Gladiator 2 is the follow-up to Ridley Scott’s award-winning film Gladiator from 2000. Scott returns to direct the sequel, with Paul Mescal staring as Lucius, alongside Denzel Washington and Joseph Quinn as the villain Emperor Geta. Gladiator 2 had been stuck in development hell for years before a script written by David Scarpa finally moved forward.
