Who are the twins in Gladiator II? Real story of the Roman emperors, revealed

Gladiator II serves as a sequel to the 2000 film Gladiator. This Ridley Scott-directed historical epic is written by David Scarpa, while the story is by Peter Craig and Scarpa. Paramount Pictures released the film in the US on November 22, 2024, and it ended up grossing over $400 million.

The official synopsis of the sequel is,

"After his home is conquered by the tyrannical emperors who now lead Rome, Lucius is forced to enter the Colosseum and must look to his past to find strength to return the glory of Rome to its people."

Gladiator II features the twin Emperors of Rome, Geta and Caracalla (played by Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger, respectively), who are inspired by real-life people.

Gladiator II twins details explored

A still from Gladiator II | Image via Paramount Pictures YouTube

Emperors Geta and Caracalla are two important characters in Gladiator II that have been borrowed from historical figures. The two are ruling Rome and are the main antagonists of the story. Maximus and Commodus' deaths necessitate the twins taking control of Rome.

In real life, the twins ruled the empire in 211, nearly three decades after the demise of Marcus Aurelius. The two were trying to expand their Roman empire and were heading the wars for the same.

Their father, Septimius Severus, went to wars in regions of Britain as well as Africa. Caracalla was the second in command in the overall hierarchy, while Geta was involved in the backdoor operations and bureaucracy of wars. Severus died in 211, and their sons took over control right after that.

Historical liberties taken in Gladiator II

In Gladiator II, we see Caracalla as the more unhinged of the two brothers. There is a point where it's suggested that his behavior is connected to syphilis. In real life, it was not as unstable as it's shown in the film. He did not make his monkey the consul, which was inspired by Caligula.

In Gladiator II, Macrinus tricked Caracalla into killing Geta. However, the situation changed, and Macrinus executed Caracalla. The real Caracalla ended up becoming the Emperor of Rome after Geta was eliminated by a guard of the Praetorian. His rule concluded in the year 217 when Macrinus tasked a soldier to end his life. The actual Caracalla was a hard soldier who was in the battlefield, unlike his pampered cinematic version.

Pedro Pascal spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the two actors portraying the twins and their synchronization in Gladiator II. He said,

"I think they synchronized themselves into this relationship, into this sibling relationship, and also as friends and as actors, and there was something that they were always doing that would keep you on your toes and really present in the scene."

He further added about a moment where the two heaved and wailed in sync.

"I can remember in one instance, they got into this kind of synchronized heaving and wailing, and I think at one point Joe may have taken a sword and knighted me and then threw it into a koi pond, and Fred would linger just behind you. You always felt in the presence of danger and fun — fun coming from them as actors and danger coming from them as characters. It was really cool."