Gladiator 2 is out next month, so it was only a matter of time before we caught a glimpse of a popcorn bucket that embodied all of the decadence that eventually led Rome to collapse. It’s a call back to the helmet Maximus Decimus Meridius wears in the first movie which will presumably have a cameo in the sequel. It’s also what rapper MF Doom’s iconic mask is based on.
In other words, I better be able to wear this popcorn bucket like a helmet or I’m going to be severely disappointed. Limited edition popcorn buckets tend to be around 7-10 inches in diameter, which roughly comes out to the average adult’s head circumference. The top of the helmet opens up and there’s all the cardboard in the way but finding a way to strap it to my skull is the least I can do to honor the sacrifices of all the Colosseum’s victims, fictional or otherwise.
If you haven’t been paying attention, Gladiator 2 is director Ridley Scott returning to his hit 2000 blockbuster starring Russell Crowe with a story that takes place 20 years after the original. Paul Mescal plays Crowe’s son, Pedro Pascal is the Roman general who massacres Mescal’s family, and Denzel Washington is a former slave turned arms dealer looking to usurp control of Rome from its bumbling co-emperors.
It’s a thin but potentially entertaining setup that only Scott, in the late, untouchable stage of his storied career, could seemingly get $200-$300 million to gamble on. This time around he’s upping the stakes with more animals and better VFX. “I’ve got a troop of 12 baboons who are carnivorous,” Scott recently told Total Film. “Trust me, these are real. And they look real. You’re staring at 12 real baboons and a real rhino, and a massive water battle with sharks in the water in the Colosseum.”
The original movie looked incredible for its time, with massive backdrops of Rome and a memorable setpiece with a real lion. CGI was deployed but sparingly given the technology’s limitations and cost back then. Hopefully, it remains a subtle addition to Gladiator 2. Somehow I doubt it will be. Whether Scott delivers another epic or a dud like last year’s Napoleon, at least we’ll have the popcorn bucket. Gladiator 2 hits theaters on November 15.