More Gladiator II Controversy: Sharks, Rhinos, Newspapers

Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II has even more controversy which centers around alleged historical inaccuracies in the film.

Things went sour for Gladiator II in that first trailer featuring rap music, which the second trailer was quick to fix and remove.

Now a professor at the University of Chicago blasts Gladiator II, and you know what? It sounds like Ridley Scott doesn’t give a f’k, much like with the negative reactions to Napoleon.

So slight spoilers follow for Gladiator II in regards to scenes show in the Colosseum.

What do the scenes show?

According to those who have seen the flick early, Gladiator II shows the Colosseum filled with water and sharks.

Scenes also depict the wrong type of Rhinos and show Gladiators riding the Rhinos.

That’s not all as what sounds like the biggest blunder, a Roman noble is shown sipping his morning coffee while reading a newspaper — even though the printing press wouldn’t be invented for another 1200 years!

“Total Hollywood bullshit”

THR has an article up where Dr. Shadi Bartsch, a classics professor at the University of Chicago who has written books about ancient Rome and who holds degrees from Princeton, goes so far as the say the shark scene in Gladiator II is “Total Hollywood bullshit” (but does confirm water and naval scenes were used in the Colosseum).

“I don’t think Romans knew what a shark was,” he says.

“You’re dead wrong” says Ridley Scott

In an interview with Ridley Scott done by Collider, it’s remarked “the sharks were not there in real life,” which Ridley Scott shot back, “You’re dead wrong. The Colosseum did flood with water, and there were sea battles.”

The site pressed if they had sharks back then in the Colosseum, which Scott replied, “Dude, if you can build a Colosseum, you can flood it with fucking water. Are you joking? And to get a couple of sharks in a net from the sea, are you kidding? Of course they can.”

There’s debate about that currently taking place on X, where some users claim the Colosseum was flooded with fresh water from the Tiber River, which means sharks wouldn’t be able to survive as they require salt water.

What about the Rhinos?

Regarding the Rhinos, THR points out it is true there were rhinos charging in the Colosseum, but says they weren’t the two-horn breed that Ridley Scott uses in Gladiator II, they were the one-horned type.

The site also says there is no evidence that gladiators actually rode them as shown in the movie. However, check out the above Roman coin which apparently does show a two-headed charging rhino.

What about the newspaper?

In regards to the newspaper blunder, Dr. Shadi Bartsch says the Romans did have daily news but that it wasn’t in the form of a newspaper and they didn’t even have cafes. Romans had to go somewhere to read the news apparently written on giant stone tablets.

“They did have daily news — Acta Diuma — but it was carved and placed at certain locations,” said Bartsch. “You had to go to it, you couldn’t hold it at a cafe. Also, they didn’t have cafes!”

Gladiator II arrives on November 22, 2024.