Gladiator IIstarJoseph Quinntapped into a surprising influence for his portrayal of Roman emperor Geta. TheStranger Thingsstar plays Geta, who co-ruled with his brother Caracalla (Fred Hechinger), a cruel and merciless ruler who enjoys the blood-soaked entertainment of the Colosseum. Like Emperor Commodus inGladiator, Geta is the clear-cut villain ofGladiator II. But Joseph Quinn looked far beyond Joaquin Phoenix’s seminal performance for inspiration.
Speaking toEmpire magazine, Joseph Quinn revealed that he was adamant about not wanting to replicate Phoenix’s performance as Commodus. The actor said that Phoenix’s portrayal of the jealous and manipulative emperor is revered among actors, and he was afraid of coming off as a bad imitator in his own performance. He explained:
“For obvious reasons, Joaquin Phoenix’s performance was something that was in our minds. It was something we had a reverence for, but we didn’t want to…. soil with some kind of poor rendition.”
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.
As a result, Quinn turned to a genre that is about as far-flung from Ancient Rome as you can get… science fiction. The actor began studying other beloved villainous performances. His hunt led him to Phillip Seymour Hoffman inMission: Impossible III, and, most surprisingly, Gary Oldman’s performance inLuc Besson’sThe Fifth Element.An intergalactic arms dealer with a distinctly French name and confusingly Kentucky accent isn’t the first place you’d think to start your prep when gearing up to play an evil Roman emperor. But Quinn said that Oldman’s performance as Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg contained just the spark he was looking to imbue his own character with. The actor explained:
“He has this relish for being horrible.”
Ridley Scott Explains Gladiator II’s Evil Emperors
Much of fans' attention towardsGladiator IIhas been focused onPaul Mescal’s epic physical transformationto play an older, battle-hardened Lucius, and his teased face-off with Pedro Pascal’s General Marcus Acacius. ButGladiatorhas always been about the lowly slaves forced to fight in the arena, challenging the very powers of Rome themselves. InGladiator II, those powers come in the form of the sick and twisted brothers Geta and Caracalla.
How Ridley Scott Thinks Gladiator II Ranks Against His Other Movies
Scott has, by his own admission, “made a few good ‘uns.” So how does Gladiator II compare?
Much is written about the infamous rulers who reigned between 209 and 211 AD. However, Ridley Scott’s iterations of the rulers borrow as much from Roman myth as they do from historical textbooks. The director revealed:
“They are probably the equivalent of Romulus and Remus. You know, the two lunatics who formed Rome but were bred from the milk of a wolf? [Caracalla and Geta] came up a different way but were probably brain-damaged.”
Audiences are yet to witness the full, maniacal nature of Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger’s performances inGladiator II. Although, if the first trailer is anything to go off, they will be completely off the chain. Alongside the aforementioned stars,Gladiator IIalso stars Connie Nielson, Denzel Washington, Rory McCan, and Derek Jacobi.
Gladiator IIreleases in US theaters on July 21, 2025.
