Breaking down “Gladiator II”'s brutal ending and what it means for a sequel

Plus, what director Ridley Scott has teased about a third film.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Gladiator II.

Strength and honor, indeed.

Much like the original 2000 film, Gladiator II ends with a lot of bloodshed. Unlike its predecessor, though, the results pave a clear road toward another installment in the story.

But before we look ahead, let's recap where things stand at the end of the just-released sequel. In Gladiator II, we learn that Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), daughter of Emperor Marcus Aurelius and former lover of the late Maximus (Russel Crowe), sent her son Lucius (played as a child by Spencer Treat Clark in the original and Paul Mescal in the sequel) away to Numidia for his protection after the events of the first film. However, when a grown Lucius gets captured by General Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal) and sent back to Rome to become a gladiator, he seeks revenge against the men who destroyed his life.

But little does he know, his mother is now married to Acacius, and together, they've been secretly plotting a coup to take back Rome from the nefarious and undeserving emperors Geta and Caracalla (Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger, respectively).

Related: Watch Gladiator II's Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal debate who's the better warrior: 'Do you want us to fight?'

When gladiator impresario Macrinus (Denzel Washington) catches wind of their scheme, he takes advantage for his own gain and informs the emperors of the plot against them. The twins then become enraged and order Lucius and Acacius to fight to the death in the Colosseum. But when Lucius learns Acacius' true aims, he refuses to kill him, so the emperors send in the army to finish the job.

Riots then break out, plunging Rome into chaos. Macrinus uses the opportunity to turn the twin emperors against each other, first helping Caracalla kill Geta and later killing Caracalla himself. He also kills Lucilla in the Colosseum.

In the final showdown, Lucius embraces his birthright as Prince of Rome and utilizes the army that was loyal to Acacius (and, before that, to his father, Maximus). Meanwhile, Macrinus takes control of the remaining Roman army, and the two fight to the death, with Lucius eventually emerging victorious.

Related: Strength and honor! See all the photos from Entertainment Weekly's Gladiator II cover shoot

In a rousing speech, he tells both armies, "Let no more blood be spilled in the name of tyranny," and they all cheer as he assumes his new role as leader of Rome. At the end of the film, he goes to the Colosseum to mourn the loss of his parents, and kneels in the sand like his father did before him. "Speak to me, father," he says, as the film cuts to the iconic shot of Maximus' hand in the wheat fields of Elysium.

Given the ending, director Ridley Scott confirms he's already thinking about continuing the franchise — even if plans for a third film aren't quite ready for the arena just yet.

"People say, 'Have you got [a third film]?' And I say, 'Of course.' That's the knee-jerk answer. Have we got it yet? Not really," he tells Entertainment Weekly for our Gladiator II cover story. "I mean, of course, I was thinking about it even when I was doing Gladiator II on the basis of who will survive. It is better if there's a survivor."

Scott's admission to EW further clarifies what he'd recently told France’s Premiere magazine, where he admitted he was "toying with the idea" of making Gladiator III.

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Related: Gladiator II review: Ridley Scott sequel is epic old-fashioned movie-making with a star turn from Paul Mescal

"No, seriously! I’ve lit the fuse,” Scott told the outlet at the time. “The ending of Gladiator II is reminiscent of The Godfather, with Michael Corleone finding himself with a job he didn’t want and wondering, ‘Now, Father, what do I do?‘ So the next [film] will be about a man who doesn’t want to be where he is.”

For his part, Mescal says he'd absolutely be interested in donning sandals and swords once more. "That's fully Ridley's chair to lift. That's his baby. But any plans that he has, I'd be very excited. To be honest, I haven't heard much from him about it, so I'd be curious," he tells EW.

Gladiator II is now playing in theaters.