Gladiator 2 takes place 16 years after the first movie’s events and depicts a Rome with not one but two emperors: twins Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger). They are cruel, incompetent, and impressionable, and that inevitably leads them to become pawns in the games of others. Many viewers are understandably wondering how these two became rulers in the first place.
Here’s a breakdown of their rise to power.
How did Geta and Caracalla become Rome’s twin emperors in Gladiator 2?
Gladiator 2 doesn’t explicitly address how Geta and Caracalla became the twin emperors of Rome, though history has some answers. However, we must remember that Ridley Scott and his collaborators have taken considerable creative liberty with Gladiator 2, just like they did with the first movie. These characters are inspired by their historical counterparts and not faithful depictions of them.
The historical Geta and Caracalla were not twins. Caracalla was older than Geta by nearly a year. They were the sons of Septimius Severus, who was Rome’s emperor from 193 to 211, and his second wife Julia Domna. Severus named Caracalla as his co-Augustus (co-ruler) in 198 AD, the same year Geta was named Caesar (heir). The imperial household maintained the image of a happy and united family, with Caracalla serving as his father’s second-in-command and Gete performing the administrative and diplomatic duties. However, the truth was far from that. There was enmity and infighting between the siblings that only escalated after their father’s death in 211.
Geta and Caracalla ascended the Roman throne as co-emperor after Severus died, but their rule was ultimately a massive failure. With time, the animosity between them only increases, and even their mother, who was an advisor to her husband and children, couldn’t stop them. Caracalla killed Geta in their mother’s arms in December 211 AD. He subsequently ruled as the sole emperor until 217, when he was assassinated.
So, the historical Geta and Caracalla inherited the imperial title from their father, and their reign proved to be quite disastrous for Rome, even if it wasn’t in the manner depicted in Gladiator 2. Notably, after Caracalla, Macrinus, the inspiration behind Denzel Washington’s character in the movie, became the emperor.
