Lucius chooses not to kill Acacius when they finally face each other in the arena in Gladiator II, which may be surprising since he was seeking revenge against the Roman general for the entire first half of the movie. In the Gladiator II cast, Lucius is played by Paul Mescal and Acacius is played by Pedro Pascal. Gladiator II opened with the Battle of Numidia, which saw Acacius lead the Roman army against the soldiers of Numidia, which included Lucius and his wife. Lucius’ wife unfortunately died during the battle that the Romans eventually won.
After losing his wife and his home, Lucius vowed that he would get revenge against Acacius. Even though Acacius wasn’t the one who killed Lucius’ wife, he ordered his men to target her. Therefore, Lucius blamed the accomplished Roman general for the death of his wife. The rivalry between Lucius and Acacius is one of the most interesting aspects of Gladiator II. Even though Acacius does not survive until the end of Gladiator II, there are multiple reasons why Lucius was not the one to kill him in the arena.
Lucius Doesn’t Kill Acacius Due To His History With Maximus
Acacius Trained Under Maximus When He Was A Roman General
While the beginning of Gladiator II sets Acacius up as a major villain, it becomes clear that he does not actually enjoy carrying out military campaigns for Emperors Geta and Caracalla. In fact, Acacius is actually one of the leading members of the rebellion against the Emperors. Of course, after losing the Battle of Numidia and being forced to be a gladiator, Lucius does not know about Acacius’ true intentions. Therefore, he learns a lot about Acacius very quickly when they are both put in the arena together.
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One of the things that Lucius learns is that Acacius served with Lucius’ father, Maximus. Acacius trained under Maximus, who was played by Russell Crowe in the original Gladiator movie, and has since risen through the ranks to become a general. As a Roman general, Acacius holds the same values that Maximus had in the original movie, and wants to overthrow the Emperors to create a better future for Rome. Since their philosophies and goals align, Lucius chooses not to kill Acacius in the arena.
Acacius’ Relationship With Lucilla Also Played Into Lucius’ Decision
Acacius Is Married To Lucius’ Mother In Gladiator 2
In addition to serving under Maximus, Acacius is also married to Lucilla, Lucius’ mother. While Lucius was likely originally heartbroken to discover that his mother was married to the man responsible for the death of his wife, the relationship between Acacius and Lucilla is recontextualized for him in the arena. While stuck in the arena with him, Lucius realizes that Acacius is not the evil man he had made him out to be.
Lucius realizes that both his mother and Acacius are fighting for the same thing that Maximus was before his death.
Just like Lucius, Acacius is also trapped in the strong grip of the Roman Empire, since he has been forced to carry out various military campaigns in the name of Rome. Acacius and Lucilla are both responsible for forming the rebellion against Emperors Geta and Caracalla, and Acacius was even going to free Lucius before he himself was caught. Therefore, Lucius realizes that both his mother and Acacius are fighting for the same thing that Maximus was before his death.
Lucius Not Killing Acacius Was Another Chance To Defy The Roman Empire
Lucius Did Not Give The Roman Emperors What They Wanted In Gladiator 2
Even though he was owned by Macrinus, Lucius took every chance he could to defy the Roman Empire in Gladiator II. Many characters in Gladiator II had power over Lucius, such as Macrinus, Geta, and Caracalla, but he was never intimidated by any of them. Therefore, when he was in the arena with Acacius, Lucius knew that the aforementioned figures wanted him to kill the Roman general.
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While Lucius entered the arena with the plan of killing Acacius, his mindset completely changed during their fight. Ultimately, Lucius decided not to give the Roman leaders what they wanted. By not killing Acacius himself, he openly disobeyed Emperors Geta and Caracalla in front of thousands of Roman spectators. Eventually, Geta and Caracalla had to order their own men to shoot arrows at Acacius. Therefore, while Acacius was never going to make it out of the arena alive in Gladiator II, he did not die by Lucius’ hand.
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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.
- Release Date
- November 22, 2024
- Runtime
- 148 minutes
- Main Genre
- Adventure
- Cast
- Paul Mescal , Pedro Pascal , Denzel Washington , Connie Nielsen , Joseph Quinn , Fred Hechinger , Derek Jacobi , May Calamawy , Peter Mensah , Matt Lucas , Alexander Karim , Tim McInnerny , Lee Charles , Chidi Ajufo , Alfie Tempest , Riana Duce , Chi Lewis Parry , Paul Candelent , Hadrian Howard , Alexander Simkin , Mikhail Basmadjian , Matthew Charlery-Smith , Maxime Durand , Lior Raz
- Character(s)
- Lucius Verus , Marcus Acacius , Macrinus , Lucilla , Emperor Caracalla , Emperor Geta , Gracchus
- Writers
- David Scarpa , Peter Craig , David Franzoni
- Studio(s)
- Paramount Pictures , Universal Pictures , Scott Free Productions , Red Wagon Entertainment
- Distributor(s)
- Paramount Pictures