As a fan who has been following Joaquin Phoenix’s career since the early ’90s, I can confidently say that his portrayal of Commodus in Gladiator was nothing short of iconic. Fast forward to 2024, and we have Joseph Quinn stepping into the shoes of a new villain, Emperor Geta, in the long-awaited sequel, Gladiator II.
Even though Joaquin Phoenix started his acting career as early as 1982, it was in 2000 with the debut of “Gladiator” that marked a significant leap in his professional journey. In this film, he portrayed Commodus, the antagonist, earning him his first Oscar nomination. Over two decades later, “Gladiator II,” set to release in 2024, promises to transport viewers once again into the Roman Empire. Interestingly, as no one wished to tarnish Phoenix’s iconic performance from the original, Joseph Quinn, who plays Emperor Geta in the sequel, studied other captivating fictional villains instead.
Currently in historical context, Quinn and his brother Fred Hechinger’s character Caracalla share power over Rome. The trailer for Gladiator II suggests that they might be as wicked as Commodus, or even worse. However, it was crucial to avoid making them identical to Joaquin Phoenix’s portrayal, as Quinn explained to Empire: “We wanted to ensure that their characters were distinct from his.”
Due to its impact, Joaquin Phoenix’s performance was something we held in high regard and didn’t wish to tarnish by attempting an inferior interpretation of it.
After Commodus is eliminated, Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger focused on other villains that are wicked, remorseless, and particularly loathed by audiences. Examples given in the article were Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s Davian from Mission: Impossible III and Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg from The Fifth Element, whom Quinn described as relishing in being evil. Director Ridley Scott also noted that the characters Geta and Caracalla in Gladiator II are modeled after their real-life counterparts but are seen as akin to Romulus and Remus from Roman mythology, who were raised by a wolf and possibly had brain damage.
Combine all these factors together, and you get a potent blend of villainy to confront Paul Mescal’s character, Lucius Verus, in the sequel of ‘Gladiator’, titled ‘Gladiator II’. Set two decades after the original story, the sequel follows Lucius, played by Spencer Treat Clark earlier, residing in Numidia with his family, having renounced his claim to the Roman Empire and being estranged from his mother, Connie Nielsen’s Lucilla, for around 15 years. However, when his town is attacked by Pedro Pascal’s General Marcus Acacius, Lucius is enslaved and compelled to fight as a gladiator for the entertainment of Geta, Caracalla, and the Roman masses, much like Russell Crowe’s Maximus did in the past (which you can revisit with a Paramount+ subscription).
The cast of “Gladiator II” also features Denzel Washington, Derek Jacobi, Tim McInnerny, Alexander Karim, Rory McCann, and David Scarpa wrote the screenplay for a story he co-created with Peter Craig. We’ll understand where Geta and Caracalla rank among movie villains when the sequel premieres on November 22.
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2024-08-28 04:07