Lucius finds that destiny is inescapable, and he must aid in freeing Rome from tyranny, which leads directly into how Gladiator II 's ending is the biggest derivation from history yet.

Despite Marcus Aurelius' death in Gladiator, Lucius continued fighting for this dream in Gladiator 2, leading many to wonder if it was a real ideal. For the most part, the dream of Rome is fictional.

Because “Gladiator II” is trying to borrow some of Maximus’ gravitas from the original movie, and the cheapest way to do that is to just declare that Lucius was Maximus’ son.

Since the brutal death of his father, Lucius has lived in exile in Numidia, a Roman province in North Africa where his mother, Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), had long ago sent him for safety.

Enter: Mescal as Lucius, the son of Maximus -- the main character from "Gladiator," played by Russell Crowe -- and Lucilla, the elder child of the late Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius.

And I, like Lucius, the main protagonist of “Gladiator II” who was also roughly 12 when he watched Maximus die, “never forgot it.” Given my adoration for “Gladiator,” I was heartbroken to discover ...

When word about a "Gladiator" sequel came out, which focused on the Lucius character now all grown up, some online questioned why Mescal was taking over the role and not Clark.

Paul Mescal's Lucius and Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger's co-emperors are some of the returning and based-on-real-life characters present in 'Gladiator II.' ...

The battle is lost as the Romans, led by General Acacius (Pedro Pascal), capture the remaining Numidian soldiers as slaves, including “Hanno,” who is revealed to be Lucius Verus Aurelius, the son of ...

Though also directed by Scott, “Gladiator II” fails to deliver the same impactful emotion. The film jumps nearly two decades to follow Lucius (Paul Mescal), who is also taken as a slave to serve as a ...

Living in exile since the events of "Gladiator" the (now adult) prince has been living as Hanno, a warrior for the North African kingdom of Numidia. Rome's reach is too far for Hanno/Lucius to ...