WARNING! This post and episode both contain spoilers! In case you somehow missed it, the hotly anticipated sequel to Gladiator (2000) hit the cinemas in November 2024. Gladiator II follows the story of Lucius Verus, the child of Lucilla and the hero from the first film, Maximus. Nope, we did not know that was a thing either. Poster for Gladiator II, Source: https://deadline.com After being separated from his imperial family following the death of his uncle (the Emperor Commodus), the adult Lucius ends up in the arena. His owner is Macrinus, an actual historical figure who served as emperor briefly in the third century CE. The film follows Macrinus and Lucius as they navigate the complicated political world of Rome under the Emperors Caracalla and Geta. Will Lucius be able to rid Rome of corruption, once and for all? (Dramatic music) Joining us today to discuss the film is the delightful Lindsay Steenberg. Special Episode – Gladiator II with Dr Lindsay Steenberg Dr Lindsay Steenberg is currently a Senior Lecturer in Film Studies at Oxford Brookes University where she co-ordinates the graduate programme in Popular Cinema. Her research interests are violence and gender in postmodern and postfeminist media culture. If you like true crime, you should definitely check out her back catalogue. Whilst Dr Steenberg has published widely and regularly presents at conferences, our particular point of connection is her interest in gladiators. She is the author Are you not entertained? Mapping the Gladiator Across Visual Media , which was published by Bloomsbury in 2020. We hope that you enjoy our conversation as we unpack: Arena action scenes The naumachia scene from Gladiator II Macrinus’ role in this film Gladiators and celebrity Historical inaccuracy on screen Our vision for Gladiator III: Tokyo Drift Sound Credits Our music is by Bettina Joy de Guzman. Dr Lindsay Steenberg's book Are You Not Entertained? Mapping the Gladiator Across Visual Media . We recommend it! Automated Transcript Dr Rad 0:00 Hello. You're about to listen to a special episode of the partial historians, which is all about gladiator two, a movie set in the reign of Caracalla and Geta so Dr G 0:12 so we are warning you in advance that this conversation will contain spoilers if you have not yet gone to the cinemapost haste, my friends get there soon and come back and listen. Or if you don't care about spoilers, and in fact, you thrive in an environment where you know all of the details before you see a thing, please continue listening and enjoying. Dr Rad 0:35 And it pretty much turns out as we all expected. Dr G Maximus came back to life and married me in the future, just as I always wanted. Finally, a New Zealand man finds his Australian bride, that's right, and now on with the show you. Music. Welcome to the partial historians. Dr G 1:10 We explore all the details of ancient Rome, Dr Rad 1:15 everything from political scandals, the love affairs, the battles wage and when citizens turn against each other, I'm Dr rad and Dr G 1:25 I'm Dr G. We consider Rome as the Romans saw it by reading different authors from the ancient past and comparing their stories. Join Dr Rad 1:36 us as we trace the journey of Rome from the founding of the city. Hello and welcome to another special episode of the partial historians. I am one of your hosts, Dr rad, Dr G 2:00 and I'm Dr G Dr Rad 2:02 And we are super excited because we're going to be talking about another gladiator movie today. Dr G, just when you thought you couldn't get enough, Dr G 2:10 I can't get enough. That's why I'm here, exactly. And Dr Rad 2:15 we are super lucky to be joined by an expert, an international expert, Dr Lindsay Steenberg is currently a senior lecturer in Film Studies at Oxford Brookes University, where she coordinates the graduate program in popular cinema. Her research interests are violence and gender in post modern and post feminist media culture. If you like true crime, you should definitely check out her back catalog. Whilst Dr Steenberg has published widely and regularly presents at conferences, our particular point of connection is her interest in gladiators. She is the author of, are you not entertained? Mapping the gladiator across visual media, which was published by Bloomsbury in 2020. Being astute listeners, I am sure that you have all correctly guessed that she is here to discuss gladiator two with us, which was at time of recording, just released in cinemas. Welcome Dr Steenberg, Lindsay Steenberg 3:15 thank you so much for having me and for giving me the opportunity to talk about one of my favorite subject matters gladiator movies, you're Dr Rad 3:23 in good company here. You know, it's one of the things I think that we do the most around here. So look, we are so keen to talk a little bit about gladiator two with you, and also the aspects that you have looked at in your work. So we thought we might start off with the part that people probably remember most vividly
