Gladiator II: How Is Pedro Pascal’s Marcus Acacius Connected to Russell Crowe’s Maximus?

While Russell Crowe’s Maximus Decimus Meridius remains dead in Gladiator II, his legacy lives on in several characters – including Pedro Pascal’s Marcus Acacius. So, how are Maximus and Marcus Acacius connected, exactly?

Related: First Trailer for Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II Brings Us Back to the Colosseum

Marcus Acacius’ Connection to Maximus in Gladiator II, Explained

Marcus Acacius served under Maximus’ command while the latter was still a general in the Roman army. As a result, Marcus shares many of his mentor’s traits, although Pascal stresses that his character isn’t a clone of Crowe’s. “[Gladiator II] has an identity that is shaped by [Maximus’] legacy,” Pascal explained in a Vanity Fair interview. “It wouldn’t make sense for it not to […] [Marcus] learned from the best, so of course this code of honor is ingrained into his training and into his existence. But at the end of the day, he’s a different person. And that can’t change who he is. Maximus is Maximus, and that can’t be replicated. That just makes Acacius capable of different things.”

Related: Did Gladiator II Replace the Original Movie’s Lucius Verus Actor?

Don’t remember Marcus fighting by Maximus’ side in Gladiator? Your memory’s not failing you; Marcus doesn’t appear in the first movie. Director Ridley Scott and screenwriters Peter Craig and David Scarpa created Marcus specifically for the sequel, and retroactively added him to Maximus’ off-screen backstory. Whether Gladiator II will use VFX to engineer flashbacks covering Marcus’ tutelage under Maximus remains unclear, however, Scott has already confirmed the movie covers at least some of Marcus’ time on the frontlines. “The film begins with the raiding party of the Roman fleet, which comes in from the sea and decimates Numidia,” Scott told Vanity Fair. “It’s pretty gnarly.”

Was Gladiator II’s Marcus Acacius a Real Person?

Nope. As noted above, Ridley Scott and scribes Peter Craig and David Scarpa invented Marcus Acacius for Gladiator II; there’s no historical figure with that name. This is hardly surprising, given Maximus is also entirely fictional. That said, several characters who appear in Gladiator and Gladiator II are based on real-life people, albeit in heavily altered form.

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Gladiator‘s main antagonist, Commodus, is based on an actual Roman Emperor. The same goes for Commodus’ father, Marcus Aurelius, and sister, Lucilla – both really existed. Then there’s Lucilla’s son Lucius Verus, who is a supporting player in Gladiator and headlines Gladiator II. Lucilla really did have a kid named Lucius, however, he didn’t embark on epic adventures like his big screen counterpart. Instead, he died young, as did one of his two siblings (none of whom appear in the Gladiator flicks).

Gladiator II fights its way into cinemas on Nov. 22, 2024.