Denzel Washington Explains His Gladiator 2 Casting
Denzel Washington tells us exactly why he signed up for Ridley Scott’s Gladiator 2 When 2000’s Gladiator first hit theatres, star Russell Crowe’s ultimately doomed hero Maximus became a cultural touchstone. Two decades after Maximus’ death, Ridley Scott’s latest historical epic, the hotly anticipated Gladiator 2 (out 3 May), picks up following a character 20 years younger than Crowe: Paul Mescal’s Lucius is a young fighter in the Colosseum. Gladiator 2’s cast brings together some who played in the original film and some new faces, including Denzel Washington, who plays Macrinus, a wealthy arms dealer (and gladiator fighter, in his down time).
Interviewed by Empire recently about stepping aboard Gladiator 2, Washington points to Scott himself as a reason why he took on the part. He feels that he’s come to a place in his career where there aren’t many movies he’s ‘interested in’ making, but, ‘I thought he [Scott] would be a great director to do it with.’ Check out Washington’s statement below.
“There are very few films left for me to make that I’m interested in, and I have to be inspired by the filmmaker, and I was tremendously inspired by Ridley. We had a great go-round the first go-round [on
American Gangster
], and here we are. He’s engaged. He’s excited about life and his next film. He’s an inspiration. We should all want to feel like that at 86.”
2007’s American Gangster was a success critically and commercially, and it was nominated for two Oscars.
Who Is Denzel Washington’s Character In Gladiator 2?
Macrinus Could Be A Crucial Figure In The Story
Though we don’t know much about Washigton’s Macrinus from the little we have seen of him in Gladiator 2, he is described as both an arms dealer and a trafficker of gladiators. Any sequel that comes more than two decades after its predecessor will be hard-pressed to recapture the spell of the original while remaining fresh and new. Macrinus might well play a key part in this.
Although Gladiator 2 will be based on real-life events and people, it remains to be seen how much of what we know about Macrinus’s life will actually be mirrored in the script.
And from what we can tell so far, he is no different than the fictitious Oliver Reed’s Proximo in the film 2000’s Gladiator: a slave who rose to riches and freedom by becoming a slave-owner himself, and then becomes a sort of mentor to Maximus. It is entirely possible that Macrinus will develop into a similarly close relationship for Lucius. Real history also provides some useful information for us about what Washington’s role in the sequel might look like.
But before he could rise to the imperial throne himself, Macrinus was involved in a plot to assassinate a Roman emperor – a role that it’s possible Washington’s Gladiator 2 character will come to play onscreen, rather than languishing on the sidelines, a mere fish in Proximo’s aquarium. History makes it clear that Macrinus was a major character, and nothing in context suggests that this isn’t true within the confines of Gladiator 2. In fact, it could be as much a factor in Washington’s decision to play him as anyone asked. It may be that there’s a part of Gladiator 2 that is ‘real’ history, but the real question is how much of Macrinus will make its way there.
Washington is 69 now and clearly embarking on the twilight of his acting career. With so much creative and commercial success over the past five decades in front of the camera, there seems to be less of an incentive to drive himself to keep working and to keep starring in the kinds of broad-audience movies he has made throughout his career. Washington’s comments, his new litmus test and his willingness to become more selective in his choices indicate he’ll be back working less moving forward, but it also means that the same titles he does pick start to become more exciting.
As Washington becomes choosier and choosier about the roles he’s willing to accept, any movies he does show up in from now on are deservedly going to be things he feels he must do. That will be great news for Gladiator 2, which could easily become the sequel we want to the movie we love. And that’s great news for High and Low, the Akira Kurosawa remake the American star is working on with the director Spike Lee, because the pair have a track record of delivering interesting films while working together; among their résumés are Inside Man, Malcolm X, and He Got Game.
Washington also has another in the works with his frequent collaborator, director Antoine Fuqua, about the Carthaginian general Hannibal for Netflix. Gladiator 2. High & Low. The untitled Hannibal movie. Based off these three upcoming projects, it’s fair to think that those are the types of movies audiences can look forward to from Washington going forward. Going forward, his future movies could be a series of reunions with some of Washington’s past collaborators.
Both in quality and popularity, the original is among Scott’s best films of a nearly 40-year career, delivering critical acclaim and a profit volcano at the box office. Scott picking this story back up 25 years after the Gladiator ending is a dice roll (more with the roll than the dice), even with cast members Richard Madden, Russell Crowe, Liam Neeson, Kiefer Sutherland, Joaquin Phoenix, Carrie-Anne Moss and even.
| Gladiator Performance Breakdown | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rotten Tomatoes Critics’ Score | Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score | Metacritic Score | Metacritic User Score | Estimated Budget | Worldwide Box Office | |
| 80% | 87% | 67/100 | 8.7/10 | $103 million | $465.4 million | |
Aside from the recent insistence of Scott that Gladiator 2 is ‘one of the best things [he’s] ever made’, Washington’s latest statements will hopefully mean that the fabled sequel is just what director and audiences alike have been craving. Washington has only three announced upcoming projects, so a hit of the sequel might reawaken the desire to work with Scott in the (hopefully) more fruitful next few years. In all, it’s easy to see why anticipation for Gladiator 2 is through the roof, and it’s now just that much more imperative that the film is a good one, should it appear as part of a delayed wave of Washington Hollywood.
Key Context
- In the last five years, Denzel Washington has only appeared in three movies: The Little Things (2021), The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021) and The Equalizer 3 (2023).
- The Rotten Tomatoes Critics Score for Gladiator (2000) is 80%.
Source: Empire
Summary
- Denzel Washington reveals that there aren’t many films he’s truly ”
interested in
” making anymore, but that he was ”
inspired by
”
Gladiator 2
director Ridley Scott. - Washington and Scott previously worked together on
American Gangster
, and Washington says that the director is still very creatively energized. - Washington plays Macrinus in
Gladiator 2
, an arms dealer who could play a similar role in the story to Oliver Reed’s Proximo from the original film.
