Fast forward to 2024, and her return to Ancient Rome couldn’t be more different. Yes, historians will be quick to tell you Scott is once again playing fast and loose with the facts, but she believes Gladiator II has parallels with the modern world which overshadow any nit-picking criticisms you might have.
She told Zavvi: “When I first received the script, pretty much all of the history had been nailed down, so I could really focus on this incredible character. I brought my own additional historical context with me, because Lucilla is a Republican, so I went back and read (historian) Tom Holland’s Rubicon, which describes the contrasting forces at work in Roman society in extraordinary detail.
“Those contrasts were very similar to those that you see in our society today, which really helped me find something central in the character I could build her from, in addition to this amazing emotional life that was already there on the page.”
Taking place two decades after the first Gladiator, we’re reintroduced to Lucilla – daughter of the former Emperor of Rome – as the new partner of Roman general Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal), who has just returned from battle, bringing a Northern African town under Rome’s colonial rule. Little do they know that he was fighting against Lucius (Paul Mescal), who was taken to Rome as a slave, and put in the ring as a Gladiator, where Lucilla comes to realise that this is her long-lost son.
Because of everything that has taken place offscreen in the intervening decades, Nielsen preferred to look at the character as a completely new one.
She explained: “It was a different woman this time, because she's a grown woman. She's like myself; a woman who's been around and has been burnt by life and couldn’t be further removed from the woman of 25 years ago.
“As well as the Tom Holland book, I was also very inspired by the idea that during this time in history, after the death of Commodus (played by Joaquin Phoenix in the first film), there was a succession of ever-worsening rulers. People who were basically buying the emperorship from the Praetorian Guard and auctioning it off to the highest bidder.
“I grounded everything in imagining what Lucilla would have felt watching the absolute destruction of the norms and ethics her father had installed, that she had taken for granted would continue to guide Rome. Seeing that happen in real time was the continued heartbreak for her that followed the events of the first film.”
Nielsen suggests that the Rome of this film is similar to that of Trump era America; a very conscious parallel from Scott she believes will help the film resonate with viewers beyond the extravagant action set pieces.
“Everything Ridley does is on purpose. He’s spoken recently about his experience of being a child during the Second World War, seeing news of how authoritarianism in all its different shapes exerts a completely unacceptable control over people’s lives, and runs countries into the ground.
“This is a theme that I think a lot of people are really responding to; there’s an anxiety about this rise in authoritarianism, even amongst ourselves. The thing that’s amazing about Ridley is that his films are rife with these different themes, but they’re never superficial – beneath the huge spectacle, the drama is grounded in real concern about the issues we still confront today.”
The Danish actress has in the past been open about her concern that she’s often cast as “the token woman” in male-driven projects. Gladiator appears to be an exception to her rule, however.
“I’m pleased and proud of the fact that the writers did an enormous service to Lucilla in this new iteration. They treated her story and situation with a lot of respect.
“But one of the things I try to do as an actor is focus on solutions for women. I don’t think it is good or healthy to keep looking at women as underdogs – I think, for example, that it’s a mistake that a huge amount of people don’t want to elect a female President, but we just have to keep pressing on.”
Ultimately, the actress remains delighted with the direction taken by Gladiator II – and is now upfront that she was more skeptical than anybody when first approached to reprise her role.
“I didn’t say yes right away, because I was waiting to see what they were going to do with the script. It had been 25 years, and I know a lot of people are very protective of the first one, so I really needed to see what they’d come up with before saying anything further.
“I read the script and met with Ridley immediately, as I knew it would be amazing. It really stands on its own, but as I read the script, I knew that it would be honouring this movie that continues to resonate with millions of fans.”
Gladiator II is released in UK cinemas on Friday, 15th November
