One of the most intriguing characters in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II, the sequel to Gladiator (2000) out Nov. 22, is Macrinus, a Black businessman raising an army of gladiators, played by Denzel Washington.
“To amuse you is my only wish,” Macrinus says early on in the film to the joint emperors Caracalla and Geta, played by Fred Hechinger and Joseph Quinn, respectively.
In the movie, Macrinus buys Lucius (Paul Mescal), who was brought to Rome from a conquered city-state, not realizing that Lucius is the illegitimate grandson of the great Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius.
Macrinus did exist, but he didn’t raise an army of gladiators, and the plotline about Marcus Aurelius having an illegitimate grandson is completely made-up. The real Macrinus was from North Africa, hailing from present-day Algeria. As a prefect of the Praetorian Guards during Caracalla’s reign, “he was a leading lawyer in Rome,” says Mary Beard, classicist and author of Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient Roman World.
Read more: Gladiator II Belongs to Denzel
He succeeded Caracalla, who was assassinated in 217. Shortly after, the troops made Macrinus the new emperor.
“Some of the sources do suggest that Macrinus was responsible for the assassination and paint him as ambitiously aiming for the throne,” says Andrew Scott, a professor of Classical Studies at Villanova University.
The film certainly leans into the idea that Macrinus killed Caracella, with Macrinus breaking Caracalla’s neck.
Macrinus’s reign lasted only about a year, until 218, when he was overthrown by troops during a civil war.
