TORONTO – It’s been twenty-five years since Russell Crowe wooed audiences as a Roman General-turned-slave, and now Hollywood is returning with a sequel to the Oscar winning epic. Unfortunately none of Gladiator II was shot in Italy, due to logistics. This comes as no surprise to Tarak Ben Ammar, the head of Italy’s biggest Film Distributor (Eagle Pictures), who recently warned that Rome’s Cinecitta’s studio space is booked a year in advance. 

Gladiator II’s director Ridley Scott had planned for principal photography in Cinecitta’ and Rome, where recreations of the ancient set would’ve been constructed. As it happened, Cinecitta’ was housing a different yet similar project during that time, namely Roland Emmerich’s Gladiator-themed TV Series “Those About to Die”. The series’ Creator Robert Rodat acknowledged the scheduling conflict in a recent interview: “It’s not a competition, but there are limited assets in Rome, and it’s my understanding that he was disappointed that he wasn’t able to shoot there. For that, I apologize!”

That there are “limited assets” available to filmmakers in Rome points to a number of issues, but in this particular case it highlights a recent spike in Italy’s appeal abroad. The budgets for Peacock’s “Those About to Die” series and Paramount’s Gladiator II sequel are $140M and $300M, respectively. And both are “tent pole” productions, that is, shows and films meant to support the financial structure of a studio.

Additionally, both are cast with Oscar winning actors Anthony Hopkins and Denzel Washington. Typically, American Studio films tend to keep productions in house, or find cheaper stand in locations as they often do in Canada. It wasn’t too long ago for instance, that the historical epic “300” (2005) was filmed entirely at Icestorm Studios in Montreal, using blue screens. Today however, thanks in large part to the Italian film and tourism boards and a generous tax credit, filmmakers are once again insisting on matching setting with location in Italy – a creative decision that normally succumbs to budgetary constraints.

As for Gladiator II’s premise, the story follows Marcus Aurelius’ grandson Lucius (Paul Mescal), the former heir to the throne. After disavowing Rome and leaving the city for 15 years, Roman legionnaires capture and imprison him. Like Maximus in the original story, Lucius is forced to fight in the arena – all to the backdrop of the Severan Dynasty’s feuding fraternal Emperors, Caracalla and Geta.

Gladiator II is set for release in theatres on November 22, 2024.

Massimo Volpe is a filmmaker and freelance writer from Toronto: he writes reviews of Italian films/content on Netflix