Ridley Scott’s upcoming “Gladiator II” movie has already come under fire – even though it hasn’t been released yet.
Dr. Shadi Bartsch, prominent historian and classics professor at the University of Chicago, told hollywood reporter That the idea of the film is “complete Hollywood bulls–tee”.
Written by David Scarpa, the sequel to the Russell Crowe-led 2000 historical epic depicts the world two decades later.
paul mescal Plays the role of grown-up Lucius Verus IIThe son of Crowe’s character Maximus, who was portrayed by Spencer Treat Clark in the original film. Lucius is the son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) and nephew of Commodus, who was originally played by Joaquin Phoenix.
In the film’s trailer, a scene shows the Colosseum in Rome flooded and filled with sharks.
“I don’t think the Romans knew what a shark was,” said Bartsch, who has degrees from Princeton, Harvard and UC Berkeley.
Bartsch notes that the Romans actually filled the Colosseum with water for various naval battles.
Another scene in the film shows the Rhinos entering the Colosseum, which is only partially accurate according to Bartsch.
Bartsch reported that Martial, a Roman poet, “wrote a poem in 80 AD about a rhinoceros tossing a bull into the sky” – although this would have been a one-horned rhinoceros, not the two shown in the film. Horned Rhinoceros.
The historian said Scott mischaracterized the news element in the film, explaining that Romans did not read newspapers while drinking tea in cafes, because newspapers were invented about 1,200 years later.
“They had daily news – the Acta Diuma – but it was carved out and kept in certain places,” he told the outlet. “You had to go into it, you couldn’t have it in a café. “Besides, they didn’t even have cafes.”
The Post has contacted Scott’s representatives for comment.
Scott’s experienced team reprized their roles: cinematographer John Mathieson, production designer Arthur Max, and costume designer Jenty Yates.
The film also stars Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington – who plays Macrinus, a former slave and master of Lucius.
The original film won five Oscars and grossed $461 million worldwide, making it the second highest-grossing film that year.
This is not the first time that one of Scott’s films has been fact-checked by a historian.
Following the release of his film “Napoleon” last year, historian Dan Snow pointed out several inaccuracies in a video posted on social media at the time.
But the criticism fell on deaf ears, as the 86-year-old Scot responded to Snow’s comment during an interview with the simple words, “Get a life”. the new Yorker,
‘Gladiator II’ will be released in theaters on Friday, November 22.
