Should you watch ‘Gladiator’ before seeing the sequel? What to remember

It’s been almost 25 years, but the Oscar-winning “Gladiator” is back! Or at least a sequel!

True, “Gladiator” star Russell Crowe may not return as Maximus (for obvious reasons), but “Gladiator II” is filled with nostalgia, familiar characters and callbacks to the 2000 film.

It’s also filled with much of the spectacle that made the first film such a success: brutal animal-human battles in the Colosseum, political intrigue, class warfare, and a hero fighting with single-minded purpose.

So what do we need to know about this sword-and-sandal epic before it opens wide on November 22? Here’s what you need to know.

Note: Light spoilers are included for both films.

Do you need to watch ‘Gladiator’ to follow ‘Gladiator II’?

Not necessarily, but it helps. The main fact of the movie: That Maximus had a son who ends up in the arena and leading a rebellion is already part of the early trailers.

But that’s not critical, because the film makes liberal use of flashbacks to the previous film to help fill in the blanks.

What is Lucius’ connection to the first ‘Gladiator’?

In “Gladiator”, Lucius is a random character.

Played by Spencer Treat Clark, the boy is the son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) and his father is said to be Lucilla’s late husband, Lucius Verus (Lucius’s namesake).

Lucilla is also the sister of the leader in the first film, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix).

But we also learn in that film that Lucilla had an on-again, off-again relationship with Maximus, so it’s not a huge surprise to find that the script for “II” has recast Lucius (Paul Mescal) as a more significant player : i.e. , son of Maximus.

For his safety, it turns out that the boy Lucius is driven away and raised elsewhere – when he finally meets Lucilla in “II”, he claims he barely remembers her.

Who from the original ‘Gladiator’ will appear?

Aside from the actors in the flashbacks, there are two key performers who appear in “II” – Nielsen, who has remarried the man Lucius accuses of murdering his family, Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal) – and Derek Jacobi, who plays Senator Gracchus. In “Gladiator” he was part of the plot with Maximus and Lucilla to overthrow Commodus.

And technically, Ridley Scott is also returning from the original “Gladiator” – as the director of both films. He was nominated for Best Director in 2001, so maybe he’ll be hoping to win that Oscar this time around.

How does Maximus play a role in the new film?

In a sense, he is everywhere. Adult Lucius does not know that he is Maximus’ son and has worshiped the warrior all these years.

There are several callbacks that suggest their connection before it is explicitly stated: the image of Maximus running his hand through wheat field grasses appears early on, and when Lucius is in the arena he sticks his sword into the ground, leans down and runs sand through his hands – just like his father did.

Then, during “Gladiator,” Maximus has a maxim he loves to share: “What we do in life echoes in eternity.” The aphorism appears in “II” to give it depth and scope.

But the biggest contribution Maximus makes to the film (Lucius aside) comes when his son visits a tomb beneath the arena and gets his father’s armor and sword for a big challenge.

Who has maintained it all these years? How does it look so shiny and spiffy? Why is it a natural fit for Lucius? These things can all be answered by whispering the name of a far future country far from Rome… Hollywood.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com